Indio White

While I love everything about the title of this post, let's be realistic, there is no creating a "kid-free" space in a home with two toddlers. I don't know about you, but every inch of our house has been claimed by the boys. There are toys everywhere! We have purchased furniture, massive furniture, just to be able to store their toys and not feel like we live in a funhouse. Although, sometimes living in a funhouse isn't so bad. Sometimes it's actually... fun!

But, at the end of a wild and crazy day with the boys, hubby and I need to be able to relax and retreat to a space where we feel like our-prekids-selves. So, to give ourselves a little bit of a reprieve from the wilderness of childhood, we have started turning our bedroom into a sort of sanctuary, where we can feel like adults. After the kids go to bed, that is.

For me, it is in the details. We love our furniture, but furniture is just furniture until you add accents and accessories. We still have to be very careful as to what we place within the reach of little fingers. Little fingers like to explore and cannot always hold on to what they have chosen to inspect. So, we decorate with beautiful throws and lovely pillows. We add splashes of color where we can and try to place delicate things out of the reach of chocolate covered toddler hands.

Deciding on these sanctuary details is not easy when you are so limited by the thought of the kids getting to whatever it is that you want.

One day last week, I was on Instagram and found the most beautiful account, Indio White. I literally spent about an hour admiring their photos and day dreaming about how we would decorate our home according to their pictures.

Of course, all of the plants would be knocked over and the dirt from the planters would be all over the floor. Let's not forget my kid's fascination with pulling leafs off of plants.

The knick-knacks that I would so lovingly place on a coffee table, would all be turned into toys or broken shards of glass, and the white furnishings would be a mix of food, paint and marker stains. But one can dream!

In fact, I did dare to dream. After falling in love with the beautiful accessory shop for the nomadic home, I decided that I really wanted to know more about the shop, the products and who it is that put this eye candy in front of me. I wrote Tina Fisher of Indio White as soon as the thought hit my day-dreamy brain, and she wrote back.

Shortly after that, I had to interview her!

Here, for your enjoyment, is my interview with Tina Fisher of Indio White and Fisher Interiors Group aka FIG Studio.

Are you the sole owner of Indio White?

I own and operate Indio White with my husband Jason.

How long ago did you start this business?

We officially launched our website in March of this year.

Is there a physical store or online only?

At this time we are running our store online with hopes to establish a brick and mortar location in the future. Jason and I have an established interior design and drafting firm known as Fisher Interiors Group also known as FIG Studio which keeps us pretty busy. Having an online presence allows us the flexibility to continue with our design and travel to source new artisans for our collections. We met almost 20 years ago while we were both living in Maui, Hawaii and since then we have lived and traveled to so many amazing and exotic places.

What made you decide to do this?

As Interior Designers we are constantly sourcing and purchasing items for our clients. This coupled with the experience of living and working in countries like China and Australia as well as years of backpacking and hostel hopping the rest of the globe, we have developed a keen sense of what people are looking for in their homes. We always made it a habit to get to know local Artisans in the communities we would explore. It was just a natural progression really. We used our passion of travel to connect our designs to the world. Designing can be limiting according to each job and clients parameters so our retail side allows us to express who we are with total autonomy. Our design style will be incorporated more and more into our retail business as we continue to grow. If we were to have cart blanche on a design according to our desires then it would be a twisted blend of styles including Art Nouveau, raw Tropical and weathered Spanish Colonial.

Do you make any of your products yourselves or do you have them all made for your store?

Some of the products sold on indiowhite.com we make ourselves with items sourced from Africa like the Beaded Swag. These are made up of Recycled glass and clay beads as well as rare Ostrich egg shells. Other items, like the Sabra Pillows and Pom Pom Blankets are hand made by Berber women in their homes in the Atlas Mountain Region of Morocco. Our last trip to India opened the door for us to begin offering Block printed Kantha Quilts, Applique cutwork quilts and coming soon our stunning, 100% Pashmina Cashmere blankets. These are the softest blankets I have ever felt with beautifully ornate patterns so we are very excited to offer them.

Tell me a lot about yourself. I want to know everything!

My husband and I firmly believe that traveling abroad and experiencing first hand other cultural aesthetics is one of the biggest drives in our life. It lead us to seek after the beautiful and exotic things that have always lured us away into foreign lands. When we travel we always go in the off season and stay in less expensive hostels, Airbnb or hotels, which allows us to have a more grounded experience with the locals. We don’t spend much time in our room, so why pay more for a luxurious place. Our time is spent exploring the streets or hanging by the beach. We have always been drawn to coastal destinations, especially where there is surf. I grew up on the coast in Southern California so I was always in a bikini and Jason surfs, so we feel most at home near the water. We live a pretty simple life, never wanting the big home, but always saving for new adventures in far off lands.

Taking off is easy because we don’t have any children of our own, instead we have 24 Nieces and Nephews. We get our parental fix by spoiling them for the day. We have them building their lists of countries they want to visit with Aunty and Uncle.

Tina and Jason Fisher sound like one amazing couple. I love their passion for travel, their style and their products.

For our sanctuary, we chose one of Indio White's Sabra Pillows, a beautiful addition to our retreat. Whenever I lay down and look at this beautifuly handmade pillow, I dream of Morocco and all of the exploring hubby and I will do with our kids, once they are older.