Car club fanatics, billiards fans, sports fans, art fans, face painting fans, boutique fans and more made their way to Old Town Temecula Saturday, Feb. 6, to support Rosemarie Rodriguez, owner of Killarosa Boutique, located inside The Emporium, 42030 Main St, Unit C.
Rodriguez grew up in San Diego, but she moved to Temecula with her parents at the age of 15. After high school and moving to Los Angeles, she said she wanted to bring something to the area that she could call her own.
“While I was in Los Angeles, I met a lot of amazing people in the music and fashion industry, she said. “I fell in love with the crazy little world of music videos and art direction, and I got heavily involved in that arena. I dealt with a lot of models and indie fashion designers and learned a lot about production and multitasking. I am immensely proud of all I did and learned while living there, but after many years and raising my son, I was ready to come back home to my family.”
Rodriguez owns the Killarosa Boutique in Old Town Temecula, where she said she wanted to bring her Los Angeles flavor and pizzazz to Temecula. The name comes from her own name, Rosemarie, Rose for short, or “Rosa,” which is spawned from her Mexican heritage; and “Killa” because she said she slays the fashion world. She said she also uses the term ‘Killin it’ a lot.
“I absolutely love this city and cannot imagine living anywhere else,” she said. “I have been working on Killarosa for two years now. I originally was just going to open an online store even though my dream had always been to have a brick and mortar. Despite all the unfortunate businesses closing and the unemployment rate rising, I believed in my business so much that during the beginning of COVID-19 and the lockdown, I ran across an amazing deal with my current location that I could not pass up.”
She signed the lease in April 2020, started the build out, opened and made her first sale in June.
“Everyone wants to know how I have been able to stay open and survive during COVID-19 and lockdown with my new budding business,” she said. “Killarosa stayed afloat this past year by doing virtual Zoom fittings and in-person private fittings.
“I had one incredibly good friend and customer who lived in Sacramento ask me if I was able to do a Zoom meeting in my boutique. My answer was ‘Why not?’ So, we went live on Instagram. It was such a fun experience being able to have a virtual fitting. I would show my customer various pieces and show them the material and stretch on camera. I would even try certain items on so they can view the fit and pick sizing accordingly. That Zoom fitting was such a breeze and such a success, I soon was booked with various new customers from all over the country. I have honestly been so blessed with all the love and support Killarosa has gotten.”
Aside from virtual Zoom fittings, the boutique also did private one-on-one fittings in the store, Rodriguez said. Customers enjoy the one-on-one time, getting to know their style and sizing, their insecurities and how to overcome them, she said.
“I put on their taste of music. I lock the doors, close the curtains and offer complimentary mimosas or one of my famous lattes, then the fitting begins,” she said. “We basically play dress up in my little ‘Barbie’ shop. My job is to find my customer the best fitting clothes and styles for their body, while pushing them to get out of their normal comfort zone and make fashion fun with a Killarosa flare.”
Rodriguez said she is all about women supporting women and women pushing each other to “Boss Up” and pursue their dreams and that all starts with confidence and a “Killa” outfit.
“Quality is key but so is affordability, and at Killarosa I offer both,” Rodriguez said. “I handpick every item in my store. If I wouldn’t wear it, I will not bring it in. There are a lot of exclusive unique pieces in my store that you will not find anywhere. Customers often will tell me I make them feel like a celebrity in my boutique.”
“I work heavily through my Instagram page (@killarosa) and that is where my customers would contact me and schedule their fittings. Word-of-mouth and positive reviews spread through Temecula and got me the opportunity to style Old Town Baily’s most recent lifestyle photoshoot. I brought all the wardrobe and models and props to recreate various scenes for Baily’s. We showed the versatility from date night to bottle service to Sunday Funday and the shoot was an absolute success,” she said.
Through the Baily’s photoshoot success, the owners of Shooters in Temecula reached out to Rodriguez about doing a photoshoot for them for their social media content. She told them her idea of a Valentine’s Day photoshoot for the public and that is when she got the green light for last weekend’s event.
“I do photoshoots with the Killarosa models on the regular,” she said. “I am consistently putting out new content with new fun photoshoot ideas.”
To spread the word about the event, she reached out to multiple small-business owners/vendors who might be interested in doing a pop-up event at Shooters and everyone she reached out to was willing to come and support one another in honor of local small businesses surviving and staying open, she said.
“I then thought why not invite various car clubs as well. All old school and exotics were welcome to come show off their prized cars. From glitter to lavish balloon décor, the Shooters event soon became a Killarosa production with all the style and flair I could throw together.”
The event was another success, and Killarosa is already planning to host more events, maybe once a month. Her next event will be Saturday, March 20, at Shooters again.
“Different local vendors getting together as a community, supporting one another and uplifting each other’s spirits during this pandemic is what it’s all about,” Rodriguez said. “Life must move on, and we have to move forward with positivity and reassurance that together we can all make it through this tough time.”
Rodriguez said she has not received any negative pushback from the community for being one of the first local business owners to host social gatherings like this.
“On the contrary, I have gotten nothing but positive feedback,” she said. “I love how Temecula has remained united through this long tough year. I am proud to be a business owner here locally, and I am looking forward to many more years to come.”
Killarosa Boutique is located in Old Town Temecula at 42030 Main Street, Unit C. Visit the shop online at http://www.killarosa.com, call 951-365-0072 or follow them on Facebook by searching “Killarosa” or on Instagram at http://www.instagram.com/killarosa.
JP Raineri can be reached by email at jp@reedermedia.com.
