Ventura Inspiration Guide 2020 - 45

INSPIRATION GUIDE

At Top This, you can customize your own
chocolate bar on-the-spot, or choose from
some of Elson's delightful combinations.
It's a sweet and natural fit to the retail
landscape of a city that's "free-spirited
and easygoing," Elson says. "You can break
the rules - in art, in life, and in flavor."
Breaking rules or not, Ventura artisans
really love this place. Take MidiQueen
Handbags, where owner Kristina Clark
designs handbags from start to finish,
often using home interior fabrics
like chenille and tweed. (There's that
unexpected, again.) She draws patterns
and makes prototypes before working
with local craftsmen and seamstresses.
Finally, she names each bag style
after a friend or family member for
the ultimate "personal touch."

And then there's the ocean, the
inspiration behind so many threads of
the Ventura community fabric. This
is a beach town, after all. Donna Von
Hoesslin turned her avid beachcombing
into a flourishing jewelry business,
Betty Belts. From found sea glass and
upcycled surfboard resin, Von Hoesslin
designs a treasure chest of options:
rings, pendants, bracelets. "My business
is based on my love of the ocean and
desire to stay connected with it," Von
Hoesslin says. Of course, she
has a loyal audience of Ventura
locals and visitors.
Connection through art and inspiration
from nature are common denominators.
"There is a sense of possibility here,"
says Mary Perez, founding director of

Vita Art Center, a hub of art education,
outreach, and monthly exhibits in
Downtown Ventura. There's also an
undeniably human element, a genuine
appreciation for the city and all who
walk through it. "For me to be able to
dedicate myself to the arts in Ventura
fills me with gratitude," Perez says.
"There are so many talented artists in
our region."
Ventura's makers are doers,
visionaries, inspirations. They keep
the city balanced with regular doses
of happy. As chocolatier Elson says:
"It cannot resolve some of the large
problems people might be grappling
with, but when the chocolate comforts
and brightens someone's day a little
bit, it is incredibly rewarding."

Jewelry and headshot courtesy of Betty Belts, photos by David Pu'u

Keep an eye out for our "Made in Ventura" logo,
your sign that you've purchased a piece of the
happy puzzle that defines our community.

From top middle: Betty Belts jewelry
made of upcycled materials, and its
founder Donna Von Hoesslin; Vita Art
Center; try a local brew at Leashless.

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Ventura Inspiration Guide 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ventura Inspiration Guide 2020
