Today we’d like to introduce you to Diana Gabriel Southern.
Hi Diana, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I spent 10+ years as an artist, becoming a self-taught jewelry designer. Always a creative, I knew from an early age I wasn’t going to have a traditional job. I sold to boutiques throughout California and the Pacific Northwest.
In 1998, I opened my first boutique/studio in my small hometown of Los Osos, CA, a residential town in San Luis Obispo County. It was a combination of my handmade jewelry, vintage clothes, shoes, purses and housewares found at thrift stores, garage sales and swap meets. I grew up hitting garage sales with my dad on his never-ending quest of fishing gear, which grew into my love of previously owned treasures, vintage and the eclectic. Adding these elements really complemented my handmade creations and a boutique was born.
It was amazing. I could create and be with my young son while I worked. Then, came the 2003 San Simeon earthquake, which left my studio space uninhabitable. Rather than rent another retail space, I built a studio on my own property and continued to make jewelry. Working from home allowed me more flexibility and more time with my husband and son. My passion for thrift produced unique findings to incorporate into my work. I continued to resell clothes and wares at markets and other boutiques.
Do you remember 2008? It was the height of the recession. People stopped spending money on luxury items; it became a time of conscious consumerism. Jewelry sales plummeted. Everyone I knew started losing their homes. To make it worse, my marriage was ending. We lost my family home in foreclosure, along with my beautiful studio.
Like so many others, I had no idea what I was going to do next. I never went to college and at 34, had only retail experience. Needing money, I began working full-time at a boutique but my heart wasn’t in it. I was at such a difficult crossroad in my personal life and let’s face it, retail pay in 2008 was crap. I had an idea, though…and if anyone can build something from a pile of nothing, it’s ME.
Partnering with a friend going through a similar family situation, in November 2008, we combined what little money we had and opened a little women’s consignment shop in Los Osos called Change Of A Dress (COAD). We created a casual “beach mom” shop you could go to when the kids were at school. Here we could still raise our children, sell my handcrafted jewelry and resell all the clothes, shoes, and belongings from our previous lives. In fact, the shop’s opening inventory was right out of our own closets. Which meant that basically, we had two sizes available in the shop that first day: Hers and Mine.
We become a place where you could sell your once-loved (or never loved) items and get a percentage of the proceeds. It was genius. To this day, the most common thing I hear from women is “I have a closet full of clothes (or fill in the blank), I never wear, use, still has tags on it.” We are a society of excess, and everyone would rather get something rather than nothing for their possessions. Their excess became our inventory, which constantly comes in.
Change Of A Dress became so popular we were actually approached to be in the newly built Granada Hotel in San Luis Obispo. The space was tiny, but we opened in downtown San Luis Obispo (SLO) in the summer of 2012. The SLO location became quite successful. Rent was higher, but so was the merchandise that started to come in. We went from Birkenstocks to Manolo’s. We tried to turn the Los Osos shop into an annex for the SLO shop but the style was too casual there. We decided to close the original shop in Los Osos and focus solely on the newer, higher-end downtown boutique.
In 2015, I bought out my business partner and became sole proprietor at COAD. I moved to a bigger shop in downtown SLO and the items brought in became more eclectic. I was selling more housewares and small furniture in addition to clothing and my jewelry. I kept outgrowing my retail space, so every time the option to renew the lease came around, I had to decide whether to move or stay put. I had to reinvent myself with every new storefront. 2019 became the most successful year for COAD; I was finally making real money, and had the ability to grow. Instead of moving, I decided to add another location on SLO’s main downtown street, Higuera. Shortly after starting the new leasing process for the second shop in April of 2020, COVID-19 arrived.
The first night after we were told to shelter at home, I smoked a fat joint with my then 20-year-old son. I hadn’t smoked since I was his age, but figured, what the hell? While we sat on the porch swing in the old oak in front of our home in Atascadero, I spiraled into the realization that, somehow, this was it. This could be the end of everything I had worked so hard for…gone. I had no idea how I would be able to stay open.
Between high downtown rents, overhead, and the consignment shop business model (inventory now, pay a percentage later), I was going to use all of my personal savings just to stay afloat and pay off consignors who were due and desperate for any funds owed to them. If I know anything, integrity in this business and the trust you earn from long-time patrons in a small town means everything. I wasn’t about to lose that too. We live in a time where one negative online review can kill your business. We are in the “court of personal opinion”, especially if you are a community-driven business. Most people are referred to thrift shops by word of mouth, and your reputation is the backbone of business.
That night, after getting high and then hitting all-time LOW, I knew what to do. Everything became very clear. First, I wrote a letter to all my current consignors, expressing appreciation for their patience. I promised they would get paid and could pick up their unsold items. I gave my heartfelt thanks for their patronage over the years. I was not quitting, but wasn’t sure where I would end up.
When the “shelter at home” order was lifted and I could return to work, I reopened COAD, only to close it down. I did not renew my current lease, and stopped negotiations for the second location. I paid off all consignors owed, returned all remaining inventory, and sold off everything left. Ironically, when the shop closed in June of 2020, Change Of A Dress won the San Luis Obispo award for “Best Consignment Shop” in the county. Well, Shit. This was an award I had always wanted. Now I earn it and literally, there was nothing left to show for it. It felt like a mercy f**k.
During the mandatory shelter-at home order, I didn’t sit idle, wallowing in defeat. I applied and was approved for the Emergency Disaster Loan offered through the EDD. I took it. I don’t know anyone in business who didn’t. I rewrote my business plan. I kept everything about Change of A Dress that worked and took out what didn’t. I thought about what would survive if there was another crisis that was beyond my control. Truth be told, stores like mine tend to thrive during financially lean times. I knew that my business still had a chance.
I wanted to create a space curated with my own finds; I wanted to be the only person represented in my shop through what I found during an awesome day out with my dog Maybelline. In addition to clothing, shoes, purses, and jewelry, we would have an extensive library (cause, yes to BOOKS!), lots of houseplants, furniture, and handmade items. I would host workshops for the modern homesteader. Like all my stores, this one has a different feel. Think Gypsy Cowgirl. Sissy Hankshaw vibes. I also changed how people sold their goods to in the shop. Instead of items left on consignment, customers trade in or trade up. You can get cash or store credit for anything in the shop. Set buying days; no appointments necessary.
I abandoned assuming downtown was the only place to set up shop. Rents would be high; people were still social distancing and there was the never-ending issue of parking. I wanted to become a destination away from the competition of restaurants, bars, boutiques, movie theaters, and musical venues.
I rented an off-the-beaten-path, 3,000-square-foot empty industrial space and spent four months building it out to accommodate a storefront. I finally opened an online shop. Thanks to Google, Yelp, Instagram and other social media platforms, as well as online search engines, “location, location, location” has less importance for a hidden gem like us.
In October 2020, I rebranded myself and opened as PUEBLO (often referred to as Southern PUEBLO) in Atascadero, CA. Aptly named after my Indigenous Heritage, I wanted to honor my family, its traditions, and the true essence of being at and loving one’s home and family. Instead of just catering to an exclusive female clientele, we would have items for the whole family. The Tribe.
It’s been almost four years since I moved into our current location. All I can say is when you find us, stay a while; the finds are aplenty, conversations are encouraged, and we’re glad you found us.
If I have learned anything since opening the doors in 2008,
I still swear by all good things in my life have been used. Clothes, Cars, Dogs and My Man.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Over the years, the challenges and obstacles have remained the same:
To be a business that makes enough money to keep the doors open and also to give yourself a salary. This, by the way, takes years.
Navigating the ups and downs of slow months and busy months, and how to compensate accordingly to survive unexpected but necessary expenses.
Starting over from scratch every time you move. Acknowledging that it’s like opening a brand-new business every time.
Knowing that your business is all-consuming. It’s your parent, your child, your life.
Vacations are never a vacation. Inevitably, you’re always one foot in your business because something always comes up that only you can solve.
You have to be present. The more successful you get, the harder you work. I am always striving to be better than yesterday.
Letting go enough to entrust your baby with others. I’ve hired the most amazing women to help run the shop. These extraordinary ladies allow me to delegate a lot of the responsibility.
Last but not least: BALANCE. Find the time for yourself and other things in your life that are important. Make sure you have some measure of quality in your life.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I own a high-end curated thrift store. Along with owning my business, I also am the buyer and do all the merchandising in the shop.
I still dapple in the arts. I have come full circle back to my roots and started making jewelry again for some small local boutiques, and have began weaving and creating with fiber.
What do you think about happiness?
I find the most joy in people who love what they’re doing. Sure, the money is nice; it’s a great perk. Simply, the most happiness I get is when someone who has never heard of us, walks in and I hear “WOW”.
It means that we’re doing something right.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.southernpueblo.com
- Instagram: southern.pueblo
- Facebook: Pueblo-Curated Thrift
- Yelp: Pueblo-Curated Thrift
- Other: Google Pueblo-Curated Thrift
Image Credits
Diana Gabriel Southern
