Made In Santa Cruz

I had bought a hot/​cold pillow. I mainly use it cold. Great for hot flashes, but wish it would last longer. Love this store.

I’ve been shopping at Made in Santa Cruz for years and have bought lots of goodies from them. The past couple of years, not so much. At most maybe a sticker. It seems as if the prices have gone up quite a bit which is a turn off. It won’t keep me from returning each year though.

Ok store a lot of things you can get before going to the beach Boardwalk, I bought some shades here as I was trying the on at the display which was around 5 – 6 feet from the register, the lady at the register, had one eye on me the whole time, I was trying different ones on to see which one I liked!, (I will be as polite as possible) «I guess I looked suspect» but the fair skinned gentleman let’s call him «Freddy fingers“that was there in the clothes area behind me„ I guess he didn’t look suspect!, maybe if I wasn’t there she would have noticed what he was doing! Oh well, anyway I bought the shades because I needed them, for like 10 – 12 bucks, $ 13 with tax, at the beach board walk they’re only $ 5!!! Same ones better variety!

I grew up in Santa Cruz but sadly I do not live there now
I too bring out of town friends here including my grandkids. There are tons of Santa Cruz things to see and of course souvenirs.
Yes some items are a bit pricey but it’s the wharf, I don’t think the prices are out of line.
The items we’ve purchased have been of good quality. They have quite a large selection for such a small store.
The staff are friendly, knowledgeable and fun to talk with.

One star is way too many for this store. Please don’t believe that 5 star review mostly likely submitted by the owner or a friend. My wife has liked it in the past for little treasures and their Santa Cruz labeled clothing, but we’ll never shop there again. We tried to return a sweatshirt and were accused of everything except the killing of Jimmy Hoffa! The owner is a shrill little harpy who ranted about being a «merchant» and virtually said we were crooks – a couple of older former Santa Cruz residents just being nostalgic. Do not do business with these troublesome people. If you want a Santa Cruz labeled sweatshirt, go to O’Neills.

This speaks to the misleading name of the store and not to the merchandise as such, or any other business elements. We were visiting the area and went in thinking it was all things made locally. The store entry (and its web site) imply this is primarily a seller of locally made merchandise. While it may have some, the bulk of the merchandise is made in China, Nicaragua, India and other places quite distant from Santa Cruz. When I questioned the owner about this, she started pointing out some jewelry that was made in the area. I have been to other places where there are «Made in _​_​_​_​_​_​» stores (Eureka and Chico come to mind) and, almost universally, ALL of their merchandise was made by local craftsman. There is a craft store nearby in Capitola that meets that definition even though they don’t give themselves a self-​limiting name of «Made in _​_​_​_​_​. Buyer beware.

Buyer beware: tourist trap at its worst. Before you buy any apparel, here are the not so well publicized conditions: no dressing room, no cash or credit return. only in store credit which expires in 7 days. Nice for tourists huh? Owner not around so poor worker has to take brunt of your irritation when u try to return something. This place is on the heavily tourists wharf so this owner can take advantage of shoppers from out of town. Oh and one more thing: if you want a bag for your purchase they charge you for it. There are plenty of other clothing shops on the wharf so avoid this douche bag owned store.

While there are businesses (some restaurants and a wine bar) that attract locals to the Boardwalk/​wharf area, for the most part, this side of town is a tourist destination. I enjoy bringing out of town guests to the wharf to see the sea lions and grab a tourist trinket. This is when Made in Santa Cruz is absolutely perfect. There are tons of places around here to grab a Santa Cruz postcard or key chain, but none are as fantastic as this place. Why? Every item in the store is made locally! When you shop here, you support a local business and local vendors/​producers.
This shop carries more than just trinkets; they have great local goods. I love Bonny Doon Farm products. Their body washes, lotions, and hand salves smell amazing. While I do see their products all over town, I have never seen a place offer this much variety. They also sell handmade heat/​cold pads that are perfect for sore muscles and inflammation that come in all kinds of fabric choices.
The shop owner is very friendly and attentive. You can tell she puts her whole heart into her store. She is truly enthusiastic about the goods she’s selected and interested in the needs of the customers who shop there.