Racks hold vintage clothing for customers to browse through at Blueberry Deluxe. Photo by Erica Rodriguez.
Tucked away in the Seventh Avenue Melrose District is a red and white polka-dotted storefront that welcomes its customers to a land of vintage and art.
About 10 minutes northwest of the Downtown campus lies Blueberry Deluxe, a store from the imagination of ASU graduate Jessica Carroll, named after her precocious pug, Blueberry.
Blueberry Deluxe opened its doors on Feb. 5 for shoppers looking for unique art, vintage and crafts.
Stemming from an online vintage shop on Etsy, an online community of sellers of crafts and vintage , and selling jewelry at local shops, Carroll opened Blueberry Deluxe “to perpetuate her [vintage] obsession,” she says.
Blueberry Deluxe has pine shelves filled with homemade jewelry from local vendors held on intricate doorknobs, local art splashing from the white walls and two racks full of brightly colored vintage clothing pieces.
The stores namesake, Blueberry the pug, looks around the store. Photo by Erica Rodriguez.
In addition to just clothes and jewelry found in most boutiques are rare handmade finds, such as bejeweled pasties in the shapes of lips and hearts, purses made of Coke and M&M wrappers, Mixology vegan make-up and dog collars made from old ties.
At least half of the vintage collection is “all me,” Carroll says. Carroll’s finds are discovered everywhere from thrift shops, estate sales to the Internet. She chooses clothes based on the outfit’s value, its uniqueness, condition and ability to be worn today.
“Some people will seek out certain labels, but for me, it’s 100 percent aesthetics,” Carroll says.
Secondary education junior Kari Jones is Carroll’s cousin and works as a sales clerk at Blueberry Deluxe. She says the items in the store attract ASU students because they are reasonably priced and unique.
“A lot of my friends have come in and loved it here,” Jones says. “I think more of the accessories pertain to students.”
Also, to complement what she sells, Carroll hosts visitors, like fire breathers (one fire breather makes the pasties), belly dancers and the Vegan Cook who donates her proceeds to a pig sanctuary in Tucson.
The production of Blueberry Deluxe took three and a half months to transform the space into a backdrop highlighting the vintage and crafts. Caroll’s father and boyfriend built the dressing room and shelves out of simple plywood and the outside and inside were painted by Carroll herself.
“This space was just really great, and I jumped on it when I saw it was open,” Carroll says. “Instead of money for a wedding, my parents gave me money for the space. They gave me a little nest egg.”
Carroll’s love for anything vintage and the act of thrift store shopping is a long developed obsession that started when she was young.
“I remember going to thrift stores, like Saver’s, with my Grandma every week,” Carroll says. “In high school I would wear grandpa pants with shirts that said ‘No. 1 Grandpa’ on them. I’ve always just loved it.”
For the month of March, Carroll says she will have a “green theme” in the store, focusing on the sales of recycled goods and items made from recycled goods. She also has future plans to include more pet-related merchandise and to hold a dog wash event in order to donate a percentage of proceeds to a local pug rescue.
If you go:
702 W. Montecito Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85013
Hours:
Thursday and Friday: 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.
First Fridays: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Contact the reporter at erica.m.rodriguez@asu.edu
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