Meet Angela Malner of Little Blue Boutique in Calabasas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Malner.

Angela, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was a chef for over 15 years. All over the country. In 2004 my dad retired and purchased a small deli in Calabasas called the Blue Table. I came often to help them and cook and enjoyed the small business aspect of it interacting with local customers. I continued cooking for five more years. One day the city to my family- “You need two bathrooms in order to keep your tables” So they leased another space in the complex. We were celebrating my parent’s anniversary dinner and they were saying they had no idea what they were going to do with the space. At the time, I was cooking daily for over 1,000 people waking up at 3;45am and was exhausted. I exclaimed, “I want to turn it into a gourmet gift shop!” I took a loan out and opened it in less than 30 days. I was commuting from Los Angeles for the first two years, I lived near Dodger Stadium. It was a big change and I had no idea was I was doing. I went into all the small gift stores I could find and asked questions and did research. I was determined to succeed. In the beginning, I was even offering cooking classes and children’s cooking birthday parties since that was a skill I was already proficient in.

Over the years, the gourmet shop slowly turned into a general gift store and I changed the name from Little Blue Gourmet to Little Blue Boutique. I paid attention to what my customer wanted. It has slowly evolved and is still evolving. I have enjoyed meeting people and getting to see them regularly and watching their children grow. Recently I had a family come in with a 15 years old daughter and said the mom went into labor in The Blue Table! I know that my parent’s restaurant was more than just a deli, it was a special place for many people and I try and make my shop that way too. A place to escape, a moment of happiness from the hustle bustle of life not just a place to buy things.

This year we celebrated ten years in business and launched a website. We are excited to be able to ship some happiness nation-wide.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I was a fish out of water. HAHA! I was a chef in the back of a kitchen who loved vintage and kitschy things. In the beginning as a buyer, I purchased so many quirky weird things. I even had an antique stove from the 1950’s for sale in the window. I had no idea what I was doing and what customers in Calabasas wanted. It’s definitely been a learning experience. I was always embraced with my tattoos and vintage style – with so much love from the community, I just had to start selling what people were interested in buying. Every year I think I get a little bit better.

Other struggles were when we were evacuated a week from local fires. That was a scary time for everyone.

This year has been extremely tough being closed for three months during quarantine. We feel so much support and love from the community though and know we will survive this.

Please tell us about Little Blue Boutique.
I think what separates us is we specialize in people as much as the product. Most of our customers that walk in the door know us by name and we know their name and their children. We even get postcards from kids at camp. (and write them back) We are part of their lives. Sure we like helping them find the perfect gift but we like to connect with them. We laugh with them, we cry with them, we celebrate milestones. We celebrate moments like hair growing back after chemo and we hug them when a pet passes away. I don’t know where you find many places like that anymore? And YES – we curate gifts for them too! When we go shopping for the store at the gift shows we look for things especially for our customers and say to each other – “Oh I know who would love this…”

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
The Drive-In. I LOVED going to the movies in the summer. We would swim all day and barbecue in the backyard with all the kids in the neighborhood and as the sun would set my dad would pack up all the kids into the car- probably a few in the trunk on occasion and drive us to the Winnetka Drive-In. I think it was $10 for a carload for a double feature. We would sit in the front row in our pajamas outside laying in lawn chairs the kind the folded out flat. We would eat popcorn and candy and watch TWO movies. It was the best. I saw all the classics. Ghostbusters, ET, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Goonies… All the movies in my pajamas in the front row. The train would go buy every so often. I live a block from there now and on warm summer nights when I hear the train on the track, I close my eyes and picture those memories.

Contact Info:

• Address: 4774 Park Granada #7
  Calabasas, CA 91311
• Website: https://www.shoplittleblue.com/
• Phone: 818 225-8078
• Email: shoplittleblue@gmail.com
• Instagram: @littlebluecalabasas
• Facebook: @littlebluecalabasas
• Twitter: @littlebluestore
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/little-blue-boutique-calabasas

Image Credit:
Elyse Mallasch

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