Today we’d like to introduce you to Cynthia Kaschak-Chamberlain and Dean Chamberlain.
Cynthia and Dean, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The Canyon is the vision of Cynthia Kaschak. She spent over 20 years at Forever 21, Guess, Gap, Bebe, and other brands, she’s worked in almost every area of apparel retail from the sales floor to corporate level. It’s been her lifelong dream to open her own shop, and The Canyon is def her dream come true. Partner Dean Chamberlain was a founding member of the 80’s band The Motels and put out records with his own band Code Blue.
He went on to be VP of Interactive Marketing at an ad agency and a Senior Producer at FOX.com. In the ’60s and ’70s, her partner (and husband) Dean Chamberlain would drive from San Mateo where he grew up to the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco to see the happening bands. Bill Graham (the legendary promoter) would put a huge bucket of free apples in the lobby before each show. Dean loved the spirit of community and generosity symbolized by that offering of apples.
He and Cyn wanted to bring that same sort of community vibe to The Canyon and to capture the combination of the LA canyon past and modern experience – reflect how SoCal hippie culture has evolved since the ’60s and ’70s and adapted to contemporary lifestyles. And to combine the natural and organic and urban, Laurel Canyon days and Sunset Strip nights, and the energy of folk, rock and pop music that brought Cynthia and I together.”
Cynthia says “We love music and Dean is a lifelong musician. For a musician, the ideal gig is when the venue is packed with fans. We’d rather sell to a ton of customers devoted to our style at a lower price point than to a few high rollers. Rock n’ roll is inclusive, not exclusive. We both love the ’60s/’70s rock era and the LA canyon neighborhood we’ve made our home and want to share that attitude and lifestyle with everyone who comes into the store.
In the 60s there was a sense of possibility, of not having to do things the way they had been done before, of a new start. People seem to be liking what we’re doing here, so we’re going to keep doing it the way we want. We don’t have to “go big or go home,” we don’t have to follow industry trends, we can take our time and grow organically, like a living thing. It’s not an “at” thing, it’s an “in” thing. The Canyon is all around you. And wherever you are is a good place to be. Be cool be yourself
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?
Our first challenge was finding a location. For two years we looked at locations in Northern California and in LA. We had agreed on a couple of locations which were yanked away from us at the last minute. It was basically a miracle that we found our current location in Franklin Village.
We’re blessed to have one of the primo spots in LA with foot traffic to die for. But there’s no foot traffic on the web. Nobody happens to be walking by – you have to let people know you’re there and give them reasons to visit your site. That’s our latest challenge – to get the word out about www.shopthecanyon.com.
Please tell us about The Canyon.
The Canyon offers women’s and men’s contemporary apparel with killer curated coordinated vintage for casual wear, work and evening. We carry accessories to match and related lifestyle and home products and have a relaxed, friendly shopping environment. Really – many customers tell us how at home they feel here.
We’re proud we can have a successful business with products at reasonable prices and be active, energizing members of the community. We enjoy introducing people to our vision and esthetic but most of all we love satisfying and delighting our customers.
Seeing them leave the store humming an upbeat tune because they’ve found that piece or outfit that makes them feel good about themselves – it’s the best!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We’re stoked about opening more stores and are looking at other locations. We’re also expanding the website product offerings and beefing up our online magazine content with more stories about the products we sell and the unique characters and wonders in our neighborhood hoping that everyone who visits will become more aware of the stories and wonders in their own neighborhoods.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5911 1/2 Franklin Ave. Ca 90028
- Website: www.shopthecanyon.com
- Phone: 323-378-6125
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/shopthecanyon
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/shopthecanyon/
- Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/the-canyon-los-angeles-3
Image Credit:
Dean Chamberlain, The Canyon, Laura Brandle, Plummy Tucker
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
