Lauren Kelling, owner of Oregon Body and Bath, loves spending her days in Downtown Bend. When she’s not skiing Mount Bachelor with her family, you will find her catching up with long-time shoppers at her shop, which has been open for 26 years, or helping out-of-towners select the perfect keepsake from their visit. A proud member of the vibrant downtown business community, Lauren enjoys the sense of camaraderie she feels with other retailers downtown, all of whom help make Bend the amazing place it is.
4 Comments
My name is Suzanne Molt and I am the owner of Arrange, an interior design and home furnishings studio located off Brooks Alley in downtown Bend. I believe our environment is essential to our well-being. We all have a life story and I believe our home is the setting to our story. Mixing new with old, finding meaning and purpose in every space is what I specialize in when working with clients in their homes. Everything we surround ourselves with should be authentic, practical and beautiful. In the shop I aim to provide items that support this philosophy. A bit of timeless French mixed with Pacific Northwest style is our look. Come by and see us soon! I am the owner of Cowgirl Cash, a Western Vintage Boutique on Brooks St.. My mom is a past Deschutes County rodeo queen, and my grandparents always lived close. My grandma taught me to sew and my grandpa, always so sharp in cowboy boots, a hat, and a rodeo buckle, taught me how to ride. My Dad is an avid outdoorsman. Growing up we camped, hunted, fished, cut firewood, hunted for arrowheads, and explored all areas of Central and Eastern Oregon. My little shop is a reflection of my native Bend roots. I attended the University of Oregon after graduating from Bend High. I then went to Gemology school. Buying and selling great jewelry and cool Western Vintage is never boring. I love the customers that not only buy from me, but also sell to me. I've been in my little back alley location in Bend for 9 years now. Come find me and an authentic slice of Bend. Cowgirl Cash 924 NW Brooks Street Downtown Bend LuLu’s Boutique in Downtown Bend has the slogan, “The Cutest Clothes on The Planet!” – and they aren’t kidding. LuLu’s is the largest locally-owned women’s clothing store in Bend, and they offer the cutest clothes at very reasonable prices. From dresses to tights, T-shirts with funny messages, and amazing accessories & jewelry, you are guaranteed to find something you love when you visit LuLu’s. LuLu’s Boutique is owned and operated by Patti Orsatti. Patti is simply delightful. Warm, welcoming, and professional- it is clear that Patti knows her business. Her store is unique, clean and charming, the products are carefully (and lovingly) selected and displayed, her “store-family” (employees) meticulously selected, and – most of all- her customer service is exemplary. I had the gift of hanging out in LuLu’s last week and I was delighted by the welcoming environment and the attention I saw shown to customers. It seemed to me that each customer was an old friend. Patti and her staff would suggest things for them, sit and chat with them while they were trying on clothes, take names and numbers to call customers when something specific arrived. It was incredible. I also discovered that they offer alterations on any of the clothes they sell, working in collaboration with A Better Alteration just down the street. (I love hearing about community win-win’s!) Patti moved to Bend in 2007 from San Diego, where she was selling Real Estate. One day she was shopping downtown, and on a whim she said to a store owner, “If you are ever thinking about selling, I’d love to buy this place.” The store owner gushed that she was wanting to sell – and just like that Patti became the owner of a retail clothing store (something that she had zero experience in). Her lack of experience didn’t daunt her, though, instead she hit the ground running and discovered that she had innate gifts for the job. Expanding 3 times in 5 years – LuLu’s now covers the space that was, at one time, three different stores. We couldn’t be happier that she did! We now can boast about the largest women’s clothing store in Downtown Bend. Keep up to date with LuLu’s by following them on Facebook and Instagram – and make sure to visit them at 150 NW Minnesota in Downtown Bend. What do you get when you put together two beautiful ladies, two friendly dogs, a heap of creativity & a desire to ‘pay it forward’ and give to change the world? You get FORGE HUMANITY! Forge Humanity is a unique boutique where every single product is attached to a cause. This means that when you purchase something from Forge Humanity, you can be assured that your money is going to help someone else on this planet. Pretty cool. Owned and operated by Amy and Tiphane (and their two pups, Maximus & Foster) walking into Forge Humanity feels (to me) like a breath of fresh air, a cool clean forest, the crisp clean energy of standing a looking at a waterfall. The store is clean, the products well displayed, and Amy and Tipahane are friendly, loving and knowledgeable. You can shop their products online, but I wouldn’t want to miss the experience of their cute little downtown Bend location. Amy and Tiphane relocated to Bend from Denver in 2009 in search of a place they could call home that would have enough land for the animals they loved dearly, especially their horses. They visited Bend, found the perfect place for their family, and uprooted and moved with no jobs – just faith that they would leap, and the net would appear. Having no shortage of intelligence and creativity – they were able to take such a huge change in stride. Originally, they opened One Eyed Sister, a vintage eco-friendly coffee cart. This endeavor was fun and educational for them, and it led them to their next dream of having a cute little downtown business, which because Forge Humanity. But, Forge Humanity in Downtown Bend is just the seed of a much larger dream to be able to expand what they do, both online and with additional storefronts (possibly with the next location in Portland?). Forge Humanity was founded with the idea that “we might not be able to help everyone, but everyone can help someone!” Without a doubt, I can say that Amy And Tiphane helping ‘someones’ by carrying products exclusively from conscious companies, sharing a portion of their profits with those in need, actively helping people and animals in our Bend community, and – honestly- by just showing up everyday with their big hearts open ready to serve. Keep up to date with Forge Humanity, and their new and changing product lines by connecting with them on Facebook and Instagram, and make sure to visit their store at 126 Minnesota Ave in Downtown Bend. Marty as been a business owner in Downtown Bend for 50 years! Anyone who has met her knows that she is delightful, intelligent and savvy. Merriam-Webster defines Moxie as: force of character, determination or nerve. Marty is all this plus a heavy dose of style. Marty began her entrepreneurship when she was 9 years old in the Philippines. It all began when she asked her mother to loan her 25 pesos for her produce venture. Her mother not only gave her the loan, but also shared with her some words of wisdom, “First, you have to suit up and show up. Second, you cannot be an oak tree, you have to be a willow tree, because the only thing for certain in life is change and when change occurs everything goes to ground zero. Third, as long as you can see, you can get up… And, last but not least, when life hands you lemons you make lemonade and when that’s not enough, lemon cookies, lemon meringue pie, lemon bars………” Fast-forward to 1978 when Marty became the first women manager out of the 68 Weisfield’s Jewelers stores. Not surprisingly, that first year Marty won the District Manager’s Competition by selling the most diamond jewelry in volume and percentage. As a successful woman, Marty has paved the way for other women to follow in her path. The Bend store became a significant training center for future manager under Marty’s tutelage. Marty opened her first store, Marty’s Fine Jewelry in the Oregon Street Mall followed by Ashley Christine Clothingon Bond Street, then Designers Fine Jewelry on Wall Street and Designers’ Artiquites and Furniture. Currently Marty owns Ice Fine Jewelry on Wall Street and she just recently purchased GiGi’s next to Footzone! Marty is nowhere close to stopping – it fact, with GiGi’s, she is just getting started. Over the years, several boards have been privileged to have Marty’s wisdom and contributions; including the Tower Theatre Foundation, The Small Business Development Center, The Network of Entrepreneurial Women, and The Bend Downtowners Association – just to name a few. She has also supported over 400 charities throughout Central Oregon. To this day Marty loves her work. Her customers often ask, “When are you going to retire?“, to which Marty answers, “When I get it right.” Last night the Downtown Bend Business Association spearheaded a gathering to celebrate her 50 years in Downtown Bend. The Tower Theatre put a notice on the marquee, friends congratulated her over wine and snacks at Mockingbird Gallery, and Marty was given a painting of her store, Ice Fine Jewelry, called “Wall Street Reflections by Richard Boyer. You can see more of Richard Boyer‘s work in October during his one person show at Mockingbird Gallery. After this Marty-Party, Councilor Barb Campbell declared it Marty Smith Day during the City of Bend Council meeting. Councilor Barb Campbell gave a wonderful proclamation highlighting some of what was when Marty first began doing business in Downtown Bend. “Where as, when Marty Smith started her business in Bend…There were logs, not kayaks, floating in there river; There were fewer than 14,000 potential customers; The hospital was still on the hill downtown and kids may have cut classes at St. Francis to see Love Story or Two Mules for Sister Sara at Tower Theatre“ “Today, Sept 6th, is Marty Smith Day in Downtown Bend!“Marty Smith is a living legacy, and we are so honored to have her in Downtown Bend! |
|