Interview with DOMUS owner Luisa&Nicki
1. How long are you in New York and what brought you here in the first place?
We have both been in New York since 1995. We were both living in St Thomas, Virgin Islands, and we were slightly acquainted. We both left just a couple of days before a devastating hurricane hit the Virgin Islands. Nicki went to California first, then NYC, to pursue her career as a chef in restaurants and catering companies. I (Luisa) came directly to New York to purse my career in fashion retail.
2. What do you like about New York most?
For both of us is the mix of people, the energy, the creativity. 700 languages are spoken in New York and we just love this big melting pot where you can meet so many people working on making their dreams come true!
3. How long has it been since you started your store Domus?
We are proud to say that we just celebrated 20 years of DOMUS last week! It has been an amazing journey and we have created a strong community of friends, customers and neighbors along the way.
4. What were the most challenging moments in New York both for you personally and for your career?
Without a doubt 9/11 was the event that most impacted our life and career in New York. The city was in shock and both our industries (food and entertainment and fashion) were in tatters: nobody was going out celebrating, nobody was dressing-up. But that terrible event forced us to examine our lives and created in us a desire to start a business together, based on quality of life rather than monetary gain, an enterprise where we could spend time together. That is how DOMUS was born. A store that celebrates making your home your sanctuary.
5. What has changed for you since spring 2020? How are you coping with the current situation?
The pandemic has been tough for everyone, but especially for small businesses. So many of them did not survive. The hardest part is that more and more people shop online, and our store is all about seeing, touching, smelling and tasting the quality of our merchandise and the care that has been put into every item we curate. For the customers that have moved out of the city, we try to help them by guiding them with personal shopping on FaceTime so they still get the feeling of being in the store, but nothing replaces coming into the store!
-Did you need to make any changes in your life, etc.? Did you learn something about yourself, people around you, etc.?
Like everyone, we needed to make changes in our life. Our income suffered so we had to curtail any extra expenses. But the most difficult change was to give-up our foreign travel to work with artisans. We mostly go to developing Countries to find handmade products and in the past two years it has simply been impossible to travel because of Covid-related restrictions. Fortunately, we have forged strong relationships with many of our artisans so we were able to have product made in India, Mexico, Guatemala, Thailand, and so on. But we miss seeing their faces and eating their food!
6. What are your plans for the near future?
For the immediate future there are no big plans. The pandemic is still impacting our travels but we are constantly working on sourcing other goods to bring in new items all the time.
7. Where in NYC do you go for relaxation and what would you recommend to ZONE readers?
We are strong advocates of making your home your place of relaxation. Your home should be your sanctuary, where you go to relax, decontract and shut-out the outside world and regenerate. We are constantly creating oasis for our clients with pillows, throws, objects and scents that reflect their personality. A pet or two or three (like us!) will bring you joy. Bringing in nature with plants helps too. We also have meditation books and crystals. Basically we encourage people to find the quiet space inside themselves where their creativity is, and having a harmonious home is a good start.
