Today we’d like to introduce you to Dianna Peña.
Hi Dianna, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always been a person who likes to work with her hands. I was always tinkering with power tools and I’ve always been the “go to” handywoman of my household, even as a kid and my places of employment as an adult. I was obsessed with how things were built and I would deconstruct broken furniture, electronics, and anything else I could get my hands on to see if I could repair it. By working backwards, I could find the problems and fix them. I was able to bring something back to life; whatever it was, by just spending time with it. It garnered me the nickname “Robo-King” by my family. It was a name my mom just made up one day, I think it was a mash up of RoboCop and King Kong; both movies we would watch all the time as kids. I think it perfectly captured my ability to be a superhuman cyborg type of kid that could fuck shit up like King Kong and also repair things like `Robo Cop brought bad guys to justice. I brought broken things back to life by further destroying them and then putting them back together. I’m almost 35 years old and my mom still calls me Robo-King sometimes.
When I was in my twenties, I got into woodworking and upholstery as a hobby and was always building things on the side. Fast forward a few years, I went on a solo cross country motorcycle trip and I decided to convert an old school bus into an RV, so I could do it again more comfortably. The bus is about 85% finished and still in construction mode, but now I’ve added electrical, plumbing, welding, mechanic, and auto bodywork to the list of skills on top of woodworking. I can 100% build anything now. I have the confidence to start any project and see it all the way through. Next item on the list is a chopper. I’ve always wanted to build my own motorcycle. A few months ago, my twin brother, David, asked me to build him and his then fiance a giant wedding arch. Then after they used it for their wedding, David casually suggested I rent it out for weddings in Joshua Tree since I live in Joshua Tree full time. Just like that, my twin brother made sense of my entire life. “I could build cool stuff out of wood and make money from my creations? Holy CRAP!” Then just like that, Palo Verde Party Rentals was born.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Hell- to – the- NO! Smooth is the last word in the dictionary I would use to describe my life. I worked so many different jobs trying to make sense of what brought me the most joy, but I never knew how to make money doing it what I loved. I knew I loved to build things out of wood, but growing up in NYC and living in NYC most of my adult life up to this point, it never did seem possible. It’s not like there was any space to have a woodshop or even store anything that I built. I dealt with it by reupholstering furniture I already had and I went through a phase of reupholstering motorcycle seats. I worked in fashion as a colorist, I worked many, many years as a bartender, I worked in real estate, I sold handmade pillows in Etsy, I worked as a buyer for a high-end motorcycle dealer, I started a clothing brand, you name it! I tried everything, but I couldn’t feel that spark that I got from taking a raw material and turning it into something new.
When I started converting the mini school bus, I was living in LA after my cross country moto trip and I didn’t know very many people yet. I didn’t have any help. I had to demo the inside of the bus by myself using power tools, sheer will, and the grace and strength of my ancestors and my spirit guides. I took that bus down to the metal framing and started completely from scratch. I’m grateful for the experience though because I never gave up no matter how hard it was, and now there isn’t anything on that rig that I can’t repair if something goes wrong. I’m still building that thing almost two years later and because of it, whenever I get a wild idea for a wedding backdrop, I’ll just whip it up in two days. You can only really experience beauty and ease in your life after you’ve been through the wringer. I’m grateful for all the hardship; I’m better for it. I would not be able to build Palo Verde Party Rentals as easily without all that experience.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
People always ask me if I consider myself an artist. I used to always reply with a “no.” In the past, I didn’t want the responsibility of the label. Once you call yourself an “artist” you had to be solely making money from that “art”, and up until recently I never did make a living from anything that I built, so I never felt like I was worthy of the title. I’ve changed my mind about that. I’ve always been an artist because I was always creating, even if people didn’t recognize it or didn’t care about it. What really mattered was that I was in the mental, physical, and spiritual space of being a creative person. That was always true for me and that was always real for me. So now, when people ask if I’m an artist, I say, “hell yeah!” More specifically, I’m a builder and a stylist. I can build anything, but I specialize in wedding backdrops and large architectural wooden pieces. I also build furniture and tables from scratch and I am confident in the structural integrity. With my company Palo Verde Party Rentals, you can book me for custom wedding backdrops and design, you can rent pieces I already have, and you can also hire me to be your coordinator. It’s a one stop shop for high desert weddings.
Where I derive the most joy however, is the woodworking portion of the work, so I love the custom projects the most. I recently build a giant crescent moon for a client’s wedding. It is 7 feet tall and almost 7 feet wide, and I am obsessed with it! They booked me for all their services, so I got a chance to build their crescent moon and their sweetheart table, plus they rented peacock chairs and dining chairs from me, and I am their Day of Coordinator. I know it sounds like a lot of work – and it is, but they’re my ideal customer. Their wedding is coming up next weekend at this beautiful venue up in the high desert, and they’re a really cool, laid-back punk rock couple! I cannot wait to deliver the custom made crescent moon and dress is with florals! It’s going to be amazing! Palo Verde Party Rentals is brand new, but I am working hard to be known for not being “your mother’s wedding rental business.” I love the clients that don’t want a cookie-cutter wedding. I want the ones that have creativity exuding from their pores. I want the ones that are rebels without a cause. Those are the people I relate most to, and that’s who I want to design for.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I’m not local to LA anymore, so I’ll tell you about Joshua Tree. What I like best about it is the community. It is a small population of people, and we all know each other. We support each other, and we look out for each other. There are other event rental companies popping up in the area and we don’t compete, we collaborate. There is enough room for everyone to grow, and with the support of the community, Palo Verde Party Rentals has grown much faster than I ever thought it would. I’m so grateful for that! Even sweeter is that we are in this magical landscape. I have never felt so grounded and clear headed as I do in the desert. I can look up at the stars every night and periodically watch meteor showers. That makes me feel so lucky! How many people can relax under a blanket of stars every night? It’s really cool. The sunsets and sunrises are just as magical, and I’m perpetually inspired by the color scheme. What I like the least about living here is the lack of diverse food options. Coming from NYC, I had every cuisine I could imagine at my fingertips at all times. Man, I really miss Chinese food. However, the lack of food options has made me a fantastic cook because I have to make the things I cannot find. I’m grateful for that. Cooking is a creative endeavor like anything else, so it works for me!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.paloverdepartyrentals.com
- Instagram: @paloverdeparties
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paloverdeparties
Image Credits:
Brelinda Wadley Photography Nicole Kirshner Photography
