Unique jewelry with prices typically ranging from $25 to $100
RETAIL
What’s Checking: Eagle Rock Caters to the Local Crowd
Nestled between Glendale and Pasadena, Calif., Eagle Rock’s retail scene is slowly but surely growing around the junction of Eagle Rock Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard. The community counts families and college students as the majority of its local residents, and retailers have found success in offering niche merchandising through artisan products, sourcing locally and maintaining a strong point of view.
GIFT OF GARB
1615 Colorado Blvd.
After helping to clean out closets 14 years ago and selling on eBay, Abby McLucas quit her corporate job and a full-time job to focus three years ago on Gift of Garb.
She always knew she wanted to open a bricks-and-mortar location, carrying modern, wearable pieces with a Barney’s Co-Op/Opening Ceremony/Steven Alan feel, where every piece is impressive. There is no digging to find quality pieces like at other resale stores because the entire store is tightly curated with contemporary and designer pieces. Designer pieces include Phillip Lim, Alexander Wang, DVF, Isabel Marant, Ero, Helmut Lang, Rag & Bone and Marni.
McLucas opened her retail location last August and has had heavy foot traffic despite minimal marketing. “Eagle Rock was an ideal location to open a store because it is a happening hub to surrounding neighborhoods Pasadena, Glendale and Highland Park. Most of my customers have found us by driving or walking by or word of mouth,” McLucas said. She does use Instagram daily to announce new arrivals but does not utilize any other marketing strategies.
McLucas maintains two online stores plus the bricks-and-mortar location. Her Eagle Rock store currently accounts for about 40 percent of total business. Around 60 percent of her merchandise is consigned, with the other 40 percent new. She works directly with different labels to stock limited quantities of select styles.
LETTERS FROM LA
5022 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Letters From LA has been in Eagle Rock for four years and has a laid-back atmosphere that mirrors “carefree California style,” as owner Sasha Martinus put it. The retailer carries brands such as Citizens of Humanity, Bella Luxx, BB Dakota, L*Space and Daydreamer LA, plus clothing and jewelry that Martinus designs under her own label, Letters from LA.
Some of her top-selling styles lately are “slouchy knit BB Dakota sweaters for spring transition, Citizens of Humanity crop jeans to wear now with booties and soon with sandals, and great-fitted cotton tees and silk button-ups from Bella Luxx,” according to Martinus.
She also does really well with the house line, which is designed and manufactured in downtown LA. “Our customer base is diverse—sultry rock chicks, bohemian babes and more-understated and classic women,” the store owner said.
O and M LEATHER
5048 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Having just opened this past November, husband-and-wife team and owners Oscar Morales and Michelle Trayfoot-Morales have almost two decades of combined experience in leather working and jewelry making.
The couple works out of the back half of the store, where Oscar hand makes bike panniers, belts, bags, wallets, bracelets, key chains, trays, notebook covers, and iPhone and iPad sleeves, plus other accessories. Michelle makes jewelry from wire, metal and crystals by hand. Everything in the store has the option to be customized, ranging from adding rivets to stamping the customer’s name into any item.
Michelle said business has been great, noting that all their customers are local. In addition to their retail platform, they also offer a variety of basic leather-working classes ($200/class) and metal-stamping jewelry classes ($100/class) out of their work studio. Michelle said that all the classes have been “very popular.”
Bike panniers are offered in the traditional belt-and-buckle attachment or with modern hooks and retail for $280. Men’s and women’s leather belts range between $75 and $95, leather totes range from $320 to $380, and their best-selling handbag retails for $295.
SOL’S BOUTIQUE
4516 Eagle Rock Blvd.
Buying mainly from places in downtown LA, Sol’s Boutique carries mostly young contemporary brands at affordable price points, catering to local students.
According to Cindy Lopez, the store manager, Sol not only sells to locals, but it also utilizes Instagram to connect with customers around the country, for whom they happily ship orders. “Dresses and rompers have been extremely popular lately,” Lopez said.
OWL TALK
5060-B Eagle Rock Blvd.
Having been in the same location for 20 years now, Owl Talk is owned and run by sisters Kathleen and Sharon Kroner. It offers contemporary and vintage clothing and accessories. Although the majority of their clothing is vintage, they do stock contemporary jewelry brands such as Nashelle (around $100 per piece) and A Mano (price points start at $25), which they source in downtown Los Angeles, and Blue Q pouches made in Massachusetts.
“We have an eclectic mix of customers,” Sharon Kroner said. “They are just about all local and of all ages.”
