Each day it was an honor to be a part of the Topanga family. I’d call a few friends and before you knew it, live music and a dance party would appear on the porch as we rocked out loud to Stevie Nicks while models showed off our new designs.

It was a safe place for me and for all as I honored the hippie times when it wasn’t cool. When black was in, I wanted to live in color. I wanted to show what positivity in rose-colored glasses looked like and how far support from one person could take you.

It was my dream while in college to show other girls, who didn’t have a mom like Kathy, the ultimate girl boss and hippie designer. 

Mom started dumpster diving at old fabric shops in San Francisco, came to Topanga and met my dad. We laugh about it still because if not for me, my mom would still be at the Rose Bowl or at festivals. When she was six months pregnant, she shut down her wanderlust lifestyle to open Bouboulina. This was part of me even before I was born. 

Mom showed me what you can make from changing the patterns and prints of anything; I was obsessed with all her styles as a child. At home, we’d play designing and decide on colors and prints, starting when I was four.

She appeared on the cover of Marie Claire with Shirley MacLaine wearing her patchwork tops and dresses and her boho bucket purse. She overdyed lace and added denim as patchwork. At 25, as her popularity rose, her designs were in magazines and could be seen around Beverly Hills. She is the original hippie and taught me that it was so cool.

I never knew the pressure to own a store could lead me in my own way for 20 years. I got a scholarship to USC for psychology and then in the middle of my studies, my mom was in a car accident and I switched to business. I wanted to be a psychologist, but the store ended up being the best of both worlds.

When gifted the store at age 23, people would come by Bouboulina and say, “Where is your mom?� “Do you know you are Topanga royalty? Your mom was with this store for 20 years and your Dad started the Topanga Messenger.� It was a lot of pressure, but I made it my own.

Thank you to Steve and Leslie Carlson, who built Pine Tree Circle. For 39 years, Leslie’s rent raise was only $25 for most of that time. We were so close we didn’t have a real lease for 39 years. She was like an aunt helping me save and thrive.

The shop never lost its hippie cool. We had live music, tarot card readers, hula hoopers, hippie-trippy diggeridoo music therapy, games, dress-up costume contests, facials, and charity food fundraisers over and over. We made birthday parties for each lady who needed it. The goal was for everyone to be spoiled rotten for just being who they are.

Mom and I took one trip to the Southwest on a new mission that called us to represent, as a collective, Zuni, Navajo, and Santo Domingo artists. It changed us both. For ten years, we helped Grandma Jesse who once made a dollar an hour, to make $25 to $35 an hour. I helped design earrings and gave it to them to sell. We had coats, shoes, and food drives, showcasing all the artists like Tina, Mary, Jesse, Julia, Clarence, Heather, and so many others. We traveled into the middle of nowhere to put cash into the hands of every single artist throughout the Navajo reservations with your support.

We adopted five Headstart schools and protected the children who were not. We raised more than $6,700 in one month, got food, medical supplies, masks, gallons of hand sanitizer, and immune superfood support. Kids donated to help other kids. When we could not get government aid to Navajo children, in a matter of days we were lucky enough to have Venmo directly add money to teachers and parents, and had food and aid delivered to remote reservations. When there was no gas there, Larry delivered water and supplies to save animals, too. It was miracle after miracle as angels all over the world donated. Even in Australia, friends of my Bouboulina angels were raising funds from handmade items.

This is my commitment for all of us: to help a cause we can see up close. I want us all safe from COVID-19 and don’t want to put anyone at risk during the cold months, so I have a new job to do. I’m now working to support hundreds of artists to stay safe at home and bead.

The thought of not being Topanga’s Landmark boutique since 1980 breaks my heart, but I have faith that we are too big for these four walls now. My Mom and I agree that this store is legendary, not because of the clothing alone, but for the camaraderie. I have known Topanga and Bouboulina my whole life and I know that, open or closed, we are a family forever with Bouboulina form without the limits and rules other subjects require.Topanga, in spirit and heart!

As I turn 40 and leave my home, I’ll take that spirit with me. Bouboulina is more than a shop at 108 Topanga Canyon Boulevard. Thank you all.

STOP AND SHOP
Get your last shop-in at Bouboulina before we close November 31. Come try on our whole Stevie Nicks Collection. We have brought all we have to Bouboulina for you to see, so try on dresses, kimonos, robes, tunics, blouses, and more. Here’s to my favorite Topanga families playing dress-up for one last time. 

Try on our new line for the New Year. The huge flea market outside with “Make an Offer� bins, is a $5 -$10 super sale, and every day, there are more 50% markdowns and deals for anyone’s budget to get their last Bouboulina outfits with additional 30% off jewelry sale prices. Some items are now up to 70% off. Then…

…DRESS WITH JESS ONLINE
Now is the time to take Bouboulina online! Now an abundance of opportunities and possibilities opens for other women, and artists to show how to have a mini-Bouboulina store of their own, where I can help with marketing and design. I will continue to add items daily. Shop live online! I will try on items and showcase the vintage and rare items we find. I will tell stories about each artist. “Dress with Jess� will be so much fun and the new way to shop, 100% safe, easy, and interactive.

We may be closing Bouboulina in Topanga but are offering triple the inventory online at 50-70% off our old prices. Continue to shop with us by visiting shopbouboulina.com; connect with me on Instagram @bouboulinatopanga; or Facebook/Bouboulina Topanga. Until we close on November 31, I’ll be posting weekly hours, 11-7 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, for certain, some Mondays and Tuesdays.

More love and opportunities for us all. It’s what we let our dreams and hearts decide that matters most.