Local Chico: Home Ec

          After growing up in Chico, moving to Seattle to try something new, and then returning to Chico, in 2011, Christianne Belles finally realized where her heart and future belonged. With past experience working for Macy’s and in Nordstrom’s back office, she learned all about retail, how to run a store, how not to run a store, and (after trying out working for a non-profit in downtown Chico) that retail was where she wanted to stay.

          Having a self-proclaimed “quirky personality”, it’s no wonder that Christianne had such an affinity with the downtown Chico area, and refused to look anywhere else to start her new business. With visions of a "Modcloth meets urban outfitters meets anthropologie" style shop selling home wares and gifts that customers would find ‘oddly appealing’, Home Ec was born. It is Christianne’s mission to have customers either fall in love with, or simply just giggle at each and every “random awesome” hand selected item that is placed in the quaint shop on Main Street.

 “For decorations in a home, everything should have a reason”

          Christianne’s favorite things about owning a business are having creative control, seeing her vision come to life, inspiring and making people happy, and most importantly scheduling. Being a mom of two delightfully beautiful baby girls is her main priority, and being able to create her own schedule for her shop and her two employees helps her balance all things that make her truly happy – family and her business.

          For Christianne, being an entrepreneur meant that she had to take risks and throw herself out there without knowing what the outcome was, but still doing it. It was scary, but an amazing adventure, and credits her ability to be an absolute optimist for giving her the strength to push on. She has no idea what the future holds for Home Ec, but just hopes that it continues to grow and inspire its customers.

For more information on Home Ec, please visit their website or find them on Facebook!