February 26, 2017

Meet Deepali Pareek of De-cor in Pasadena

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Deepali Pareek.

Deepali, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
With a degree in business from the University of Southern California in 2001, I began my corporate journey working with a prestigious global consulting firm. It was an exciting position to engage with diverse clients and stimulating projects. However, it stirred up the entrepreneurial instincts inside me, which motivated me to leave my comfortable position to venture into unchartered course of starting a business of my own. Flew to India, without any business plans to draw from, just an intense desire within me to design, visualize and create. I began exploring ways to channel those feelings outwards into my work. In my travels, I began to dabble into working with silver jewelry, but eventually, found the feel of virgin cloth, the smell of wood and beautiful shapes carved by native artisans won me over. That’s when it all came together, and I dove headfirst into creating what would lead to the beginning of De-cor, a home decor store with a global inspiration.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting a small business requires rigorous work, and a lot of conditions have to be met in order for everything to run efficiently and smoothly. On September 8, 2001, I had just signed the lease to our first store known as “Living Art,” not knowing that 3 days later a disaster would occur. September 11th was extremely devastating, and morale everywhere was at an all-time low including our own. It was a rough healing process, and with construction taking place for a majority of the year afterwards, we lost a lot of business and we saw stores closing all around us because of the lack of traffic. We kept working hard and were able to come out of our struggles, it got us to where we are today.”

Please tell us about De-cor.
De-cor specializes in home furnishings from different parts of the world and places them all into one showroom. Our collection holds antique furniture and artifacts, repurposed pieces and hand-woven embroideries, each item being one of a kind and of fine craftsmanship. We feature furniture, carvings, and fabrics that are all completely handmade; their tedious creating process becoming a lost art in their native countries. We take rustic artifacts and textiles and showcase them in a modern light fit for any home. Each of our pieces carries their own voice, their own history, and we’re here to let their stories be heard.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My fondest childhood memories has to be of when monsoon season would sweep across India, and I would step outside to play in the drizzling rain. In those moments, I felt so free and elated, without a care in the world.

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