“Working In The City” is The San Diego Sun’s feature Q&A series with downtown San Diego business operators. It’s a way to get to know the city by meeting the people who work here. This is the eighth in an ongoing series.
Company: Stefanie Bales Fine Art (1504 India Street, Little Italy)
Owner/Manager: Stefanie Bales
What we do: We’re an award-winning boutique art gallery and multifaceted creative brand. We offer original fine art painting, murals, a custom home and accessories product line, educational services, workshops and creative consulting for both residential and commercial clients across the globe.
Specialty: I’m a full-service operation. What makes my work recognizable is my original process that results in whimsical, cerebral, light-filled, land and seascape paintings. I call them “dreamscapes.” That, and my strong feminine point of view.
Company motto: “To make living itself an art, that is the goal.”
Tenure: I’ve lived in San Diego since May 2005, and lived in Little Italy from 2008-2020. We moved to Point Loma during the pandemic.
Commute: I lived a block and a half away from the gallery when it opened in the summer of 2018 — that was the best. From Point Loma it’s 5 miles/11 minutes (no highway). I drive an electric BMW i3, so it’s easy to dart around downtown (and squeeze into tiny parking spots).
Origin story: I’m mostly a one-woman show. No full-time employees. I do hire out a lot of contract work, and just hired a new intern. Behind the scenes it’s a family operation. I tease that my husband is my unpaid intern (he’s an architect). I put him to work with heavy lifting — framing, mounting, electric work, installations and industrial equipment I need to rent for mural installations. He’s been the best support and champion from the beginning. I can’t imagine running the business without his help and support.
Best aspects of working downtown: There’s an indescribable life and energy in the city. Little Italy is such a vibrant community. Despite its incredible growth over the past decade, there’s a special closeness within the community of business owners. The Little Italy Association does a fabulous job of keeping it clean and safe, overseeing expansion and revitalization of the neighborhood, and supporting residents and businesses.
Worst aspects of working downtown: The occasional traffic, parking and homelessness.
Parking: Honestly, parking is only ever troublesome in Little Italy in the evenings – after 5 p.m., and on Saturdays. I never have trouble finding a spot within a block of the gallery unless there’s a farmers market or a big event at the waterfront. I do offer drive-by pickup, and occasional delivery depending on the product and location. I have an online store and ship to clients all over the globe.
Home shows: I offer home shows for original paintings, where I bring the works to the residence or business to see how they look in context. This service allows the buyer to have a better vision of the whole picture when they’re making an investment.
How does homelessness affect your business: We’ve had a few incidents over the years. The most consistent thing is homeless people will come in and sign my guestbook. It can be a challenge when I’m hosting an event with complimentary food and beverages. Once, a woman came in and laid down at the interior entrance of the gallery and was talking to herself for 30 to 45 minutes. I had an assistant (a young woman) working in the gallery that night, and we ended up calling our neighbors at Isola to have someone come over to assist in getting her to leave. What I found perplexing was how many people on the street walked by, saw what was happening — there’s a single female sort of trapped in the back of a narrow gallery — and didn’t consider stopping to ask if we needed assistance.
Big event boosts: Tourists make up half of my “walk-in” customers. I’m not reliant on large events or crowds. Fine art is such a niche industry. I’m unaffected by events and festivals, except it’s more difficult to park!
How can the city be more business-friendly: Offer more diversity for small businesses. The hospitality industry seems to be 90% of business downtown. It’s less of a destination for art, shopping and culture. The majority of downtown real estate is so unreasonably priced. It doesn’t allow space for other types of businesses to exist. I’m hoping the city will eventually offer subsidized commercial real estate. I used to rent a small studio space in the Broker’s Building (the lofts above the old Hooters). It was bought out and developed and that is the same story that just continues to play out.
If your business was made into a movie, it would be called: Perhaps a documentary called Women on the Rise. A good friend tells me it should star Elizabeth Debicki.
Favorite downtown business that isn’t yours: Frost Me Gourmet. They opened their Little Italy location just months before I opened and I’ve gotten to know owners Audrey and John really well. I love supporting a family-owned business. They both work SO hard and are genuinely wonderful and generous people! The coffee is some of the best downtown, their baked goods are, literally, famous, and don’t get me started on my obsession with their gluten-free quiche and house-made mulled wine. Bonus: I painted a mural in their cafe a number of years back, and we’ve recently started partnering to host private events and workshops. SDSun
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