Interview by Mercedes Arnold

All photos provided courtesy of Liz Kirby.

Maine Vibes Magazine: Can you introduce yourself, state your pronouns, and introduce your business? 

Liz Kirby: My name is Liz Kirby, my pronouns are she/her, I own an interior design business called Surf Road. I do anything from home furnishings to kitchen design, paint colors, etc. I've also started doing a blog that's focused on, not only interior design but wellness and motherhood. Last night, when I was tossing and turning, I was thinking about a podcast about motherhood.* Something will probably come of that, but I don't know what yet.

MVM: I've seen your blog posts and noticed you get sale codes out there, which is nice, and have different products in every post. 

LK: I'm trying to kind of mix it up with shoppable posts that would help people if they wanted to DIY their own interior design and people can reach out to me if they need help. I'm doing a bathroom remodel, and makeover for a client, and I had done something similar in my house. In one of the posts, I showed my makeover, and then rounded up the links and made it shoppable. That way, people can recreate it if they want. 

MVM: It seems like you're making interior design a little more accessible, which is always nice.

LK: Yeah, absolutely.

MVM: When I think interior design, I don’t immediately think it’s accessible, I think expensive.

LK: It can be, but it can save you money in certain areas. Interior designers get trade discounts and a lot of them will share that with their clients, so you get a percentage off the regularly priced items. For a lot of people though, hiring an interior designer is about  saving time. There are so many choices for interior design, hiring someone to help do the research and find furniture and pick out paint colors and rugs, etc. can save a lot of time and stress, and the result is you have a beautiful space. 

MVM: Saving time is always a good thing. How did you get started in interior design?

LK: I started taking on clients professionally in October of 2021. However, I've been passionate about interior design for years. Over the last 10 years, I’ve handled many projects in my own home as well as for friends and family. When my husband and I graduated from law school, we moved into an older home in Portland. That is probably when my passion was really ignited and I got creative with the design of the interior of the house. When we sold that house and moved to Falmouth, I was able to do even more projects. Decorating both of my kid’s nurseries, and remodeling our basement for a family room and playroom. In 2018 we bought our current house in Cape Elizabeth. We did a pretty massive renovation before we moved in, and I was the designer working with Barrett Made for construction. The project ended up being featured in Maine Magazine. Last year I took on my biggest project to date, which was building a ski chalet in Rangely on Saddleback Mountain. I designed the entire interior and exterior. I find that I love every single decision that has to be made with any home project, and it is most definitely my passion.  

“I love seeing and hearing my daughter talk about my business and what she wants to do with her career as a result.”

MVM: How long did that process take?

LK: It took nine months.

MVM: How did you go from graduating from law school to then moving to interior design? Did you practice law prior to starting your own business?

LK: I did practice law. I graduated with the desire of doing juvenile defense, which is essentially a combination of legal work and social work. Maine is the only state in the country without a public defender’s office and this is because of our small size. Everyone who is defending low-income criminal cases is doing so out of their own private practice on a stipend from the state. We don’t have that much crime, and there would be a conflict of interest with the same groups representing different sides all the time. We have a Federal Public Defender, but it's a very small office for federal crimes. I originally wanted to get a job with one of the private practice firms, however, they did not have the capacity to hire an associate. 

It’s really scary to go out on your own as a first-year graduate. I did work for a small practice doing family law and criminal defense but I did not enjoy it. I left the practice of law and got a job working for a startup in the wedding industry and that’s where I learned digital marketing and website design. I started to enjoy those more creative things. 

When my daughter was born, I left that job and went out on my own, and started taking clients for social media and website design. I got approached by two guys opening a medical marijuana company. They wanted me to develop the brand, build the website and design the interior of their store. I signed on but the store never really came to fruition. While we were waiting to see if it would, I had been thinking about CBD and how it would be cool to launch a couple of CBD products, as if it was that easy. 

I ended up launching a CBD line, then Good Jane, now Betoken, and ran it for several years by myself. CBD is federally legal, but not federally regulated, so there are a lot of roadblocks within the industry in terms of marketing and administration. Over the last year, we were forced into a rebrand, and then more and more challenges presented themselves that were just too much for a solopreneur to handle. I made the difficult decision in February to close down the CBD company and focus on my interior design business. Although it was a really hard decision, I knew as soon as I made it that it was the right one.

MVM: Now that you're focusing on interior design, how do you find your clients? Is it through word of mouth? 

LK: It started with a next-door post. A friend saw a post where someone was looking for an interior decorator, and she asked if she could post my website there and I said yes. I ended up getting four clients from that. From there, it’s snowballed through word of mouth and a few referrals from Instagram and my website. 

MVM: Word of mouth can be very powerful, which is so great.  I know this is going to be a continuous process, but what have you learned from the beginning of your business to now? 

LK: I think the biggest thing I've learned is, don't let clients purchase their own furniture and do their own installation. I need to be there for every decision. 

MVM: When you first start working with a client, how do you approach your interior design projects? 

LK: It is a collaboration, I definitely want to take into account certain ways that a client uses their home, and how they will use certain rooms. I think about color tones, they have to live in this space so I don't want to force a bright pattern on them when they're adverse and want neutral. I definitely take those things into consideration. 

I'll usually present them with a couple of different options. I take all the measurements, and then I'll do a to-scale rendering of furniture placement and size, and included with that I'll give a first look at what I think would look good in the room in terms of furniture. We’ll go back and forth, some clients want a square coffee table instead of a round one, or they don't want a white couch, for example.  I'll then go back to the drawing board on those aspects and then present around four different options for alternative solutions at different price points. I also try to keep in mind availability, because things are not available as easily right now. 

What I'm really bringing to the interiors space is that digital aspect that a lot of the OG designers in Maine don't really have or aren't able to do themselves. The blog aspect, Instagram, and Pinterest, and using all of these, more modern digital ways to communicate and send information I think is unique to my business. 

MVM: It’s quick and accessible for your clients.

LK: Yeah, that’s the goal.

“We help each other with everything that would seem like complete competition, but we always say, ‘collaboration over competition.’”

MVM: Do you have a specific style for interiors that is your go-to?

LK: It’s somewhere a mix of edgy, modern, Bohemian, and mid-century. I love to do neutrals with a bright wall or wallpaper, I love a fun wallpaper. I also like clean lines, nothing crazy. I’m also starting to get into a little bit of the antique look mixed with modern, especially because ever since we did our new build, the amount of trash that we threw away from buying all new furniture for a second home was disgusting. It makes me feel ill to think about all of that trash that only one person was creating, let alone for other people. I'm trying to be mindful of using secondhand and how to incorporate that with a more modern look.

MVM: There are a ton of antique stores and resellers in Maine. 

LK:  I've been looking on Facebook Marketplace and I've gone to Cherished Possessions, which is in Portland. There are definitely a lot of options, but you have to have time to comb through them. 

MVM: Where do you see your business going? I know that you said you are working on your blog, and you have an idea of starting a podcast. Where would you like to take your business from here?

LK: I want to take it to enterprise-level, I want to have a whole team of people who are running all the different aspects of the business, I really want it to be like a lifestyle brand that people come to for all types of different inspiration and ideas. 

MVM: How does it feel like being a woman and owning your own business? 

LK:  I wouldn't do it any other way, I love it, and I think it's so empowering. I love seeing and hearing my daughter talk about my business and what she wants to do with her career as a result. It’s also really powerful for me to have my son see me as a business owner and balance that with motherhood.

There is a strong community of female business owners, not only in Maine but across the country. I feel like everyone is so supportive of one another. Everyone is willing to collaborate or share insight or a business hack with one another. 

While I was running Betoken I found a really tight group of women CBD owners, from all corners of the country. To this day, I text with them, FaceTime with them, email, etc. Throughout the business, we've talked about the highs and the lows, we help each other with everything that would seem like complete competition, but we always say, ‘collaboration over competition.’ That has worked so well for us and been so helpful for all of us at different times. 

I am really looking forward to finding that same community within the interior design space here in Maine. There are a lot of interior designers here, and I think a lot of them are also moms, so I can definitely relate to them. I have already found some great women who have helped along the way. Vanessa, who owns Fiore Home in Yarmouth has been a huge help to me. She has such amazing style and it's been good getting to connect with her. 

MVM: That’s awesome. I’m finding there’s a common theme in Maine, collaboration over competition, always. That makes me feel so much better about the work that I'm doing and I feel so supported. I don't think I could continue without that support, because then it would feel so isolating.

LK: A lot of us are on our own, navigating a small business, and doing it alone is so hard. I always wish I had a partner with Betoken, and I want a partner now, but it doesn't always work out that way. To have that community of people to be able to talk to you and vent to and get advice from is crucial and I really look forward to finding it in Maine.

MVM: You have major powerhouse vibes, so I feel like it’s going to happen for you. 

LK:  I definitely have grand visions, and I'd love to see them come to fruition.

MVM:  I feel like that's a good place to start.  I quit my corporate job last year and took the summer off before building my creative business. With this magazine, I had always wanted to start a magazine, so why the fuck not?

LK: I always tell people, just start, just do anything. Anything that you can do to be on the periphery of starting, if it's starting a blog that you talk about what you want to do, do something and get the ball rolling in some way, and the rest of it will come. 

MVM: That was going to be my next question. Do you have advice for other women who are looking to start a business? It sounds like I have my answer!

LK: Yeah, and don't be afraid to reach out to people. I think most people feel that collaboration over competition mindset. As a small business owner and coming into a space where there are already so many people doing it, you feel like you're stepping on toes or that they would be unwelcoming, and that's just false. There are so many people that will be willing to talk to you and help and work together and figure out how to make it happen. 

MVM: That's been my experience. Everyone has been so supportive. 

LK: It's so easy to be nice, and it's better to be kind to people. I mean, this is such a small state and Portland is such a small town, it is not worth being mean to someone because you will see them and that is not going to be fun. 

MVM: Right, kindness is key and is so easy! Being from Maine and running your business in Maine, what is your favorite thing about our state and having a business here? 

LK: My favorite thing about Maine is the beauty of our surroundings. We live at a beach in Cape Elizabeth, there's no better place to be, we have access to so much wonderful nature and activities outside. People are nice here, we have such a good vibe and food and stuff to do. 

MVM: We have so much going on here now, but are still the oldest and whitest state in the nation. I am hoping that will change in the near future and younger people will find working opportunities here.

LK: I have friends that left to find work and now they would give anything to come back and work here. I do think it’s about creating those opportunities and hopefully, the rest will follow.

MVM: Yeah, definitely. Do you want to shout out any other women, BIPOC, and/or LGBTQIA+-owned businesses?

LK: I really love Fiore Home, she has a store in Yarmouth. Alice Yardley handbags in Portland. Onggi which is a ferment + foods store on Washington Ave. I’m also a big supporter of Aristelle in Portland (Ashley, the owner and I go back 10+ years), Nicole Elise Jewelry, and I actually was introduced to Kelsey from Acorn + Artisan through your Instagram! I love to shout out other female-owned companies, especially local ones! 

MVM:  I love that!! Is there anything else you want people to know about you or your business, or blog? 

LK: I’m here and currently taking new clients. Follow along on the blog for easy DIYs (surfroad.me) and shopping for your home and follow me on Instagram (@surfroad.me).

Links:

@fioreinteriors

@aliceyardley.maine

@onggiferments

@nicoleelisejewelry

@acornandartisan

Thank you to Liz Kirby for sharing your story with the magazine. It was a pleasure to hear you speak about your journey to interior design and feel the passion for what comes next for you!

Web: https://www.surfroad.me

Instagram: @surfroad.me