Desert Imprinting at Desert Moon Thrift
Last updated 3/1/2022 at 1:38pm
Michael Sadler
Jeannie Heffley with a favorite seascape painting, surrounded by items in her Desert Moon Thrift shop – blankets and quilts, boots and shoes, ladies' fashion ensembles, collectibles, and even a 1st version Desert Moon t-shirt.
Back in the mid-1980's while living in Tortilla Flats, Arizona, and with desert life firmly imprinted in her mind, Jeannie Heffley packed up her five younger siblings and brought them to Borrego Springs for a visit. She feels the desert, comes here all the time, and now she has turned a lifelong love of vintage goods into a shop at the Mall, Desert Moon Thrift, to express her entrepreneurial desert spirit.
Some of her preferred clientele include desert hikers and locals "who like hip clothes," such as flannels for both men and women. But she carries many more items in her shop. From shoes and boots and cowboy hats, men's and women's fashions and accessories, Poshmark blankets, swimwear and workout wear...to jewelry and unusual collectibles, Heffley carries an eclectic assortment of goods, and the store is filled with high-quality items at reasonable prices. "I have fun picking stuff out on my travels," she says, adding with a knowing smile, "There's nothing like a new dress to shift the mood." Heffley has been in this business for years, and her choices for store items also speaks to a taste for quality. Her daughter is a frequent companion on her forays to the vintage marketplace.
Heffley lives in La Mesa and has worked for 17 years as a school teacher at Washington Elementary, but she also has a home in Borrego, so her sales assistants will be helping to hold down the fort during business hours from Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Heffley will be in the shop on Saturdays. "I especially like that we're on the side of the mall facing Palm Canyon Drive, and that we're open Sundays," she says, adding a note about her competition, "when the Frugal Coyote is closed."
She wants folks to know she is open to acquiring all styles of vintage goods, even to the point of searching for and finding special-request items for Borregans who simply have to ask for something they want but don't see in the shop.
Borrego Springs welcomes its latest business enterprise, Desert Moon Thrift, and its staff as they embark on their latest adventure in desert imprinting.
