Brittany Joseph, owner of Badlands Vintage

Originally published Dec 2020 | Updated February 2023

Just because you’re shopping secondhand doesn’t mean it can’t look high-end or glamorous, says Brittany Joseph, owner of Badlands Vintage. The Oceanside shop is a collection of Joseph’s favorite things—statement furniture pieces and decor from the midcentury modern and ’80s postmodern design eras. “Badlands is kind of desert-meets-city vibes,” she says. “It’s minimalist pieces that have a touch of glam.”

Step inside her brick-and-mortar and you’ll see what she means. Joseph has carefully curated the store to reflect her style and ditched the cluttered look often found in most vintage shops, making it a point to lay out the furniture as one would a home. “I wanted the space to feel warm and inviting,” she says. “I think it’s helpful for people to see how the pieces look in a completed space instead of being positioned on their own.”

Badlands Vintage / Living Space

Her inventory changes often, as she shops for new pieces nearly every day. The key to finding them is simple: She only purchases things she absolutely loves, ensuring that every item in her inventory is something easy for her to sell.

Joseph has had a knack for thrifting for most of her life. She started with vintage clothing, slowly building a closet of secondhand items, then expanded into finding vintage home goods as she started designing her own spaces and helping her friends with theirs. It felt like a natural move to turn it into a business and, when she moved to Oceanside eight years ago, decided to do just that.

She’s been running her online shop ever since, operating out of her home, warehouse, and a small pop-up in Sea Hive Marketplace. But in 2020, despite the pandemic, Joseph says her business was growing exponentially. “So many people were at home suddenly and I think they realized they wanted to make their home a really comfortable and inviting place to be,” she says.

Badlands Vintage / Candles

That spike in sales led her to scout for a more permanent home. She found her ideal location on South Coast Highway, flipped it in an impressive three weeks, and opened just in time for Small Business Saturday. And if that sounds like a crazy feat, it’s because it is. “I’m very goal driven,” she says, “so in the moment I just get to work and do what needs to be done, but I’m starting to realize just how crazy it was to do it all so fast.”

It’s a testament to her impeccable work ethic. Now, she’s been able to pursue a lifelong passion even amid a global health crisis. But that’s just one aspect of it. For Joseph, the real reward comes from opening a Black- and female-owned business. “I love living in Oceanside and I love this community,” she says. “There are only a few Black-owned businesses here, so I’m proud to help represent people of color, especially women.”

The post The Black- and Female-Owned Vintage Shop Housing Your Dream Furniture appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

San Diego Cycle and Arms Co. in 1904

Vintage San Diego: Free Wheelers

The biking scene is nothing new to San Diego. More than 100 years ago, San Diegans who were passionate about their two-wheeled wonders formed the San Diego Wheel Club. When they weren’t riding, cyclists could pursue their hobby at the San Diego Cycle and Arms Co. (pictured). Originally located at the southeast corner of Fourth and E, the store was much more than a bike shop. The SD Cycle and Arms Co. sold cutlery, fishing tackle, ammunition, sporting goods for games such as baseball, golf, and tennis, and, as the name implies, guns and bicycles (notice the taxidermy on the left-hand wall). It also offered a range of bicycle and gun repair services. The store’s owners, Stanley Andrews, Archie Aldridge, and Max Toews, stood proudly in their establishment in 1904.

By The Numbers

• 2,000

  Riders participating in the Campagnolo Gran Fondo, taking off in Little Italy on April 6. The longest course is 105 miles.

• 2013

  San Diego held its first CicloSDias event

• 20

  Bike racks that will soon be installed throughout
  Balboa Park

•  

• 1,800

  Bikes that will be available through San Diego’s bike share program starting this summer

• $312 million

  Cost of new plan that’ll add 595 miles of bike paths in San Diego by 2030

The post Vintage San Diego: Free Wheelers appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

San Diego Cycle and Arms Co. in 1904

Vintage San Diego: Free Wheelers

The biking scene is nothing new to San Diego. More than 100 years ago, San Diegans who were passionate about their two-wheeled wonders formed the San Diego Wheel Club. When they weren’t riding, cyclists could pursue their hobby at the San Diego Cycle and Arms Co. (pictured). Originally located at the southeast corner of Fourth and E, the store was much more than a bike shop. The SD Cycle and Arms Co. sold cutlery, fishing tackle, ammunition, sporting goods for games such as baseball, golf, and tennis, and, as the name implies, guns and bicycles (notice the taxidermy on the left-hand wall). It also offered a range of bicycle and gun repair services. The store’s owners, Stanley Andrews, Archie Aldridge, and Max Toews, stood proudly in their establishment in 1904.

By The Numbers

• 2,000

  Riders participating in the Campagnolo Gran Fondo, taking off in Little Italy on April 6. The longest course is 105 miles.

• 2013

  San Diego held its first CicloSDias event

• 20

  Bike racks that will soon be installed throughout
  Balboa Park

•  

• 1,800

  Bikes that will be available through San Diego’s bike share program starting this summer

• $312 million

  Cost of new plan that’ll add 595 miles of bike paths in San Diego by 2030

The post Vintage San Diego: Free Wheelers appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Golden Hill 1890

Vintage San Diego: Free Wheelers

The neighborhood of Golden Hill was one of the most desirable zip codes before there were zip codes. With large lots, bay views, and proximity to Balboa Park and downtown via streetcar, it was the place to live for the city’s elite. The photo above was taken in 1890 at 22nd and G streets, when Golden Hill residents proudly began planting and tending their corner of Balboa Park (then City Park, founded in 1868). The southeastern tip was known as Golden Hill Park, and it had a nine-hole (dirt) golf course. Three years after the photo was taken, a 23-year-old architect named Irving J. Gill moved to San Diego. His Craftsman designs, along with the Victorian manses built there in the 1880s, helped give Golden Hill the character and distinction it possesses today. Architect Mike Burnett has said Golden Hill  “used to be the La Jolla of downtown.” Indeed, philanthropists, socialites, and political figures all inhabited the Hill. The Requa family had a residence on C Street and the Hazard family lived nearby. The Albert Moses Hayward house, with its wraparound porch still stands today, bordered by a neighbor’s chain-link fence. But a renaissance is coming—just look at 25th Street, with sweet bistro Counterpoint and the eco-chic You Are Here live/work building now open.

By The Numbers

1887

D Street, now Broadway, was paved with macadam, layers of small broken stones, out to 25th Street

3

Mayors lived in Golden Hill—Grant Conrad (1907–1909), James Wadham (1911–1913), Louis Wilde (1917–1921)

8,000

San Diego’s population in 1885; it spiked to 30,000 in 1887, then dropped to 16,000 by 1889 (due to the railroad bubble burst)

1887

“…The drooping sails of an anchoring fleet/The shadowy city at our feet/With the Mountains’ proud peaks so lofty and still/’Tis a picture worth seeing, from Golden Hill.” —Daniel Schuyler, who petitioned city trustees for the name (It became official February 14)

1905

On February 17, the San Diego Union called Golden Hill Park “a thing of beauty and the pride of the hill.”

The post Golden Hill’s Heyday appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Golden Hill 1890

Vintage San Diego: Free Wheelers

The neighborhood of Golden Hill was one of the most desirable zip codes before there were zip codes. With large lots, bay views, and proximity to Balboa Park and downtown via streetcar, it was the place to live for the city’s elite. The photo above was taken in 1890 at 22nd and G streets, when Golden Hill residents proudly began planting and tending their corner of Balboa Park (then City Park, founded in 1868). The southeastern tip was known as Golden Hill Park, and it had a nine-hole (dirt) golf course. Three years after the photo was taken, a 23-year-old architect named Irving J. Gill moved to San Diego. His Craftsman designs, along with the Victorian manses built there in the 1880s, helped give Golden Hill the character and distinction it possesses today. Architect Mike Burnett has said Golden Hill  “used to be the La Jolla of downtown.” Indeed, philanthropists, socialites, and political figures all inhabited the Hill. The Requa family had a residence on C Street and the Hazard family lived nearby. The Albert Moses Hayward house, with its wraparound porch still stands today, bordered by a neighbor’s chain-link fence. But a renaissance is coming—just look at 25th Street, with sweet bistro Counterpoint and the eco-chic You Are Here live/work building now open.

By The Numbers

1887

D Street, now Broadway, was paved with macadam, layers of small broken stones, out to 25th Street

3

Mayors lived in Golden Hill—Grant Conrad (1907–1909), James Wadham (1911–1913), Louis Wilde (1917–1921)

8,000

San Diego’s population in 1885; it spiked to 30,000 in 1887, then dropped to 16,000 by 1889 (due to the railroad bubble burst)

1887

“…The drooping sails of an anchoring fleet/The shadowy city at our feet/With the Mountains’ proud peaks so lofty and still/’Tis a picture worth seeing, from Golden Hill.” —Daniel Schuyler, who petitioned city trustees for the name (It became official February 14)

1905

On February 17, the San Diego Union called Golden Hill Park “a thing of beauty and the pride of the hill.”

The post Golden Hill’s Heyday appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Halston Heritage store front

Halston Heritage

The post That ’70s Shirt appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Halston Heritage store front

Halston Heritage

The post That ’70s Shirt appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

San Diego Rowing Club 1916

Vintage San Diego: Free Wheelers

On a chilly 58-degree New Year’s Day in 1916, members of the San Diego Rowing Club gathered at their boathouse in the San Diego harbor to participate in the annual New Year’s Day Plunge. The tradition began in 1900 as a christening ceremony for their first boathouse, at the foot of Fifth Avenue. The event has recurred annually for over a century to this day, and according to former SDRC president Percy A. Rooks, it is “the best cure we know for a New Year’s Day hangover.” SDRC called its original boathouse home for 79 years while the club’s membership soared, and it served as a social meeting place for businessmen and community leaders. An increase in Naval vessel traffic after World War II, however, eventually forced the club to move its headquarters to Santa Clara Point in Mission Bay. But the plunge has always taken place at its original location, now Joe’s Crab Shack.

By The Numbers

• 1888
  San Diego Rowing Club founded (called Excelsior Rowing and Swim Club until 1891)

• 12
  Years the club struggled to obtain its own boathouse

• 13
  Number of SDRC founding members

•  

• 1892
  Inspired by SDRC, ZLAC, the oldest women’s rowing club in the nation, was formed

• 1,200
  Average number of members in the 1930s and ’40s

• 1934
  San Diego Bay opened up to Naval ships

•  

1974

Ban on women in rowing lifted as a result of decreased membership during postwar years

The post Vintage San Diego appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Mayor Roger Hedgecock

Mayor Roger Hedgecock

Nearly three decades ago, on October 1, 1985, San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock left the courthouse after being convicted of conspiracy and perjury relating to unaccounted-for campaign funds, with a resignation to follow soon after. History repeated itself recently when Mayor Bob Filner resigned in the wake of multiple accusations of sexual harassment and a campaign demanding his recall. As with Filner, it was the public that brought down Hedgecock after accusations in the press, specifically by women. Maureen O’Connor, Hedgecock’s opponent in the 1983 election, took him down through Helen Copley’s newspaper, The Union. (O’Connor later found herself in trouble, having gambled $2 million earmarked for charity.) In a recent open letter to Filner, Hedgecock, now a local TV and talk radio commentator, urged him to resign, as he had “lost the bond of trust” with the city voters, also admitting that he himself “lost that trust and resigned.”

Resignations All Around

• 3

  Mayors who have resigned in recent history (6 total)

• 271

  Days Filner held in office

• 951

  Days Hedgecock held office

•  

• 19+

  Women accusing Filner of harassment

• 9

  Terms served by Filner as a Congressman

• 2005

  Year Dick Murphy resigned as mayor due to financial problems relating to the pension crisis

The post Vintage San Diego: Mayor Mayhem appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Francis Parker School Mission Hills 1913

Francis Parker School Mission Hills 1913

Lemon Grove School, Lincoln Street 1905

Lemon Grove School, Lincoln Street 1905

Middletown School, northwest corner of Union & Elm, Little Italy 1906

Middletown School, northwest corner of Union & Elm, Little Italy 1906

Miramar School, Miramar Road 1905

Miramar School, Miramar Road 1905

Notice that Miramar, one of the county’s last one-room schoolhouses, was a contemporary of the castle-style behemoth in Lemon Grove. Middletown School, a Victorian gem built in the 1880s, stood about where Washington Elementary School is today. Francis Parker, celebrating its centennial this year, was first located where Mission Hills Nursery now stands.

Get Schooled

• $275

  Price, plus $111 sales tax, of Miramar School, sold in a September 1956 auction

• $70

  Monthly salary of a female teacher in the San Diego City School District in 1870 (male teachers made $100)

• 75

  of the 169 students enrolled at the Lemon Grove School in 1931 were of Mexican descent

•  

• 1931

  Mexican-American students barred from (then allowed to return to) Lemon Grove School in “the nation’s first successful desegregationcourt case”

• 5

  Number of SD teachers in 1893, out of 67, who had graduated from college

• 27’x35’

  Dimensions of the classroom at North Chollas School (1892), with a 14-foot ceiling

The post Vintage: Looking Back appeared first on San Diego Magazine.