When Eleonor Leon closes her downtown boutique La Fashionista at the end of the month, she doesn’t want pity for some dashed dream.
Instead, the artist and fashion designer has decided to celebrate her two-plus years in the shop at 45 S. Sixth Ave. She has sold vintage clothing and funky accessories often made with recycled materials. She also showcased her own work.
“I feel really satisfied with my two-and-a-half years here, and I feel complete, and I feel like I did everything I could have done,” Leon said. “You can’t beat high rent.”
Leon began leasing the 1,485-square-foot space from Rich Rodgers Investment Inc., at the start of 2013, according to Star archives. She opened the store in July 2013.
After the streetcar began operating, she saw a one-time $450 hike in rent, with another undetermined increase coming in September, she said.
Faced with rising rent, life as a single mom and the stresses of running a business solo, Leon began to reconsider the store that was once her baby. These days, she calls it “the monster.”
Although she continues to make sales, she found business slowed with the arrival of the streetcar.
“It’s hard for me because I’m an artist, and I miss all the eclectic art shops down here,” she said.
To stay would require her to gut and replace her inventory to better appeal to students and other downtown patrons, she added.
She might also teach classes on art or fashion.
“I’m not a million-dollar-loan person who came down here to build an empire,” Leon said. “I think the best thing you could do is walk away and say, ‘What a great experience,’ and ‘I don’t have a million-dollar loan hanging over me.’”
A staff of one, Leon managed the business and its finances and barely squeezed in her art and fashion designing. She substituted in schools on the side. Last year, she shared her space with Wig-O-Rama for months after a fire ousted the other business.
Leon still intends to have a retail presence at Second Saturdays Downtown and will keep her social media accounts active. She may also consider graduate school when her 16-year-old son finishes high school. Her older son is 19 and studying at the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management. For now, she will have more time to paint and draw.
Leon does not regret the experience, nor does she count it as a failure. Faith in God kept her going.
“It wasn’t just ‘This woman is great,’ but really leaning on my faith was what sustained me,” she said.
For Second Saturdays Downtown on June 13, La Fashionista will have a widespread sale of items for $5 or less. After that, the store’s hours of 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesdays through Saturdays, will be tentative until doors close at the end of the month.
What Leon doesn’t sell will get donated. Some of the items decorating the store will go with her — among them, the disco ball she won at the Playground Bar & Lounge and the chandelier she purchased from Rose Petal Bridal Fashions when it closed.
She wants to leave her store with dignity.
“People come in with good intentions,” Leon said, “but the situation wears them out.”
