Hello,
I’m Rima – Proprietor of Green Mansions.
Let me start with my name “Rima” and its origins. Before I was born, my father read the novel Green Mansions – published in 1904 by William H. Hudson and fell in love with the character of “Rima”. In 1959, Green Mansions – the movie debuted, and the role of “Rima” was played by the amazing and beautiful actress Audrey Hepburn. Well, my dad always dreamed of having a little girl to name “Rima”; hence my beginning.
ABOUT ME:
I’m an ambivert (both extravert & introvert). I was raised in a small and quaint college town in California which helped shape my vision for Green Mansions. Living in a small town allowed me to dream of a world bigger than its small zip code, and where I dreamed of living on the east coast someday. It is through my travels, domestic and abroad, that I came to adore brick-and-mortar shopping experiences; their architecture, displays, ambiance, sounds, scents, products, and services. You could say, I loved retail therapy! I knew one day, I would open my own brick-and-mortar and share those memories from the gifting and services boutiques I worked for during college ; it just took 25 years to get there.
After graduating from college – I began a 22 year career in Information Technology “I.T.” as a Systems Engineer and Technical Project Manager for large enterprises. In 2010, after feeling burnt out in “I.T” - I decided to take courses in design at Interiors Designers Institute “IDI” in Newport Beach, CA – and launched Green Mansions Designs while holding down my corporate position. I started with floral designs which I could create on weekends - so as not to interfere with my corporate responsibilities. It was a great way to nurture my creativity side and learn the steps and processes to starting a business.
In 2013, our family moved from California to Northern Virginia and where “home” is. It was in Virginia – that I began the home décor and vintage part of my business - by renting out a room in an antique shop as a merchant in the quaint towns of Aldie, Middleburg, and Marshall, Virginia. In 2016, the opportunity to purchase commercial space presented itself; and in September 2017 (my dad’s birthday) – we opened the doors to Green Mansions in our community of Leesburg, VA. It was here that I could finally express myself in our brick-and-mortar, collaborating with artisans and provide design services for curated gifts. I never imaged that opening our doors would allow us the privilege to meet such amazing and loving clients/friends and community. I never imagined that Green Mansions would curate thousands of gifts and bring so much joy to its recipients.
NEXT:
Since our business has evolved considerably –we have moved our operations away from our brick-and-mortar. We are accepting booking orders from business-to-business (B2B) clients. We look forward to working with you to design thoughtful gifts. To learn about our curated gift framework – see our Processes link or email us at info@green-mansions.com. We prefer to work directly with clients and are holding off on our ecommerce platform to allow us the opportunity to collaborate.
GRATITUDE:
Thank you to my mom (a nurturing artist), and my dad (a writer/dreamer) for giving me life, love, encouragement and the strength to watch me figure things out on my own from the sidelines. Thank you to my beloved David for asking for my hand in marriage, your abundant love, friendship, strength, kindness, coaching, selflessness, encouragement and making my dream of starting Green Mansions come true. Marrying you was the BEST decision of my life. Thank you to our clients, friends, community for your continued love and support.
I look forward to hearing from you and collaborating.
NEXT CHAPTER:
Our next page begins with "Truck & Toile" lifestyle; posts from a curated life on the road, its adventures and where destiny finds us. Stay tuned for Truck & Toile developments in Q4/2022.
xoxo Rima
