We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Claire Comai a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Claire, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
I started my company when I got sober at age 24, after struggling with addiction for nearly a decade. In sobriety, I needed a creative outlet to help me focus my energy and fuel my recovery. I began designing jewelry and then clothing, and ultimately launching my own brand, Rehab Studios. The brand is inspired by my own sobriety, but also inspire it in others and showing that recovery is fun and sexy. The brand promotes the idea of recovering outlaid and breaking down the stigma around addiction and mental health.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Before founding Rehab Studios, my career was in fashion, but on the PR/Marketing/Communications side. I wanted to create a “sober” brand that had designs that were actually cool and sexy. Our message is not ‘Sobriety For Everyone!” but rather an increased awareness around addiction and respect for those who do choose sobriety.
Our brand community is a tribe. Anyone who has experienced the depths of addiction and mental illness knows the importance of surrounding yourself with a tribe of people who lift you up, help you through your very worst moments and celebrate your victories. Rehab Studios is about more than just our products, it’s building a community full of love, support, and dark humor, for all of us who are suffering, have suffered, or know someone who is.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
We got our very first funds to jumpstart the business through Kickstarter! At this time, it was during COVID, and it was just me making bracelets in my parents basement for fun. It was amazing to see all the support the brand got on Kickstarter, not just from my friends and family, but from complete strangers who felt connected to the brand story and mission.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
When the brand first launched, it was called Rehab Barbie. However, we quickly ran into legal issues due to copyright, and some of our manufacturers refused to keep creating our products for fear of legal repercussions. That’s why we changed the name to Rehab Studios!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.rehabstudiosny.com
- Instagram: rehabstudiosny
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/people/Rehab-Studios/100083581952189/
- Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/clairecomai
- Other: Rehab Studios TikTok: (this is our biggest platform) https://www.tiktok.com/@rehabstudiosny?lang=en Here are my personal links: www.clairecomai.com instagram: @clairecomai
Image Credits
Photo of me – Alex Sgobbo Additional photos: #2 – Quentin Pistol #3, #4 #6, #8 – Dario Rodriguez