With all of the new restaurants and bars opening up around Fayetteville, Hargett, and Wilmington Streets, it’s easy to overlook some of the businesses that have been downtown long before the area’s resurgence. One such example is Dechen Collections, a family-run operation on Blake Street in City Market specializing in hand-made goods crafted by Tibetan refugees located in Nepal, India, and Thailand.

The store is run by Dechen Paldon and her husband Karma Tashi, both Tibetan nationals. Operating a business selling hand-made items wasn’t something she decided to do on after moving to the United States, however. Her parents ran a similar store outside the refugee camps in Nepal, and she ran one of her own for 18 years before emigrating to the United States over 10 years ago. They have operated out of City Market for about 8 years.

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The welcome area of the Edmisten Law building on the corner of Salisbury and Hargett Streets appears to have been unchanged since the late 1970s or early 1980s. Although law offices aren’t known for out of the ordinary or cutting-edge interior décor, this one in particular seems to be especially locked in time and unchanged for quite a while.

My sister Katie, after a long night of strolling and drinking downtown.