Sara Haag and I first crossed paths when we both worked at Yelp another lifetime ago. It was fun to reconnect after all these years, to find her pursuing her true design-centric passions, and having a blast doing so.
What do you do?
I’m trained as an architect and run a design firm focused on interior design, interior architecture and art consulting—The Scale Collective.
Where do you live? We live in Tiburon, and love it—I love the feeling of space we have here. It’s our little slice of paradise and inspires us daily.
How long have you lived in Marin? I moved here last fall after over 11 years in San Francisco—I had been eying Marin for a while and finally took the plunge.
Where can we find you when you’re not at work?
We love hiking around Marin, our local wine bar—Squalo Vino (my last project I designed before going out on my own!), and in winter months can be found skiing in Tahoe every other weekend.
If you had to convince someone how awesome Marin was, where would you take them?
Martinis at the Spinnaker at sunset. The restaurant floats over the water and has an untouched interior from the ’70s, which is unironically very current again.
What’s one thing Marin is missing?
I want more music venues—especially in southern Marin. That, and more natural wine bars.
What’s one bit of advice you’d share with your fellow Marinites?
Go park by the Golden Gate Bridge early in the morning and bring a picnic to Kirby Cove. It’s reminiscent of a Big Sur vibe.
If you could invite anyone to a special dinner, who would come?
David Bowie, John Lautner, Prince, Albert Einstein, Iris Apfel, George Michael, Steve Jobs, Jimi Hendrix, Olafur Eliasson and Yayoi Kusama—oh, and my grandparents.
What’s some advice you wish you knew 20 years ago?
It’s all going to work out, enjoy the ride while it lasts, be authentically you—and don’t compromise.
What’s something that 20 years from now will seem cringeworthy?
The wars in Ukraine and Gaza, ’90s fashion (we did that already, my friends!), reggaeton and Taylor Swift (sorry to offend!).
Big question. What’s one thing you’d do to change the world?
The world needs more high-quality art, music, culture and design. These are the things that subtly shape the world around us, who we are and who we become as a people.
Keep up with Haag at @thescalecollective on Instagram and at thescalecollective.com.
Nish Nadaraja was on the founding team at Yelp and serves on the San Anselmo Arts Commission.
