Meet Carrie Davich | Small Business Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carrie Davich and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carrie, how do you think about risk?
This is an intriguing question to me because I was a painfully shy kid that took no risks whatsoever; I barely left the house other than going to school. I was a very organized, rule follower that gravitated to friends that pushed me outside of my comfort zone. As the years went on my shyness fell away and I became braver and more willing to go after what I wanted and recognize opportunities as they presented themselves. My first big risk was walking away from a stable job to start a small clothing company with a friend in my mid 20’s; we grew to be represented in showrooms all across the country. I continued with this company until I had a second child and decided to stay home and which turned into raising 3 kids. As these kids grew and became more and more independent I suddenly found myself with a lot of time on my hands and felt the pull to try something new. I have always loved great home shops and felt we were really lacking options here in Pasadena. I love the hunt at swap meets and as I filled our attic with treasures I would “joke” with my husband that it was all for the store I would open someday. Well, he finally called my bluff and told me I needed a creative outlet so I decided to jump off of a cliff yet again and take a chance. Everyone knows retail is really hard but I just felt in my gut that I could do it and I could offer something to my community that was not already here. Once I was open I had an amazing amount of women say to me that they had always wanted to do something like this but just didn’t know how. One asked about my business plan and a bunch of other questions. I told her that if I had focused on of all of the ways to fail, I never would have gone forward. I am a believer in following your instincts; if you truly feel you can do it you then you can.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have always considered the shop my ongoing, never ending art project. It was born from my love of the hunt for vintage items but knew I didn’t want an “antique” store; I wanted it to be so much more than that. What sets me apart is what I do with some of the vintage pieces I buy; sometimes I find an item and don’t look at it as what it is but what it could be. The best example is a pair of 1920’s curtain panels. They were 7′ long, hand spun linen panels with a hand embroidered wool design of the tree of life with branches, leaves, flowers and birds. I washed them in my bath tub and laid outside to dry. They were stretched onto a wood frame and set into a bleached wood floater frame; they were stunning and sold in less than a month! My customers know they can come in and always find things they will not find anywhere else. In addition to the vintage pieces we have pottery, glassware and baskets from South Africa, linen bedding from Belgium, ceramics from a local artists as well as soaps, cards, candles and so much more! My biggest challenge is keeping up with the vintage shopping; the good stuff doesn’t stick around for long!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If we had a full week to explore I would probably want to take a small road trip up to Summerland for lunch and shopping at Fort and Field and to wander all of the cool shops there. We would probably spend an afternoon on Abbot Kinney after a hike in Will Rogers state park. Since my best friend loves home shops as much as I do, we would go to the La Cienega Design Quarter to get inspired at Hollywood at Home and Harbinger. While there a must stop would be my favorite shop in the city, Nicky Kehoe. Since I live in Pasadena we would hike some of the trails around here and probably go up to the Griffith Observatory. Dinners out would include Factory Kitchen and Little Sister, both downtown, Little Beast in Eagle Rock, Alimento and Kettle Black in Silverlake. For a night in maybe we would get pizza from Towne Pizza and sit on my terrace in the San Rafael Hills where we have a great view of the San Gabriel mountains and valley.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
This would absolutely be my husband, Marty Davich. He is a musician/composer and totally understands the need to feed your creative side. I joked about opening a shop for years and he is he one that finally pushed me to go for it.

Website: maudewoods.com
Instagram: @maudewoodsstore
Facebook: social@maudewoods.com

Image Credits
Bela Temesvary