A “coffee shop vibe with a guitar factor.”
It’s a concise way the marketing director of Cottonwood Music Emporium, a new electric guitar, amp, pedals and effects store in Costa Mesa‘s Sobeca District, describes the place.
Cottonwood, a name inspired by trees in Colorado, is the brainchild of Jim Deitzel and his marketer/partner, Mary Harden. Their dog, Bowie, also wanders the store, located at 2967 Randolph Ave., Suite C, across from Barley Forge Brewing Company. Surprisingly, this bright, airy industrial space was the home of Wedding.com before Cottonwood moved in.
“Coffee Shop Vibe with a Guitar Factor,” Mary Harden and Jim Deitzel, at Cottonwood Music Emporium in Costa Mesa.
Photos: Brandy Young
Cottonwood specializes in less-common guitar stuff not easily found in mainstream music stores. But Deitzel knows where to look, and assembled much of it at Cottonwood.
He’s been in the trade, selling guitars online, for the past decade and doing e-commerce since the 1990s. This is his first stab at a brick-and-mortar spot. His experience brings together a unique, curated blend of products he’s all too happy to tell you about. Many are courtesy of small, high-quality builders from around the world.
For example, there’s the hand-built Prisma Guitars Toledo, whose neck is made from reclaimed wood off the Coney Island boardwalk. The body, once a skateboard, is rainbow-colored.
“Play it. Try it. Love it.” Go for the guitars at Cottonwood Music Emporium in Costa Mesa.
Photos: Brandy Young
Many guitars at Cottonwood are unique, musical works of art. Makes perfect sense for the City of the Arts, right? Several are displayed in World War II-era rifle boxes.
Deitzel has a music background himself. Inspired by Fred Rogers of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” he started piano at age 4. He picked up guitar as a teenager, played some in college, then didn’t start up again until playing instruments with his kids.
His favorite bands tend to be more obscure, like the Cambridge, Mass.-based Morphine (defunct since 1999). Harden points to Led Zeppelin and the Foo Fighters as among her favorites.
“Guitars, Amps, Effects and More,” at Cottonwood Music Emporium in Costa Mesa.
Photos: Brandy Young
Deitzel and Harden live in Costa Mesa-adjacent Huntington Beach, but their hearts are really in Costa Mesa, where they felt destined to set up shop. They didn’t want Cottonwood in Surf City. They didn’t want it in Long Beach. They wanted it in Costa Mesa.
Sobeca is retail friendly, but with an “edgy factor,” Harden says. And it comes with a great sense of community.
“It’s prevalent here,” Harden says. “There is an energy and a passion that people have when they’re a part of Costa Mesa.”
Photo: Brandy Young
Deitzel sees Costa Mesa as a kind of participatory culture.
“People love it,” he says. “They’re honored to be part of everything that’s happening here.”
Deitzel says Cottonwood is about playing it, trying it, loving it… and having fun. And the people who do that aren’t just customers, adds Harden.
“They’re contributors,” she says, “to the vibe.” ♥
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For guitars, amps, effects and more, visit Cottonwood Music Emporium at 2967 Randolph Avenue, Suite C, Costa Mesa, CA 92626 or find them online at cottonwoodmusicemporium.com
