2008 40 Under 40 Honoree: Carla Stine

“I didn’t know until about six months before I opened my business that I wanted to open a business. I had zero retail experience,” says Stine, owner of Pastiche Décor and Design.

Open since January 2007, in downtown Springfield, Pastiche is a retail home furnishings and gift boutique featuring handmade items from around the world. Stine also does interior design work.

Stine considered an interior design degree but instead earned a degree in art with an emphasis in ceramics from Southwest Baptist University. Marriage, a son and pottery work followed.

Stine was divorced a couple of years ago and was contemplating her next move when she attended a workshop in San Francisco. She met a man who had started a décor store.

“It dawned on me that I could pull off something like that in Springfield,” Stine says. “What better place to start something like that than in Springfield where rent is relatively inexpensive? That was the turning point.”

Two weeks later, she was working on what became Pastiche. The experience has been thrilling and frightening.

“My proudest professional accomplishment is creating a business from scratch, taking the leap of faith with little more than a vision and my life savings. … Many, many times I was terrified, but the hope that my dream might come true kept me going,” Stine says.

She hopes locating her store downtown will encourage other retailers to do the same. She’s also happy to offer consumers a local place to purchase products made from sustainable or recycled materials and fairly traded products and high-design goods. Future goals include online sales.

Stine encourages people to think differently and to trust their instincts. She believes starting a business has helped her find her voice.

“People who know me now and didn’t know me before probably wouldn’t believe that five years ago I was really introverted and shy,” she says.

Having no idea what she was getting herself into may have been a blessing, after all.

“I had such blind optimism. I think that’s what you have to do,” she says. “People who are out there succeeding are succeeding because they’re out there taking risks.”

Double Play

Birth date: Aug. 13, 1968

Family: I am a single mom with a 7-year-old son named Henry, who attends Immaculate Conception and is in the second grade.

Philosophy to live/work by: Socrates said it best: “Know thyself.” I adamantly believe that the better we know ourselves, the better we are in all areas of life.

In a fantasy world, which professional sport would you play? Tennis. I am an avid tennis player because it is a sport that forces you to be in the moment.

Information accurate at the time of the honor.[[In-content Ad]]