Support local Businesses

There has been so much disconnection from the world because of the things happening around us and, in order to combat that just a little bit, follow Deenie and her efforts to shed a little light on our local businesses.

Wild Rogue emporium

Interview Conducted By Deenie Bulyalert

Wild Rogue Emporium or The Emporium is a small shop on the corner of 6th and G street. Owned by Jan Bertaggia, this business has been up and running for 6 years and should be one of your stops if you are ever in town.

Contact Information:

(541) 479-0220

Winter Hours:

Monday-Friday- 10:30 am - 5:30 pm

Saturday- 10 am - 4 pm

Sunday- Closed

Jan Bertaggia and Her Husband, Enzo

Have you always been the owner of this business?

Well, in my past, I had been a retail buyer for upscale hotels and, when I came here to Grants Pass, I learned that there are no jobs in upscale hotels like what I'm used to, so I took a year off, and then I bought this store with a friend. We owned the store for 2 years together and then I bought her out and I continued the business. I love it. It's fun, it’s fantastic and this community is phenomenal in the way they support local businesses.

It was very exciting to open it. I was a little apprehensive. I was new to Grants Pass and I didn’t know if the community would support a new business. It was so much joy and so much apprehension 'til the community embraces you and it gets easier. You don’t know until you try and it takes years to get a retail store to become profitable.

What made you decide to open a sHOP like this?

What did you do before you owned this BUSINESS?

Before I owned this shop, I lived in San Diego, California and I was the retail director for a resort called paradise point resort. As a retail director, I did all the buying and managed the shops. Before that, I worked at a hotel called hotel Del Coronado which was a historic hotel in San Diego and I worked there as a manager. During the time I worked at the hotel, I also taught at a college called the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. It's a 2-year college if you want to get into fashion, design, being a buyer, or being a representative for different wholesale lines. I got to teach retail math.

No. Working for a corporation, I made far more money than I will ever make working in my store because, when you own a store, you pay for everything. You pay for bags, you pay for tissue paper, you pay for receipt paper, you pay to have the windows cleaned, you pay for everything. A lot of people think you just buy pretty things and sell them, but they forget all the details that go into selling those pretty things. You have to have all the supplies, you have to clean it, you have to clean the toilets yourself, you have to mop the floors yourself. You do it all yourself to save on your funds. So, no, I never thought I would own a store because I didn’t want to work that hard but, now that I have my store, it is an absolute joy. It is exactly where I'm supposed to be and I can't imagine ever going back to a corporate job.

Did you ever think that you would own a shop?

What made you decide to open your own business?

I had a girlfriend who wanted to buy this store and she wanted me to go with her to ask questions of the current owner. When I saw this store on the corner of 6th and G street, I thought it was the perfect location and she talked me into going into business with her. It happened on a whim. We stayed together for less than two years before I bought her out. It wasn’t what she thought it was going to be, so I bought the shop from her.

Customers. Awesome, awesome customers. All different kinds of customers.

What is your favorite part about running this business?

Are there any memories that stand out to you while running this shop?

So many. This Christmas is a huge one. The Christmas season started slow and then, the last week and a half before Christmas, it went gangbusters and it was all people committing to shop local and saying I'm here because I'm committed to shopping local. With COVID, that's huge to keep us in business because I want to stay in business next year.

I never closed my store for more than two days in a row until COVID came and shut us down on March 19th and we were closed until the middle of May. That was a very scary time because you don't know if you're ever gonna come back. You don't know. Do we just close it or do we stay open? Do we open when the governor says we can open? That was a very scary time, but then Christmas turned it all around and people were very supportive, not just of my store but of all of my neighbors because you’re only as good as your neighbors. Nobody would come downtown if I were the only good store down here. We have lots of great stores downtown and so people would just come down and walk around and have a good day.

Somedays I think it's impacted my business pretty badly but, again, this holiday season has changed what people are buying and how much money they are spending on themselves so they aren't spending as much on themselves. They were still spending on gifts for the holiday season, but they don't have that extra income to spend as much on themselves as they would have. As a buyer, that makes me think, "What can I buy to keep the price low, so that the customers still want the products and will say, "I have to treat myself and buy this shirt because it makes me happy and it's inexpensive." The impact certainly made business go down and it's changing the way we plan for next year because retail stores, in order to order Christmas décor, we have to order Christmas in January, so I have to think how much money do I want to spend on Christmas? Is COVID going to be a thing of the past? A lot of people didn't buy a lot of Christmas décor and, luckily, I was able to cancel a lot of orders in the summer. It was a chain reaction because I canceled orders, then the manufacturers cancel orders, so we were all hurting all the way down the supply line, but now it's the time we have to look forward and go, okay, what do I order for next year? Will we be back to normal? Everything is cautious.

How has covid impacted your business?

How has this all impacted your employees?

I don't have employees. I had to let my employees go and I work the store now by myself or I have a couple of my best friends to come and help me out when I need help, but I haven't had employees since the beginning of March and I hope this changes by summer of 2021.

Well, I'm a very positive person and, whenever I would feel down or questioning what the store's fate was to be, I just talked to customers and the customers that are out shopping. It's what they say: you fake it till you make it so, if you are feeling down or lacking in confidence about your business, you just pretend all is well and the attitude follows. I don't know if that makes sense. Sometimes, I just don't want to get up in the morning and come to work because I’m afraid of what the day will or will not bring, but you get up, you talk to people, you get dressed. I dressed up more this season and wore more makeup because when you get up and get dressed, wear your makeup and jewelry, you feel like a million bucks. Even when I'm home, on a day off, I try not to stay in my pajamas or my sweats. I try to wear nice clothes and fix my hair up because it just makes me feel better. I encourage customers to come in and talk about how down they are. I encourage them, that's when you buy one new thing or get your hair cut, or put on makeup. Do something that's going to make your spirits feel better. There's also the aspect that I'm a very firm believer that the universe (I believe in God) conspires for our good. My motto is: “Good things happen through me.” if I'm kind and confident and a good listener, it all comes back to me. People will be kind to me. They will be good listeners when I need to be heard.

How have you coped with the ups and downs during this pandemic?

Is there anything you would like to say to those who may be facing the same struggles as you?

Stay strong, say positive, because at the end of the day that's what's gonna get you through.

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