Owner Rebecca Charlton’s Cowgirl Cash continues to blossom throughout the past couple years, even in the midst of a full blown recession.
Charlton launched her western vintage boutique shop in downtown Bend in October 2009, leaving her 12 year real estate career behind. It all began as a side gig while she was still a realtor. To pay the bills, she and a close friend began buying old name brand Western boots and reselling them from a small space in a crafters mall. When the boot sales became more promising than the home sales, Charlton finally took the plunge into fulltime retail in October 2009. Her career spawned out of necessity, but the transition has been a natural one, according to Charlton.
“I’m a Bend native and my mother was a Deschutes County rodeo queen and my father loves to buy and sell goods,” she said. “This career path has provided the opportunity to combine my love of authentic, beautiful things and my Bend roots.”
Charlton is proud to own a downtown business that gives back to the community. She often pays cash for people’s treasures when they need it most. She also sponsors a local endurance horse rider, a pro bronco rider, a high school barrel racer, 12 Gauge Rage, a championship roller derby team and the Rhinestone Riders, a 4H Horse Club.
“Whether they come in to buy from me, or sell to me, it all makes my western vintage shop hum.”
And hum it certainly does. With the steady growth she has experienced over the last two and a half years, she is extremely optimistic about the future.
Locals and visitors alike are slowly and steadily finding Cowgirl Cash in its “back alley” location on Brooks Street not far from the iconic Pine Tavern. The out of town shoppers love browsing and buying the used boots, buckles, vintage jewelry, and apparel, and Charlton appreciates that they feel the urgency to buy.
“If they wait too long, it won’t be there when they come back,” she said. “When I receive a compliment from a new shopper on the beauty and uniqueness of what I sell, it really makes my day. I haven’t looked back for a minute, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Cowgirl Cash, rebecca@getcowgirlcash.com, www.cowgirlcashbend.com, 541-678-5162, 924 NW Brooks St., Bend.
