By Crystal Harrell
The Shops on San Pablo in Palm Desert has been the “Fashion House of Fun” for the desert since it opened a year ago. To celebrate the one-year anniversary of this style staple, The Shops on San Pablo will be hosting a Fourth of July event from noon to 9 p.m. The celebration will feature music, discounts, drinks, and smiling faces to kick off a day of summer fun.
Director of Entertainment for The Shops, Maryse Nicole, will be hosting the all-day Jam with some of the desert’s top performers. Musicians like Patrice Morris, Keisha D, Jessica Taylor, Darcy Daniels, Marc Anotnelli, Tim Burleson, Johnny & Tracy Meza, Laura Hagen, Philly Joe, and John Castanian will all be stopping at The Shops to perform.
Designer extraordinaire Sheila Simone will present two fashion shows with the combined collections of all the designers at The Shops on San Pablo at 1 p.m. and once again at 4 p.m.
The Shops on San Pablo is also currently running a campaign to build up their mailing list. Participants are encouraged to spread the word and share a link for new customers, where they are then entered into a $500 shopping spree at The Shops. The winner will be randomly selected and announced at 5 p.m. The guests from that mailing list and a link on the new Shops on San Pablo website will be sent an invite to RSVP for the 4th, where they will be given a drink voucher and a raffle ticket for an hourly drawing at the party when they come.
There will also be special deals and discounts for the fabulous fashions available at The Shops. Every customer who makes a purchase can spin the wheel for an additional free gift. The Shops will also have over five racks of clearance items at 50 percent off or more and 25 percent off all patriotic wear for the 4th of July.
The event will close as Babaloo’s Gastropub & Lounge joins The Shops on San Pablo with a no-host full bar for a back lot fireworks tailgate party from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Shops provides a great site to view the fireworks show happening in Palm Desert with a drink in hand.
When owner Lorie Loftis started The Shops on San Pablo in the Spirit of The San Pablo Corridor Project, she wanted to create a location for locals and tourists alike to get the flavor of the wonderful talent and creativity of the Coachella Valley. She wanted to start a collective showroom concept that could offer collaboration for a few small boutiques to survive the fiscal challenges of the seasonal business by sharing overhead costs and providing a spacious climate controlled event space for private and charity events.
“I love making people feel good. There is no better feeling than going out and seeing how great everyone looks in the clothes from The Shops on San Pablo and they are getting compliments and feeling like a million bucks. None of us really ‘need’ anything, but we ‘want’ to feel good and alive again and sometimes buying a new outfit is exactly what you need to feel that way again,” said Loftis.
The Shop on San Pablo hosts a variety of local designers and sellers in the decorative showroom. Some of those featured are internationally famous accessories with Timmy Woods, who makes custom hand bags, and Laurent Scott Jewelry. Fashion designers include Ilze Volkweis and her Brazilian resort wear with a boho, vintage flair that appeals to all ages, and Sheila Simone, who was recently featured at Orange County Fashion Week and by special invitation, will be a featured designer this year at The Paris Fashion Week with her line of sexy and sophisticated resort wear.
Also in the showroom is Maryse Nicole, the proclaimed “Sparkle Queen of the Home Shopping Network” with her All About the Bling selection (which happens to be a treasure trove of outfits for entertainers) and Medical Aesthetician, Cindi Webb, Face & Body Transformation to help visitors feel even more confident in their appearance.
The Shops on San Pablo has hosted private parties where visitors can schedule birthday events, so they can shop and help pick out a new outfit for the birthday girl. House events, BB Ingle’s wing dedication, the GCVCC Lunch Bunch Mixer and Fashion Show, and photo shoots with pro makeup and photographers have also been held at The Shops.
“Our in-house aesthetician and guest professional make-up artists and photographers are featured once a month on the second Saturday. It’s been fabulous for multi-generations and all body types to get free touch-ups or set an appointment at a special rate for a total makeover and our fashion stylists work with you to highlight our new arrivals and your best look for your body type. We get promo pics and you get a fabulous afternoon and a keepsake photo. It’s a total love fest for all generations,” explained Loftis.
The summer hours for The Shops on San Pablo are 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. from Wednesday to Sunday. All other hours are by appointment or special functions. The Shops welcome one-on-one styling appointments or smaller groups for birthdays, bridal parties, makeover parties, reunions, and mixers. Applications are now being accepted for the 2021/22 season of vendors and designers for The Shops on San Pablo.
“I am grateful for the hope and love and the people who get how important it is to support local small businesses: my Chambers, my local friends and family that have supported us this past year, my networking friends that are talented promoters, and performers that came out to tape or do small functions at The Shops. The Shops on San Pablo will be known, by all ages, to be the ‘Fashion House of Fun’, to represent local designers who make unique, creative, and expressive clothing and offer our visitors private appointments for fun events to feel good about expressing their own fashion sense of style,” stated Loftis.
