Business Showcase: Desert Rose Apparel offers comfort and style

BY Greg Golding

Canyon Lakers now have a new and different place to find stylish clothes. Desert Rose Apparel is a women’s clothing store that recently opened in the East Port Center.

When considering where to shop within the community, it is easy to forget this small shopping complex just outside the East Gate.

Best known for its convenient Eastport Market and gas station, Rosie’s Beauty and A’s Pizza, East Port Center is also now the home of Desert Rose Apparel, a small and friendly boutique that caters to women.

Owner Christy Rodriguez says she has “always loved fashion.” She noticed early on that she has a “weird knack” for picking the right things for people to wear and, for a while, even had her own fashion blog. Christy enjoys many styles but noticed that most local clothing stores carry trendy fashions. Desert Rose is focused on more of a Bohemian type of clothing and offers a range of pants, skirts, dresses, tops and accessories with a comfortable, natural feel in pleasant, earthy colors.

Christy’s husband, John, says he wanted to help Christy “fulfill her dream” of owning a women’s clothing boutique. “We both were working in the corporate world, specifically finance, but we both are into fashion too. It just made sense.” John helps by doing “most of the back end work.” He also filled in while Christy was at school, completing her Master’s Degree. With the children occasionally present, Desert Rose is truly a family affair.

Christy and John met at work in 2001 and were married three years later. They have two young daughters, Phoenix, age 7, and Soleil, age 4. They also have a mixed breed dog named Chelsea.

Although she was earning a good living, commuting to Orange County every day was taking too much time from family, and Christy wasn’t happy. “Everyone always said to do what you love and love what you do,” she says. “Yet, each time I changed jobs, I kept going back into the business world, and every time I went back, something was missing.”

With a background in finance, a great fashion sense and a longing for doing what she loved, opening her own boutique was the obvious decision.

Their location in the upper level of the East Port Center made getting things started a little harder than expected, according to John, “But things are beginning to pick up.”

Christy and John agree that Desert Rose offers clothing that is “different and affordable;” clothing and accessories that “stand out.” The couple has kept prices very affordable and currently offers a special discount of 15 percent to Canyon Lake residents. They also offer a very special discount of 20 percent on Fridays only (for a limited time) to college students with a current college identification card.

In addition to the types of clothing listed above, Desert Rose also carries jeans, sun dresses, shorts, an assortment of tops and outerwear, as well as accessories including belts, jewelry and sunglasses. For summer they also carry swim suits and other summer styles.

Even though they haven’t been open long, Desert Rose is getting rave reviews on sites such as Yelp and Google: “. . . Incredible experience . . . ” and ” . . . Could not believe how friendly and helpful the staff was . . .” or “Absolutely OBSESSED with this shop. Seriously.” Another person said, “. . . Dopest clothes, great customer service, and prices were super reasonable . . .” And others said things such as “Cute alternative clothing at affordable prices,” or “This place is awesome.”

Desert Rose Apparel is located at 24370 Canyon Lake Dr. North, Suite 10 (upper level), in the East Port Center, 951-723-5060. They are open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday, 12 to 5 p.m. and are closed on Mondays. Desert Rose can be viewed online at www.desertroseapperal.com or on Facebook at Desert Rose Apparel.