Today we would like to introduce you to Devika, the Beauty & Brains that will leave you inspired and renewed.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
As a young child I was lucky to have strong, smart role models. Of course the experiences I have had also have had a significant impact on where I am today, but the people who stand out the most in my life are my grandparents. My grandmothers led me to my life passion, design and philanthropy. They were givers, forward thinkers, and set high expectations for all of us. The week my maternal grandmother passed away, she was literally knitting sweaters for children in the neighborhood. She didn’t like to think about them being cold in the winter and she wanted to make sure they had warm clothes. She was always doing things like this. My paternal grandmother held educational classes in their home for free to teach things like reading, writing & financial competency for people who worked in our neighborhood. The impact they had on my life is profound & watching them live a life in philanthropy has been ingrained in my entire family. My grandparents taught me to be bold and go after what I wanted my life to be. Both my grandmothers always told me I had something women in their generation didn’t have a lot of – and that is CHOICES, and they always supported me and talked me through my life decisions. In a nutshell, my grandparents were total bad asses who made great things happen. They are the driving force behind all that I am and I do.
As a child lived in S. Korea and spent a significant amount of time in India & Europe, we were always on the go. Traveling like this made me realize that the world is bigger than just me. I learned that by submerging myself in each of these new cultures I could enjoy things like trying new foods, and learning about different customs and beliefs but also and fabrics, textures, and colors. I paid very close attention to fashion, architecture, and design in every place I visited and lived.
How did I live such an international life? My parents. They gave up EVERYTHING they knew so that my brother and I could have a better life and more opportunity. They had an arranged marriage, moved all over the world as a couple and then as a family. I never saw them question where life was taking them, they just went with it. After living in S Korea for ten years we moved back to the U.S. and landed in Texas ( home of tex-mex, queso, whataburger, and all things amazing). With that kind of a setup – I have no choice but to be successful and give back to those around me.
Please tell us about DeviCollective or @itsDevikaC
The Devi Collective translates to “the Goddess Collective” – It’s a place of inspiration, fashion, design & most importantly, philanthropy. People visit my site to find not only fashion and beauty finds, but a way to give back to the community and be involved in charities around them.
What sets us apart? We are giving back to several different charities through our sales. A portion of every purchase through my blog goes to charity. We are all so busy, it is hard to give your time. My goal is to make it easy for people to give back. If you are already purchasing the items, why not let some of the purchase go back to help others? I have had consumers request an item they would like to purchase so we can make a link for them to use just so they can give back. People love when they are able to help, even in small ways. If we all do a little it could add up to a lot.
I try to make everyday fashion fun and realistic for women to wear. Believe me, as a mom of three, I have days when I wear my yoga pants and a t-shirt. All of us need those days from time to time. But I want to remind people that it takes just as much time to put on a cute pair of leggings/jeans as it does those yoga pants – and doing something so little and superficial can lift your spirits and give you more energy. As moms and women, we feel guilty taking those extra 2 minutes for ourselves. – I want women to know that it is okay to do that and to know and understand their individual beauty. With social media being such a large part of our lives, we can fall into a life of comparison. It’s important to me that people understand, appreciate and know their beauty. I always share what I’m wearing and will always share style tips so that people can not just buy exactly what I’m wearing, but they can use it as a source of inspiration to create their own look.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Piece of cake right? No. Realistically life is not always so sweet with a cherry on top. 1.5 years ago I became very sick, had to have my thyroid removed – the WHOLE THING. I gained 45 lbs, had no energy, and was completely overwhelmed. At that point I was just trying to survive. After living like that for a while I realized that just surviving was not enough for me and I didn’t like it. After all I want to give back and help people, just like my grandparents did. The love and support my husband (he’s amazing & super sexy if I may say so myself) gave me and the consistent love from my 3 children helped get me to a point where I asked myself-
Who do I want my children to see? I thought back to how many times I use memories of my grandparents and my parents to push me through tough times and decided that now I had to get back to doing my part in making impressions on and create those memories for my children.
Thus, the concept of a style/fashion/lifestyle blog came into my mind. I have a background in design, fashion comes naturally to me, I’m a product JUNKIE, and I’m always researching and trying to find the “newest, latest & greatest.” I’ve always helped my friends & family with style, beauty and maybe even offered my opinion when it wasn’t asked for…..so I just needed to get all of this out of my head and take the plunge. But – did I really think that I could post pictures of myself and my style? I think anyone would have to get over their nerves posting pictures of themselves online, but because I didn’t look how I normally do I had 2 choices –
- Psych myself out and say that I’m “overweight” and people will make fun of me.
- Just stop analyzing, go for it, and embrace the good and the bad that comes with the blogger life.
I swallowed my (usually) under 100 lbs petite girl pride and went for it!
How did that work out for me? Now I feel more beautiful than I’ve ever felt in my life. I am more confident. It empowered me and showed me to appreciate everything my body has been through. Perhaps this happens with age or with motherhood, or maybe it happens after people experience health issues? Regardless I am proud of myself for getting over the insecurities I had and just doing it. Since going through this I have created a rule for myself:
if I think something nice about someone, I just tell them.
Whats wrong with up to a random woman and telling her I like her shirt, or that I think she has pretty hair? (or whatever the nice thought was.) I not only talk the talk of supporting and building up other people. I truly act on it in my everyday life. You know what I’ve realized? It feels wonderful knowing I made someone else feel good about themselves. It’s a funny thing that we are unfortunately not taught – It’s beautiful when women realize that we don’t need to compete with each other, but instead, just support each other.
Another challenge was simply finding the time. My initial idea that this was just something I could do while my kids were in school and it would not impact our everyday life. I was COMPLETELY wrong. In true Devi fashion, I have jumped in 100%, so as my blog is growing, I’m learning to be very prompt and organized with my stringent schedule.
Being a wife and a mom of 3, there is always something going on. Naturally, initially I was nervous about how I would juggle everything, but my family has been nothing short of amazing. Most of the issues that come up are because of my own mom guilt – it’s a real thing y’all! I have to learn to accept that as I grow not only my blog, but dive into starting a new business, there will be times I’m not available and I have to come to peace with that. It has been rewarding to watch my children grow, learn to make their own decisions and be their own people. In other words the “hover mom” stage of my life is (almost) over! This new stage of my life does include them of course and really is inspired by them, but now includes my life passion of fashion, design, and philanthropy.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Coming from a loving family I have several fond memories of my childhood so this is hard. One that really stands out was people singing on the beach. Our condo in South Korea was across the street from the beach. (#nautical) We lived in a home with an INCREDIBLE view. At the time I didn’t realize what a treat this was. For me it was all I knew. Standing on my balcony looking at the beach/sea is a soothing memory that will rest in my mind forever. I would fall asleep to the sound of waves crashing an people singing around a campfire on the beach. This happened every night and I loved it because people were out there just loving the life they were given.
Watching my family in India and in the states open their hearts and homes to people who others would not even acknowledge because they were homeless or illiterate. They always treated everyone with respect. The best lesson my parents have taught me – don’t do things only for people that can do things for you. Help EVERYONE and treat everyone as your equal.
I also enjoyed going to India and London to stay with family there over long school breaks. My parents made sure that my brother and I would have strong connections to our family all over the world, despite though the distance between us.
Traveling and seeing all parts of the world and experiencing new cultures was something I fell in love with at a young age. I am lucky to have parents who wanted to teach me that while people from different cultures with different beliefs might have different philosophies – we are all human and in the end, the same.
Staying up late at night listening to my grandmothers tell me stories of their childhood/lives, and listening to my grandmother sing.
Visiting my family in India, and just knowing I could come and stay. They never made me feel like a guest and always welcomed me into their homes.
All of these experiences and all of the love, support and encouragement from my husband and family has helped me become the person I am today. We have a question we ask each member of our household everyday, and now I challenge your readers with this question –
Who have you helped today?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.DeviCollective.com
- Email: DeviCollective@gmail.com
- Instagram: @itsDevikaC
Image Credit:
@eleanormichaelphotography, @hellosarahkay, @klaynephotography
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