Exploring Life & Business with Mona Bavar of DLISH Curated In Milan

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mona Bavar.

Hi Mona, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born in Iran and moved to the U.S. in 1979, when I was seven. Since then, I have spent much of my life between cultures, countries, and different ways of seeing the world.

Before starting DLISH, I spent years in academia, earned my MBA from SDA Bocconi in Milan, and taught for about a decade. Living and working between Los Angeles and Italy also shaped the way I think about design, food, hospitality, and the importance of creating real human connection.

DLISH came from that mix of experiences. I wanted to build a company around the things I naturally gravitate toward: beautiful objects, interesting people, good design, food, culture, and the idea that a gift should actually mean something.

What began as a gifting business has grown into a company creating custom corporate gifts, executive gifting, employee programs, and sensorial experiences for clients in the U.S. and around the world. We operate between Los Angeles and Milan, which gives us access to makers, designers, artists, and products on both sides of the Atlantic.

I have never been interested in filling a box with products just because they fit a budget. For me, the starting point is always the person receiving it, the moment, and what the company is trying to say. From there, we build something that feels personal, relevant, and worth keeping.

That is really what DLISH has become – a way of bringing together business, design, culture, and human connection in a way that feels much more personal than traditional corporate gifting.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, definitely not. Building DLISH has meant figuring out a lot of things as I went, and one of the biggest challenges has been creating something that does not fit neatly into an existing category.

We are not simply a corporate gifting company, and we are not an events company or a design studio either. We sit somewhere between gifting, design, hospitality, culture, and sensorial experiences. That has been a strength, but it has also meant having to constantly explain what makes us different and why that difference matters.

There have also been the very practical challenges of growing a business across two markets. Working between Los Angeles and Milan means dealing with different suppliers, logistics, customs, timelines, currencies, and ways of doing business. When you are creating highly customized projects, there are a lot of moving parts and very little room for error.

Another challenge has been learning when to say no. In the beginning, I think you are tempted to take every project and accommodate every request. Over time, I have become much clearer about the kind of work we do well, the clients we work best with, and the level of quality I am willing to put the DLISH name on.

I have also learned that not every opportunity is worth pursuing. Some projects look good on paper but pull you away from what you are actually building. I am much more selective now, and that has probably been one of the most important shifts for the business.

We’ve been impressed with DLISH Curated In Milan, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
This is the section where I’d make DLISH feel unmistakably different and not like another corporate gifting company.

I’d write:

DLISH is a gifting and experiences company built around design, culture, food and human connection. We create custom corporate gifts, executive gifting programs and sensorial experiences for companies that want to give something that actually feels considered.

What sets us apart is that we do not start with a catalog. We start with the person, the occasion and what the company is trying to communicate. From there, we source and develop objects, food, packaging and experiences that make sense together and feel specific to that moment.

Because we work between Los Angeles and Milan, we have access to independent makers, artists, designers and producers across the U.S. and Europe. That allows us to create gifts that feel much less expected, whether that means a limited-edition artist collaboration, a piece made specifically for a client, a locally sourced welcome experience or a completely custom program across multiple countries.

We are also very interested in the sensorial side of gifting. How something looks matters, but so does how it feels when you open it, what you smell, taste, touch, and remember. That is where gifting becomes much more interesting to me.

I am probably most proud that DLISH has stayed very personal as it has grown. We work with large companies and complex global projects, but I still want every gift to feel as though someone actually paid attention.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was a very curious child and probably more observant than people realized. I was always interested in people, their stories, where they came from, what they ate, how they lived, and what made one family or culture different from another.

I moved from Iran to the U.S. when I was seven, so growing up was also very much about learning how to exist between two cultures. Outside the house, everything was new. At home, there was Persian food, family stories, history, conversation, and this very strong sense of where we came from. The table was a big part of that. It was where everyone came together and where I felt most connected to our culture.

I think that made me very sensitive to atmosphere and to the way people feel in a space. I noticed the details. Food, objects, music, how a table was set, how someone welcomed you into their home. Those things were never just decorative to me. They communicated something.

I was also independent and always questioning things. I liked learning, but I was never interested in simply accepting something because that was how it had always been done. That curiosity has stayed with me. I am still constantly looking at different cultures, ideas, places and ways of doing things and asking what can be brought together in a new way.

Looking back, a lot of what interests me now was already there: food, art, travel, storytelling, culture, people and creating a sense of connection.

Pricing:

• Custom Corporate Gifting: typically $50–$250+ per recipient
• Ready-to-Ship Gifts: $50–$450
• Gift Experiences: $150–$500+ per person
• Corporate Gifting Programs: starting at $3,000
• Custom branding and personalization available; minimums typically 25–50 pieces

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dlish.us/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dlish.us/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dlishus.it
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dlish/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGiUrUGqlyY4rM2wMj28RpQ