Most homeowners only build a home or do a major remodel once or twice in their lives. It’s an exciting time, but can be stressful without the right guidance. Back in 2001, while building their first home in a small Massachusetts town, husband and wife Harsh and Liliette Walia found sourcing stone materials to be one of the most difficult tasks. The Walias found the process arduous, the selections limited, and little guidance determining the pros and cons of different stones. So, they decided to become the experts and founded Granite & Marble Depot near Boston.
While vacationing in Arizona, the family fell in love with the Valley, and a few years later, decided to build a home here. They discovered the same lack of resources for stone, so decided to bring their expertise to the Phoenix area. They opened Arista Quartz & Natural Stones as the Arizona sister store to the East Coast business.
Today, Arista is a family-run business with Harsh and Liliette joined by their daughters, Vidya and Jo. They continue to carry out that initial desire to help others avoid the frustrations they experienced with their first house. Arista is a company created by homeowners and for homeowners, offering hands-on assistance and expertise.
The Arista philosophy is that everyone should be able to have a resource to help them make their design dreams a reality in a creative space. With that goal in mind, they opened a new showroom in Tempe in 2017.
“They wanted to create a space where each client can feel informed, involved, and inspired when designing their new space,” explains daughter Vidya.
Sourcing the right stone, whether it be natural or manufactured, can be a complicated process.
“We don’t expect anyone to come in and know the intricacies of each type of material,” says Vidya. “That’s why our staff is here.”
Arista offers a boutique experience, and works closely with its customers, from selecting a material they love to staying within their budgets.
“Here at Arista, we follow our slogan of a stone for every style and a price for every budget,” Vidya explains. “We recognize that at the end of the day, it’s an expensive decision to invest in your home, and we’d rather customers feel 100% satisfied with their selection rather than trying to get the sale.”
Arista sources directly from quarries and producers around the world. Along with the natural stone, they carry engineered stones such as quartz, which they source from Italy and Malaysia, and porcelain that is manufactured in Spain.
