I didn’t start Umah Decor because I wanted to “be successful.”
I started it because I wanted to experience something—
to see what kind of person I would become by building something of my own.
My home base is Canada.
But after a long time away—my first visit back since COVID—I returned to Bali.
At that time, I had already started working in e-commerce for other brands.
I was inside Shopify every single day, finally getting comfortable with online marketing, the rhythms of DTC, and the way a store grows through tiny improvements.
And then Bali did what Bali always does to me: it sparked something.
For years, atta bags were my everyday companions in Bali—and collecting them became its own quiet joy.
Even after I left, they stayed with me as a summer staple.
The kind of piece you reach for without thinking, because it simply fits your life.
Somewhere between revisiting familiar streets and seeing artisans at work again, a thought landed:
What if I built a store around atta—and the beautiful handmade home goods I’ve always loved here?
Not as a trend. Not as fast fashion.
But as timeless pieces made by incredibly skilled hands.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that people in North America would love them too.
Still, it was only a feeling.
A quiet idea.
Until I started speaking it out loud.
There’s someone in California who has supported me since the early days of my client work—someone I trust deeply.
When I shared the idea, the response was immediate::
“You should absolutely do it. We can ship from our warehouse.”
That one sentence changed everything.
The idea suddenly had a path.
Not long after, I asked a Balinese friend—someone connected to trade and logistics—to take me to the village where the most beautiful atta pieces are made: Tenganan.
And they said yes.
When I look back now, it honestly gives me chills.
Because everything was… too connected.
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The e-commerce skills I’d built through client work—and the confidence to bring an idea to life in Shopify.
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My Canon camera skills, which meant I could photograph the pieces right away—back at the villa where I was staying (I’ll share a few of those first shots here).
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The relationships I already had, including friends who could take me all the way to a village like Tenganan.
I remember thinking:
How am I this lucky?
At first, Umah Decor lived only in my imagination.
But then, something started happening.
Messages began arriving through customer reviews—and I started hearing the same kind of words in person at pop-up shops—from people who didn’t know my story, yet somehow understood the feeling behind these pieces.
”the atta box is great just like the photo only better!”
”Pictures don’t do it justice!
It is gorgeous!!!!! Craftsmanship is superb! Very, very impressed!”
"The weaving is so delicate and intricate that I can’t help but admire how much time and skill must go into making it!"
Those words didn’t just make me happy.
They made the whole thing feel real.
Like the idea I carried from Bali to Canada wasn’t only mine anymore.
It had found its people.
And honestly… I’m still in the middle of it.
I’m still learning. Still building. Still adjusting.
Recently, I had a conversation with a business consultant about why people start their own businesses.
The usual answers came up—financial independence, equity, leverage.
All of it makes sense.
But when I sat with the question longer, my own answer felt different.
I’m doing this for the experience—
and for the kind of circulation that feels deeply human:
stories traveling across oceans, respect returning to the hands that make these pieces,
and timeless beauty finding a place in everyday life.
The kind that changes you quietly, while you keep moving.