Nomita Joshi-Gupta
I met Nomita in the Fall of 2019 when we were both accepted into the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program. We were seated at the same table together for the duration of the program. During the program we participate in a ton of activities to run our more efficiently and to think at a new level. She always offered thoughtful advice and help on the many questions and challenges we faced during those few months.
Nomita owns Spruce on Magazine. Her company sells and designs wallpaper, designs homes and restaurants, and assists in your wide range of design needs. Her most recent project was designing All Relation Brewery in Central City, New Orleans.
What made you decide to leave India for college and move to Baton Rouge?
I grew up in a modern educated household in Bangalore India. My father was an architect and my childhood memories were of making countless floor plans and decor ideas for my dream home never once questioning what my profession would become as an adult. My father a self made man had by luck fell into this profession that he happened to be really good at. The next step in his success story was to encourage his daughter abroad to study architecture. I was eager to embark on that adventure and researched countless colleges and applied to many that admitted me but very few with scholarship that I badly needed . With limited funds and with the high exchange rate LSU had the best offer of a waived out of state tuition and a work study to pay for my living. With $1400 I came to USA with the foolish courage of a 18 year old and never looked back. I wanted to be a part of a progressive culture and a part of the modern design. I studied Architecture and moved to New Orleans in 1995. Working hard and studying hard coupled with living in a new country taught me more about life than any book can. My dad often said “Adversity builds Character” and looking back this experience changed my life.
How do you start your day? What are the things you do to ensure you have a successful day?
I start my day with Black Tea and Toast and making breakfast for my lovely family. After my teens and husband are off to work and school I turn to my favorite reading - design blogs and/ or newspaper. Then I make a list at the start of my workday to ensure the immediate tasks are handled in a timely manner.
What are you most excited about that you get to do in your work?
DESIGN!!! I live and breathe design on a daily basis and I love every minute and lucky that I can do what I love every single day. What is your hardest fought win? Reaching out to magazine editors is the hardest in my field… there is a lot of talent out there. We have to fight many layers of people and priorities to get our work published. The New Orleans Homes and Lifestyles Masters in Design Award and Recognition for 2019 was a great win for me and my team.
What was your most successful failure in business?
Spruce was a Home retail store before it became a wallpaper store. E-commerce and big box retailers were hard to compete against. Failing in retail helped me realign and focus on wallpaper and design. Spruce Wallpaper started in 2017 and now in 2020 I am happily in the right direction and about to launch my design studio concept showroom.
What are you reading and listening to right now?
Oh my! we have so much to listen and read- more than ever in history! I love my podcasts Hidden Brain, Radiolab and Rough Translation. Reading I love my Design blogs- Yatzer, Cereal, Yellowtrace The best fiction I read in 2019 was Rules of Civility by Amor Towles - beautiful language is rare these days and a beautiful story nonetheless.
