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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 2017)
BUSINESS Saturday, September 9, 2017 East Oregonian Page 3A PENDLETON NEW PENDLETON BIZ ROUNDUP Re-Ride draws tourists, locals alike Motorcycle swag distributor, Cason’s Place grief support among nine new businesses By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN East Oregonian Outsiders might think people in Pendleton were born wearing a cowboy hat and a pair of boots. For Kristine Taylor, getting used to the cowboy uniform took a little longer. “When I first moved to Pendleton from Portland, I had never been to the rodeo,” she said. That might come as a surprise, given that Taylor now owns and operates Re-Ride, the city’s only all-Western consignment shop. It draws tourists all year, but is especially busy during Round-Up. After living in Pendleton for about 10 years, Taylor got a job at the Underground Tours and began learning the history of the town. “I would tell the history of Pendleton to people — from this person who didn’t even own a pair of jeans or anything about cowboys,” Taylor laughed. Taylor had also worked as a real estate broker, and still owns and operates a gymnastics academy. She owned an antique mall several years ago and began collecting Western attire, and would consign with other vendors who traveled and sold items. But two years ago, she unexpectedly got the chance to sell her own wares during the Round-Up. Taylor had agreed to rent her gymnastics studio out to a vendor who travels to Pendleton during the Round-Up. When that vendor backed out shortly before the rodeo, Taylor decided to use the space to sell her own Western items that she had previously consigned with other vendors. “I opened a 10-day store during Round-Up,” she said. “And people kept telling me to open up a store.” And so she did. Her store, at 233 S. Main St. in Pend- leton, carries western and East Oregonian Staff photo by Kathy Aney Kristine Taylor, owner of the all-western Re-Ride consignment shop, had never been to a rodeo when she moved to Pendleton 27 years ago. She has since fallen in love with the rodeo culture and all its trappings. Staff photo by Kathy Aney A cross hangs in the Re- Ride consignment shop. Native American clothing, artwork and antiques. Taylor consigns items from more than 100 vendors and also buys items outright. Consignors leave their items with Taylor, and she sells them, taking a fee out of the sale. The vendors receive checks once a month for the items they’ve sold. While she said her store draws visitors all year who are interested in a piece of Western culture, the store gets particularly frenzied at Round-Up time. “I stopped consigning on August 31 because we have 120 people,” she said. “People are helping me price, and it takes a while to organize everything. I was having people walk in and I had so many customers. It was a little overwhelming.” She will continue to buy items outright through Round-Up week, but will begin consigning again on Oct. 1. Since she opened her store, Taylor has been surprised by customers’ willingness to spend money on western attire. “When I opened, I thought we’d have nice things for people who might not be able to afford it,” she said. “I thought we’d have $7 shirts.” The $7 shirts are popular, but the pricier items go fast, as well. “I can’t keep things over $100 in my store,” she said. “Western wear is expensive. A quality leather boot is not inexpensive to make.” In Taylor’s store the walls are lined with paintings and artwork, and customers peruse blankets, belts and Stetson hats. There are shelves in the back with cowboy boots of every color and style, and turquoise and silver jewelry glints from racks around the shop. In the back corner, a young man stands before a mirror, clad in a cowboy hat and a heavy denim jacket with a thick vest and shoulder accents made out of fur. He is making a decision. “I’m telling you, no one will mess with you in that jacket,” Taylor offers helpfully. “I’m thinking I can rock it,” the man replies. Taylor said she tries to buy things that will appeal to a wide variety of people. “I don’t buy things unless I personally would love them,” she said. But different types of items tend to appeal to certain customers. “People from Portland love western vintage,” she said. “Generally, the young people from Portland want Pendleton woolen shirts, pearl snap shirts.” She said she often gets customers from nearby ranches who regularly attend rodeos. “They know a good deal when they see one,” she said. “Tons of boots, tons of belts.” Conducting an interview by phone from the back of his motorcycle, Steven Shulman and his business, USA Motorcycle Gallery, are zooming toward Pendleton. Originally from Southern California, Shulman decided to bring his business, which provides T-shirts, pins and other promotional items for motorcycle businesses, with him when he moved to Pendleton. Semi-retired, Shulman said he has clients up and down the West Coast. While he plans to keep a low profile with USA Motorcycle Gallery, he is considering establishing a presence at Pendleton Bike Week, the annual July motorcycle rally headquartered at the Pend- leton Convention Center. USA Motorcycle Gallery is currently operating out of an office at Pendleton Auto Body at 1224 Tutuilla Road. Shulman eventually plans to move into the neighboring Overhead Doors space once it finishes relocating. USA Motorcycle Gallery is one of nine business licenses the city of Pendleton issued in August. Below are the rest of the business names, their physical or mailing address and their owner or contact person. • Broken Arrow Commu- nications, 8316 Corona Loop N.E., Albuquerque, New Mexico • Cascade Sound, 1225 20th Street S.E., Salem, Jim Carroll • Cason’s Place, Grief Support for Children & Family, 1406 S.E. Court Ave., Pendleton • Columbia Pumping & Construction, 1005 S. Mait- land Ave., Pasco, Terry Vosta • Edward D. Jones & Co., 809 S.W. Court Ave., Pendleton • Landmark Contracting, 2545 Eighth Street, Baker City, Sam Brown • Rise Services, 1037 S.W. Marshall Ave., Pend- leton, Debbie Ewing • Susie’s Cafe, 1003 S.W. Dorion Ave., Pendleton, Bingcan Zhang According to city records, Pendleton has issued 67 special business licenses for Round-Up week and that figure is expected to climb as the city continues to process applications through next Thursday. Of all the licenses that have been issued through Friday afternoon, about 63 percent are retail vendors, 22 are food vendors and the rest are miscellaneous services like a zip line, massage therapy and horse-drawn carriage rides. Program offers help to entrepreneurs PENDLETON — Assistance will be available to entrepreneurs in the Pendleton area who are interested in participating in the Virtual Incubation Program. The VIP is designed to assist entrepreneurs just starting a business or those with an existing business wishing to grow their business. The next VIP session begins Thursday, Sept. 21. The Oregon Technology Business Center, with support from the Jeanette Drew Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation, is offering the six-month program. The VIP program consists of eight weekly live interactive video sessions followed by four months of twice a month mentoring sessions. For more information, visit www. virtualincubationprogram. com. For questions, contact Jim McCreight at 503-522- 9679 or jmccreight@yahoo. com.