Note: This post is part of an ongoing blog series called #costamesa365 where the author is striving to shop only* in her city of Costa Mesa, for a year.
Today, photographer extraordinaire Brandy Young and I went over to Anthill Shop N Play.
We were there to interview the luminous Elvira Kud for our first feature article of the year. Yay!
Interviewing again felt so good. I mean, hanging out with Brandy is always a good time. We crack each other up and love looking for fun little things to shoot on location.
But also, it’d been a few months since I’d done my own feature. As I Heart Costa Mesa grows, I find myself busier with things that pull me away from my first love… writing!
Well, actually, listening to people’s real-life stories and then… writing!
Elvira Kud was an interview gem, and so imaginative. Even her ride is creative! (That’s her bright-green SUV up top in the pic.)
It will be about two weeks until we publish her feature, and I don’t want to give too much away, but I had some #costamesa365 takeaways from my morning with Mrs. Kud that I wanted to share.
First… “You’re not shopping the store, you’re supporting a neighbor.”
During the interview, I mentioned to Elvira how grateful I was for stores like Anthill because it’s a great place to pick up gifts. Especially now that I’m doing my shop-local challenge.
Elvira replied, “Oh, I know! We’re on the same Nextdoor and I’ve been following your shop-local posts.”
When she said that, it really hit me right between the eyes… she’s literally my neighbor! It’s like I knew it in theory, but I needed to have that personal moment to reach full understanding.
Our conversation put a human face to my future purchases. Yes, she’s a designer, an entrepreneur, a creator, but she’s also a local mom, wife, friend – just like me!
Second… “Round and round it goes.”
Economics 101, right? If I shop Elvira’s store, she earns more money and is ergo incentivized to expand her shop, pursue new ideas, hire more local staff.
Elvira is good for Costa Mesa.
She’s full of ideas, creativity, drive and her shop brings fun, fashion and ultimately, value, to our city.
Me shopping at Anthill?
That’s good for Elvira.
And so it goes.
Third… “Harness the potential you do not, yourself, posess.”
No one has ever mistaken me for a fashionista.
I don’t dress so much as uniform. Same five outfits, most days.
I can be wildly creative in other areas, sure. But fashion? Meh.
However, there are plenty of occasions where I need to feign stylish – like occasions when “mode” is mandatory, or I have to buy gifts for an extremely fashionable friend. In those moments, I am horribly out-gunned by the task at hand.
That’s when I desperately need people like Elvira in my life!
Her beautifully-curated collection of vintage clothes, jewelry, accessories, funny cards, unique toys makes me actually look fashionable by association.
Amazon just can’t do that.
It’s not just the item I’m buying at Anthill. It’s the je ne sais quoi quality of years of experimenting, creating, growing, tailoring and designing that went into an artist like Elvira specifically choosing to carry an item just like that.
It’s a level of tastefulness mere mortals just can’t match.
As someone with no hope of ever being in vogue, I can nonetheless harness the power of Elvira’s panache by patronizing her shop.
And that, my friends, is the kind of shopping that never goes out of style. ♥
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*We will always start by shopping / looking in Costa Mesa, first. But if we really need something and an alternative is nowhere to be found in Costa Mesa, we’ll stray. Also, as parents, we’ve decided that certain kid-related things (mainly educational) will need to remain baked in.
