10 minute read
Rodeo Gallery
A boutique where the vibe is real and the stuff is cool.
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@shineupfunkzone
Lewis & Clark
Lewis & Clark was founded in downtown Santa Barbara in 1981 by mother and daughter Elizabeth and Lisa Reifel. For almost forty years, it has flourished as one of Central California's most unique and beloved shops, with a hand-picked inventory of collectibles, curios, antiques, jewelry, holiday decor and household goods. 1116 State Street, 805.962.6034
LOVEWORN
Loveworn is an artistic melange of California cool, road-trip, rock-and-roll and old-school beach culture, reflected in an exclusive collection of custom-made, hand-crafted clothing and accessories. Shop the impressive collection of vintage denim and be sure to check out Rodeo of the Arts Gallery next door featuring works by local artist Wallace Piatt. 11 Anacapa Street, 805.895.8330, shoploveworn.com
marc normand gelinas
California-based interior designer Marc Gelinas has clients from coast to coast. Fortunately for those in the Santa Barbara area he also has a working studio and showroom in Montecito's Upper Village, which houses fine antiques, luxury fabrics, rugs and other rare treasures. 1482 East Valley Road Unit #41, 805.770.5770, marcnormandgelinas.com
OCCHIALI
In business since 1988, Occhiali is the area's exclusive distributor for top international eyewear. It's also the place to go for both fashion-forward and classic eyewear and sunglasses. They combine highfashion awareness with prescriptive expertise. 1046 Coast Village Road, 805.565.3415, occhialieyewear.com
PORCH
Porch is Summerland’s destination for effortless and sophisticated California beach style. Curated with a mix of home furnishings, decor and gifts with a global and organic influence, Porch offers customers an eclectic shopping experience. 2346 Lillie Avenue, 805.684.0300, porchsb.com
Renaissance Fine Consignment
Specializing in affordable luxury, Renaissance Fine Consignment resells only the finest designer items for women including premier designer clothing, handbags, jewelry and accessories. Based in the heart of downtown, Renaissance is like no other Santa Barbara shopping experience. 1118 State Street, 805.963.7800
RIVIERA TOWEL COMPANY
Shop a full collection of artisan-woven towels, bathrobes, blankets, and bags, along with a beachy selection of accessories at this designer showroom, where portion of every sale of their beautiful, highquality Turkish towels is donated to marine agencies working to protect our oceans. 17 West Gutierrez Street, 805.560.1572, rivieratowel.com
ROWAN
Sweet beachside boutique Rowan offers the best of casual, yet elegant Santa Barbara style. Shop
ANNA JANELLE JEWELRY founder of Anna Janelle Jewelry, Anna Janelle Cardenas, has been building her brand and honing her skills as a jeweler and designer. And luckily for those who love to adorn themselves with stylish and affordable pieces, this UCSB graduate and steadfast entrepreneur is growing some deep roots in Santa Barbara. In the fall of 2021, she opened a flagship store in the heart of downtown Paseo Nuevo Mall. This light-filled boutique showcases Cardenas' selection of the 14K yellow gold-filled, semi-precious jewelry that has put her on the map as a collected designer. Alluring gemstones like labradorite, rainbow moonstone and Herkimer diamonds find their way into Cardenas' detailed designs, all meticulously handcrafted in Santa Barbara. A more recent addition to the lineup is a luxury line of 14K solid gold, precious gems and diamond jewelry. And Anna Janelle Jewelry is right on trend when it comes to unique offerings like permanent jewelry—more on that later. The shop also carries an enticingly curated assortment of home decor items, crystal points, pocket stones, jewelry organizers, candles, natural incense and other giftable goods.
We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Cardenas in the store. She talked about her expanding brand's origin story, the gems that catch her eye, why materials matter, her love of the local community and more.
Passion Finds A Permanent Home
I grew up in northern California and moved to Santa Barbara in 2003 to attend UCSB, where I received a communications degree. I fell in love with Santa Barbara and have called it home ever since, save for a two-year stint in Amsterdam, Netherlands, where I started my business while participating in European, outdoor markets. I've been making jewelry for over ten years now, and it is my absolute passion.
Everyday Goals
I love designing truly wearable pieces. We all have a full jewelry box that just sits and collects dust. The goal with my jewelry is to create styles that are simple enough to wear every day but still eye-catching and unique. I create classic pieces that are available year-round and release a few limited edition collections featuring different gemstones every year.
Materials Matter
Quality is everything to me. I have made all my designs with 14 gold-filled metal from the beginning because of its impressive durability and value. Gold-filled doesn't tarnish like gold-plated. It is water resistant, hypoallergenic and lasts for years. I also love finding unique gemstone cuts for my designs. Stone buying is one of my favorite parts of the job. Now that I have a storefront, I've been able to add luxury designs to my collection in solid gold with diamonds and other precious gemstones.
CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER RIGHT: Owner/ designer, Anna Cardenas, in the showroom; labradorite points; micro-welded permanent jewelry in process;mini palo santo bundle; dewdrop diamond earrings; moonstone and diamond pendant necklace; selection of 14K solid yellow gold and diamond bracelets from the fine jewelry collection.
Community + Customer Love
I love the community downtown Santa Barbara has to offer. Between the management at Paseo Nuevo, the vendors at the makers market and neighboring store owners, it has been great to get to know everyone and support each other. I also love getting to know my customers and feel so much more connected to the greater Santa Barbara community now that I have a shop downtown. This town is amazing!
Welded and Wonderful
We are excited to offer Permanent Jewelry (PJ) in Santa Barbara. It's a unique way to wear fine jewelry without a clasp. The chains (most often bracelets) are custom-fitted and micro-welded for a seamless look, and you can add gemstone or diamond charms. Many people get permanent jewelry to pay tribute to meaningful milestones or to honor special bonds with loved ones. Some of our customers drive up from LA and San Diego specifically for our bracelets. We just released new chain options and are now stocking yellow and white gold chains.
s p CREATiVE r i t
Wallace Piatt, Artist and Owner of Rodeo Gallery
Wallace Piatt, artist and proprietor of RODEO GALLEY, is about as close to a living embodiment of the Funk Zone as someone could get. A creative—check. A studio and business located in the Funk Zone—check. A 40+ year local—check. And he was part of the community long before it got its funky name. Piatt has also lived at least six of his nine lives in the Santa Barbara area; first a kiddo in Santa Ynez, then a UCSB student, a store owner, a way-too-hard party boy, eventually a thriving artist and finally, but surely not lastly, a successful gallery owner.
Rodeo Gallery, which features Piatt's original work, delivers on the industrial vibes with soaring ceilings, concrete floors, and massive wooden easels displaying the compelling, wildly colorful paintings that have come to define his work. Equally as important, the gallery is a space where everyone is welcome to hang out and enjoy the art. It's also connected, via a doorway, to his creative partner, Jill Johnson's shop, Loveworn, where you’ll find Piatt’s original designs silkscreened on tee shirts, hats, hand embellished cashmere sweaters, blazers and more.
Not-so-subtle social commentary is a central theme throughout this hard (as in always) working artist's body of work. Piatt has his pulse on the politics, pop culture and social justice movements of the moment frequently reflected in his pieces, but he’s not beholden to them. His paintings are as intriguing up close as they are from afar. Much like his former life, his art is a process of deconstructing and piecing back together—literally.
Piatt is full of energy and passion with his creative gears generally in overdrive. We recently caught up with him in a rare moment of stillness and discussed the road he traveled to get to his current gallery and head space. Read on to learn about the origin story of Rodeo Gallery, Piatt’s creative process, evolution as an artist and more.
THE ROAD TO RODEO
My whole creative process started with graphics on T-shirts made for the retail store, True Grit, which I opened in 1991 with my creative partner and current Loveworn owner Jill Johnson. I got my first Mac then and was so enamored with design. I didn't start doing art until 2005 or so, silkscreening on plywood, kind of Warhol with an edge. When 2008 rolled around, I lost everything, our business, my car, home and passion for retail and life. Drinking and drugs were a big part of my life, and the ship sank hard, almost 6 feet under, with a heart attack. From 2010 to 2015 I continued to create art with this little piece of hope in my back pocket that "someone upstairs" was watching me. In 2015 I became sober. I had to decide that I'd be either a party boy artist or one that kicked ass with passion. My art changed so drastically. It finally had an authentic voice. Sales went up exponentially, and so did my work ethic, passion and creative ideas. I was on fire! My partner and best friend opened Loveworn clothing, and two years later, the space Rodeo Gallery now occupies became available. The place was a mess, but my landlord and Jill pushed me to open the gallery. And second to getting sober, it was the best decision I've ever made.
FULL TANK
My fuel is sobriety, plain and simple, and I'm a machine now! All I think about is creating, be it designs for our store Loveworn or art. I do not paint for my clients or niche art buyers. I never paint with money on my mind. I create to rid my mind of chaos. My mind whirls with ideas. I collect old books of Native and Indigenous portraits. The lines in the faces tell stories of despair and sometimes triumph, and I use these as inspiration for my art. I start with gluing 12-15 cut pieces of canvas together, wait a couple of days and sew them together. It's a deconstructive then mending process, pretty much like my life. I then create the piece by building color, lots of house paint, spray paint and oil pastel - layers of organized chaos.
LOUD AND CLEAR
My art has a voice. It's not decor art but has a deeper meaning. My graphics, expressed in the bold words above the portraits, are pretty much my trademark. I'll put "B.A.R.R.O.N.'S" (like the money magazine) at the top of a piece and juxtapose it with a Native portrait - greed vs. spirituality in a sense. I'm an ally to the Native and indigenous cultures, and I give a percentage of my earnings to the Waldorf Lakota school on Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. It makes me feel so good to give to a school that teaches the kids the beautiful cultures of dance, language and arts. Tradition is not the enemy of progress!
INFINITE HUSTLE
Sobriety gave me an unlimited amount of ideas and the work ethic to implement those ideas. My art became a true voice, and the portraits became strong with feeling and emotion. I truly believe that losing everything and starting from ground zero made my art what it is—pure hustle with a dream.
ENJOY THE VIEW
I opened Rodeo Gallery with the notion that everyone should enjoy art. Too many galleries have this sterile, boring atmosphere with a snobby "can you afford this art?" scenario. I want people to hang out, be comfortable viewing art, take pictures and be at peace in the gallery without some salesperson sizing up your wallet. I have felt every step of this artistic journey—from loss and despair to crystal clear clarity, and I want people to feel this as they see my art in my gallery.
Paintings from $12,000 for smaller 30” X 40” pieces to $28,000 - $60,000 for larger (up to 8 foot) paintings.
