22 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY november 28-december 4, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com Small businesses hope for a chunk of the holiday shopping pie after a roller coaster of a year. By Erik Chalhoub t’s a Wednesday morning in downtown Pacific Grove. Although The Vague Collection, the city’s newest retailer for women’s clothing, doesn’t open until Thursday, that doesn’t mean the work stops for owner Ally Wieland. There’s a stack of jeans that needs to be sorted and displayed. The social media presence of the business also requires a new post or two—an important aspect of The Vague Collection. And there’s also a nosy reporter from the Weekly asking questions. Wieland just celebrated the grand opening of her business on Nov. 1, but small business is in her family. Her mother was a shop owner in retail for 45 years, while her mother-in-law also owned a business. Hailing from Atlanta, Wieland and her husband Bryce moved to Pacific Grove three years ago, and “we knew we were never going to leave,” she says. Clothes stocked in the store are named after streets in the city (for example, the 17 Mile Drive Collection), and there’s plenty of apparel appropriate for Pacific Grove’s weather—expect lots of sweaters and coats. “We try to go after as many California brands as possible,” she says, adding that she discovers about half of the inventory by browsing small businesses on Instagram. “Beyond that, we source women-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses. That is super important to us.” Wieland, who has worked in corporate advertising for the last decade, says she had the idea of opening her own business for about that long, if not longer. About a year ago, she filed for an LLC to get the process started. Edi Matsumoto opened her art gallery and boutique on Mission Street in Carmel in April. Matsumoto worked for 30 years as a nurse practitioner before making the jump to full-time artist. Speaking during the State of the Region at CSU Monterey Bay on Nov. 8, presented by the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, Matsumoto said she jumped on every opportunity she could to learn the ins and outs of running a business, taking advantage of resources from the Central Coast Small Business Development Center and joining the Carmel Chamber of Commerce, among other things. “I never thought I would be an artist, let alone own a gallery,” she said. “I have to do a lot of different things by myself, which at times feels overwhelming. But it’s fun and I love what I do.” Wieland and Matsumoto are not alone when it comes to making the With the holiday shopping season in full swing, The Quill in Pacific Grove sees a steady stream of customers buying cards and other festive items to gift. Photos by Daniel Dreifuss
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