Not All Boutiques are Created Equal: How We Went from a Tanning Salon to a Women’s Boutique in Los Angeles

For those of you have been following us or shopping with us from the very beginning, you know how much our entire brand and shop has evolved. (I mean, we used to be a partial tanning salon! Crazy to think, right?) Over the years, this evolution and growth has allowed for us to fall deeper in love with the brand we are creating, the space we have cultivated for customers, and the energy that flows through our shop every single day. Today, we wanted to share just a bit about our journey—we think it’s a unique story worth sharing!

Wait, You Were Once a Tanning Salon in Santa Clarita?

That’s right. That was no typo in the intro—that was pure truth. When our shop first opened, half the shop was a retail experience, and the other half was a spray tanning salon. Even before that—before we even had our own shop—we tanned out of a few Diane’s Beachwear locations throughout Southern California. During this time, we realized that our tanning customers loved to shop before or after their appointments. Oftentimes, they would be tanning with us to prep for a vacation or special occasion, so a new outfit was the perfect add-on.

Things were going smoothly—until they weren’t. 

When Life Hands You Lemons, Make your Own Damn Lemonade.

After a good run, our working relationship with Diane’s Beachwear came to a screeching halt and we had no idea what we were going to do. That is, until Kelly, came up with genius plan that would end up panning out. Our recent discovery about tanning customers and the way they loved to shop allowed us to take one giant leap of faith—financially, mentally, and emotionally. Kasey’s combined retail experience and both Kasey and Kelly’s business degrees provided the will power to take the leap. That’s when we opened our own shop, originally named Faking it Flawless the Boutique.

What started as one or two racks of clothing quickly grew—as did our passion for the boutique side of the business. As we began our own families, we soon realized that the boutique not only fulfilled our creative hearts but it also provided us more flexibility to run a business and still be present with our families. Everything was happening naturally—like it was all meant to be all along. 

When we look back, we can’t help but laugh. Had our relationship with Diane's Beachwear not ended (something we viewed as a huge lost opportunity), we would have never taken that leap of faith or pivoted from tanning experts to boutique owners. In short, we are so very grateful for the process.  

We Followed Our Dreams. Now Follow Yours (and Visit Us)!

While the journey of how we came to be Salt and Freckles is full of challenges, anxieties, and a few sprinkles of fear here and there, we wouldn’t trade it for the world. This entire experience has allowed us to connect with our customers, community, and our personal creativity on levels we never thought imaginable. We are so grateful for every part of the process and look forward to endless years of serving our beautiful customers both online and in-store!

Stay tuned for the next part of our Not All Boutiques are Created Equal series!