The Ten Days of Christmas! Day Two

When we first placed this vintage set of lockers in the store, we knew it reminded us of something. Blame it on the fact we were knee deep in tent-pee making and holiday decorating, but it finally dawned on us--it's an advent calendar! And so, we are opening one door per day to reveal the treasures inside. Ho ho ho and fa la la la, here is our annual Ten Days of Christmas:

Day One: Flannels!

Day Two

Jewelry!
Pick a necklace, a ring or a pair of earrings, whichever make your eyes marvel--through chilly days they'll add an extra sparkle. Give them as gifts to the one you love, because presents like these will put you one above.

The Ten Days of Christmas! Day One

When we first placed this vintage set of lockers in the store, we knew it reminded us of something. Blame it on the fact we were knee deep in tent-pee making and holiday decorating, but it finally dawned on us--it's an advent calendar! And so, we are opening one door per day to reveal the treasures inside. Ho ho ho and fa la la la, here is our annual Ten Days of Christmas:

Day One

Flannel Shirts! 
We are overflowing with great flannels for both good girls and boys in all sizes and colors, they're better than toys. All at a great cost, you'll stay warm through the month's of ole Winter's frost.

Pop Up at the Rose this Saturday!

This Saturday, December 6th, we are doubling our vintage stock here at the shop--by hosting our friend Jennifer Randall!

She'll be at the store from 11-5p with her handpainted vintage trailer, RetroSLO. It will be vintage on the cheap, with nothing over five dollars. Here's a bit from Jennifer on her story into selling:

I have been a lover of vintage items since I was a kid. I remember going to a certain antique store, Kay Luke's, with my parents quite often as I was growing up. I always got one treasure each time I went. Once it was a breadbox, or a small glass animal, or a pair of gloves, and so on. I still have each of these items today.  Sifting through the lovely and often forgotten items was so much fun. Each one had a story to discover.
Within the last few years I purchased two women's entire lifetime collections of clothing and accessories. They couldn't handle the storage or selling of the clothing, due to time, health and finances. I receive such joy by going through the endless boxes of dresses, lingerie, leather coats and hats and on and on! With each purchase, I felt I was doing something positive for these women by re-homing their hundreds of boxes of items. I look forward to others finding their treasure pieces, something fun, whimsical or downright gorgeous. I try to keep things super affordable, get the items out into the world and being enjoyed!

Check out her Etsy store (link above) for a preview, then come on down and see her haul!

Shop Small: We're Open!

Today is a day for leftovers and family and shopping--locally! We will be open our normal business hours today, as well as tomorrow (11-5:30p) for Shop Small Saturday. If you find yourself in San Luis Obispo, we would love for you stop by, shop, and have some hot cider & cookies on us! For the rest of you out there, we hope you find a way to shop locally and support your small businesses over the holidays--buy local and support the mom and pop business in your community. Have a wonderful weekend!

Where's your favorite local store? 

Weekly Six: Thanksgiving Edition

It's time for hosting and being hosted--a time for giving lots of thanks for the bounties before us! For our Weekly Six today, we set our own table and picked our favorite things to put the mostest in your hostest. So, without further adieu, we bring you:

1: Oh, for the love of condiments: cranberries, olives, butters, chutneys, roasted pepitas, veggies and more! This is one platter you won't have to pass, for it's got lazy susan bearings. Give it a spin, and let the turkey settle in.

2: What do you think the Pilgrims and Indians used to eat their first Thanksgiving feast with? We're thinking outside the napkin for unique place setting ware--music sheets and vintage flower book pages really spruce up the place settings--and twigs as silverware!

3: This is a holiday for loose fitting jeans and dresses, and comfortable cushions for hours of dining. This pair of plush black chairs are sleek, soft, and easy to clean (kid table friendly)! Bring something to the table that will keep your guests gathered for hours.

4: Nap time! As the tryptophan sets in, lay back into a rich, deep velvet chair. Pull up a side table with some tea and pie, and let your turkey coma take hold, you can do the dishes tomorrow.

5: Lots of family and not enough glassware? With a whole day of feasting, one can never have too many glasses. From water to wine to beer to coffee, we have extras of whatever you need! And they're ones that leave a good impression on your guests--gold details and etched in floral prints. 

6: What's a harvest feast without platters to pass? Silver classes up the table, makes for a beautiful backdrop for yams and potatoes, and holds gravy best! Pick up the right size and shape for your famous Thanksgiving dish and really wow the folks!

Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving for our crew to yours--we are so thankful for you. What do you find yourself most thankful for today?

Why We Love Vintage

Vintage carries a touch of nostalgia on its back. When we find the perfect piece--perfectly worn and the fit just right--a number of mixed feelings come into play. Our sense of maturity in discovering and pulling off a fashion of old combines with our childlike love for playing dress up, to give a bit more depth and expression to what we wear out into the world. It makes the clothing that much more endearing.

On one of our recent junking trips, I came across this Patagonia jacket from the eighties. It was just exactly like the one I had in my twenties--all but mine had grey lining instead of teal. Finding it brought a rush of good memories back from my travels to Europe one summer--it was my travel coat. It went with me to Belgium to Italy to Greece, a Sound of Music tour in Austria (even though I hadn't seen the movie yet!), mountain biking through the hills of Southern California, and loads of other adventures. And boy were the eighties in full swing: check out those shorts, the hair, those Reeboks!

This found jacket doesn't match my current uniform or look, but it reminded me of my old love who traveled on my back with me years ago--I wonder where my jacket ended up? Ironically, I just put a black Patagonia jacket on my Christmas list--for chilly days at swap meets with friends, making even more memories and adventures.

Slocal Biz: Curio

While we do not operate on trade or consignment, San Luis Obispo has some great local businesses who do. One of them is Curio Women's Resale, owned and operated by Donna Cody. She is a great friend and colleague to Ruby Rose, and curated a great shop down in the Creamery. Here about her story, and space, here:

Tell us a little bit about Curio—how you got started and what your vision for it was.

I opened the store eight years ago. i love to hunt for stuff—I love flea markets and yard sales, I would always find great items and then they wouldn’t be my size, or I didn’t need it. And then I thought, Gosh, man this is a great item it would be great to have an outlet where I can find stuff I love and pass it on to my customers at a really good deal. I like to be something between a thrift store and a consignment shop: I’m not as expensive as consignment but it should be a little more than a thrift store, because everything is handpicked and just for the store.
I have a couple women that have helped me for a few years find stuff—they sell at the local flea market and they also sell online—they let me handpick all my favorite things from them before they actually go to the flea market. My customers can bring things in and get credit to shop.

What is the process for people bringing items in? Do they need to set up an appointment with you?

We ask them to go to our website now and click on the Trades tab. They can see what we’re doing—whether we’re trading that day, specifically what we need or don’t need, before they actually come in with their items.

How do you like your location in the Creamery?

I picked the location because I think resale shops should be off the beaten path a little bit. Part of the fun of a resale shop is discovering it. And the fact it’s on the corner—I always imagined a little shop on a corner so from both entrances you can see the store. The Creamery doesn’t get a ton of foot traffic, but we have new owners and they’ll be redoing a lot of the Creamery—a courtyard out front with outdoor seating for the restaurants, music venues, etc. They’re working on facelifting the whole place and I want to wait it all out because I hope more people will be interested in having their businesses in here. I like being down here, and though I would sometimes like to be closer to other spots like Ruby Rose, I would be silly to loose this spot. I have yearly people that will come in and say, This is my spot, I’m traveling from San Francisco or LA, and they think it’s a great deal.

Who is your demographic of shoppers?

I actually had a helper one time who kept track of everyone who walked in here—we guestemated their age, whether they purchased or didn’t purchase—just to see. And we have everyone from seventeen year olds to seventy year olds. When we broke them down into ranges, and got to be eighteen to sixty—there was really no difference. I do try to gear towards a young minded person, but I have a lot of women who come in here who are more middle-aged and different sizes who I cater to. If I could pick, I would just have really funky, unique, eclectic fun stuff and not worry about the, Do you have suit for work for me? type inquiries. But I do break it up—I won’t have the suit, but I’ll maybe have a skirt and a jacket you can put together.
The most fun way to do a resale shop is when you get to do all the hunting—when it’s really busy in here I can hire people to be at the shop and I can go out. But having customers bring items in, I still have to like the stuff, see that it has potential. I get to be creative in that way.



Are you a native to San Luis Obispo?

I am—my grandmother who’s 94 used to come to the Creamery with her grandparents when this was actually a creamery (milk processing plant). My family has been here for seven generations. I know that sounds like a lot, but I also have a Native American family who’s from Salinas—that’s my heritage. I’ve take a couple years and been in other places, like in the Bay Area for three years, but this is where is my family and my roots are.

New Biz in Town: Central Coast Archery

It was just a few years ago archery found its resurgence from voracious readers' turned hunters. The Hunger Games brought archery back into the pop conscious, only for many of us to realize it has been a prominent sport for many years prior. For the Wilson family, it has been more than a twenty-year-in-the-making dream of opening their own archery shop. Scott and his two sons, Daniel and Joel, have turned the family hobby into their family business, opening Central Coast Archery off Los Osos Valley Road this past September 2014. Here they share their passion with our community through a fully stocked, professionally operated retail archery store and indoor shooting range--offering lessons and leagues to accommodate long time experienced archers as well as those who've only seen bows and arrows in the movies.

We've had the privilege of knowing this SLOcal family for quite awhile as both customers and friends--and are so excited to see this new biz in town (it also seems to pair well with our love of all things Native American). A few of us at the store have a budding skill in archery, while the rest of our crew is looking forward to learning something new!

Have you ever tried your hand at archery? Tomorrow (Saturday, November 15) join Central Coast Archery for their grand opening from 9-5p--free archery and BBQ (don't worry, you won't have to kill your own meat), enter to win a free bow (and more),  and hear from paralympic World Champion Jeff Fabry (10a and 2p). Take home a bull's eye and maybe an arrow or two, and join the fun being had by the Wilsons in their new space! See you there!

Follow this SLOcal biz on Facebook and on Instagram (@centralcoastarchery)