Del Sol International
Del Sol, Tucson, located at 435 N. 4th Ave. is one of the many locations of this Mexican and Native American- inspired rug, clothing, jewelry, and home decor store.
Although there is only one Mexican- inspired location in the city of Tucson, AZ, other stores exist in New Mexico and Texas as well. Tucson is also one of the many locations of Del Sol’s sister store, the Native American- inspired, La Zia Native Arts Store, located in Tucson Old Town Artisans.
Del Sol has been in business since 1977, according to the store’s brochure. Del Sol’s buyers work with small, family- run businesses in order to offer authentic merchandise to their customers. The store has a small, warm feel, matching Tucson’s 4th Avenue environment. It’s small storefront manages to attract around 100 customers a day, while maintaining its unique heart.
Some of the store’s most popular Mexican merchandise includes its metal art. The metal art is designed for home decoration, but also lends itself to fine jewelry. The handwoven wool rugs, sterling silver jewelry, handcrafted home furnishings, and border- inspired clothing are other popular customer attractions.
Del Sol also sells Oaxacan Wood Carvings straight from Oaxaca, Mexico and hand-made clay dishes and stoneware pottery made by artist Ken Edwards from Tonula, Mexico.
The Mexican Garden
All of the past Fashionista Frenzy blogs have been about clothing boutiques, but a person’s wardrobe is not the only aspect that can be fashionable.
The Mexican Garden, located at 2854 E. Grant Road, is a pottery, furniture, and home decor yard with lots to offer. All with a border- inspired theme, home accessories from The Mexican Garden can add vibrant color, exquisite originality, and Latin culture to your home. The store’s inventory is largely shipped in from Oaxaca, Guadalajara, and Guanajuato Mexico, making the products truly authentic.
Although Art Loya, owner of The Mexican Garden, devotes most of his time to the Mexican pottery, furniture, and talavera, these artistic creations were not always the main influence on his life. Loya served as a federal service officer for nine years. When his wife became pregnant and worried about the safety of her husband, Loya opened his eyes to other career options.
Three years ago, the opportunity came around for Loya to buy a business and leave the force, so he did. As Loya’s mother owns the biggest pottery store in Tucson, Loya can now call himself a member of the “family business”.
Rochelle K
A higher- end boutique, Rochelle K takes pride in blending Mexican- inspirations with trendy American metropolitan fashions. The doors of the first Rochelle K store opened over 28 years ago in Tucson, Ariz., and after staying local, and changing locations more than once, the boutique is now situated in a cozy studio in the Casas Adobes shopping plaza on Oracle Rd. just south of Ina Rd.
One of the store’s most popular lines, the Johnny Was collection exhibits a large influence from the border. The Johnny Was line is noted for clothes made of linen instead of cotton, something indigenous of the southwest as a comfort from its over-bearing heat, and decorated with vibrant colors, adorned with Mexican motifs of flowers in full bloom and colorful birds at play.
A fan of Latino design, owner, Rochelle has decorated her store and even her own home in resemblance to what she has seen during her travels to Mexico and Guatemala. During these travels, Rochelle often brings back merchandise to sell at her store. Women’s handbags, jewelry, and other accessories from around the world are also sold to compliment the ethnic wardrobe at Rochelle K.
Maya Palace
Hello all,
This is my first blog post ever so please bear with me…
If it is not obvious by the title of my blog, my blog is about fashion, in particular Mexican/border inspired fashion. Although I have entitled my blog “Fashionista Frenzy” it is not limited to just clothes and apparel. I will also be incorporating accessories, jewelry, and art into my blogs.
The first place I visited on my path down inspired fashion was a cute, local boutique called Maya Palace. I visited the main of two different local locations. I arranged to meet with the owners of the store and they were more than accommodating. The slightly elder couple, John Kopplin, an Arizona native and graduate of the University of Arizona, and Susana Kopplin, a native of Costa Rica, opened their first shop in Tucson in 1977.
The boutique contains clothes from all over the world, including Mexico.
From the deep purple interior walls to the colorful tile- framed windows on the outside of the store, a lot of the store’s scenery and inventory derives from a strong Latin influence. Many of the Mexican influenced clothes in the boutique are brightly colored in different hues of red, yellow, teal, and purple, are made from an easily breathing cotton material, and are adorned with sivler and turquoise jewelry.
In addition to having a beautifully decorated showroom, Susana Kopplin is fashionista herself. Having a life- long love for fashion, Kopplin owned her own boutique in Costa Rica before moving to the U.S. As I sat aside and watched over the store before introducing myself and letting my motives be known, I watched Kopplin assist many customers herself. She first listened to the customer’s needs, then proceeded to go to all different corners of the showroom floor, looking as though she was just collecting random items, she then returned to the customer with a beautifully crafted ensemble.
Impressed by both the store and it’s owners, I’d say that the Mexican inspiration of Maya Palace gets two thumbs way up from Fashionista Frenzy.
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