The owner was rude to my daughter and granddaughter, ages 12 and 14. First she got upset when my granddaughter went to pet her cat. Then we were looking in the shop and My granddaughter took a sip of water she had bought next door. The lady yelled that no drinks are allowed. She wasn't kind about it and I did not see a posting about no drinks allowed. Due to her rudeness, we left immediately without buying anything. She seems like she is just not a happy person in general. Maybe having a boutique is not the right profession she should be in.
This review is a bit long-winded, but the full context is needed.
After talking with some folks in other shops in Pescadero and within my herbalist community on the coast, it is very clear that my two interactions with Libby are not unique. But I can only speak to my experiences.
Last weekend a friend and I were off on a weekend trip to Santa Cruz together. My friend said she wanted to stop at a shop in Pescadero because she loved the perfume from a shop. I asked which shop...the Libby Patterson Organics shop that is part of the Slow Coast shops? No she said, saying that she went into that shop and that the owner was incredibly rude and condescending to her. I laughed because I had brought my friend visiting from Belgium there just about a year ago and also had a very bad experience.
When I was in the shop a year ago I was actually interested in Libby's perfume camp. Before I began to ask her questions about it, I wanted to check out her perfumes. I was instantly scolded for smelling one of her perfumes. I was confused and very put off because she didn't ask me nicely to not test the perfume. I was also very very confused as to why she had testers out, clearly labeled as testers, when she didn't want anyone to test them.
I knew right away I had no interest in learning from someone who would be so rude and condescending to a customer but didn't leave right away because my friend was still shopping. I waited out front and when he emerged he told me she not kind at all to him during the checkout process and she complained about him paying with his card because it was European and would charge her extra (uh, I own a business and this is not true.)
So I let it go and figured she just had a bad day or something. I like to give folks the benefit of the doubt.
However this past weekend I saw that she is an incredibly unkind person and I cannot understand how she can possibly still be in business.
So my friend who is wanting perfume from the shop across the street starts to look out front of Libby's shop because the store she wants to go into is not open yet. We decide eh, we'll check out her shop again, maybe we'll have a pleasant experience. My friend immediately spots a cat lounging in front of her shop and gets so excited at the prospect of getting to pet this cat. My friend is a cat lover who recently lost both of her cats.
We greet Libby and she introduces her cat and my friend puts her hand near the cat's nose so it can smell her. She didn't touch the cat, she was simply greeting it. Then my friend says "Oh, maybe I shouldn't pet the cat because I just put salve on my hands". Libby immediately rushes over and asks "What did you put on your hands?" My friend replies "Oh some organic salve". Libby immediately screams "DON'T TOUCH MY CAT".
My friend stares at her with a blank expression, not understanding why this woman is now screaming at her even though it was her who realized maybe she shouldn't touch the cat (and she never did). We both replied with something to the degree of, geez, chill out, she's not even touching your cat, there is no reason to raise your voice. Libby then again screams "DON'T TOUCH MY F*$%&ING CAT".
We are both a bit in shock at how unhinged this woman became, making a total spectacle to where people around were watching and wondering what even happened. My friend walked away totally embarrassed and shaken. Libby was screaming at me and getting in my face and I kept asking her to calm down.
If you do decide to shop here and/or study with Libby, you will be walking on egg shells to not make her angry, so please proceed with caution.
*Updating to add that I have seen Libby's response and it at best seems like damage control. I have no interest in owning anything made by Libby. By taking a look at reviews of Slowcoast (the shop next door she also owns) just a week ago was aggressive towards a woman's grandchild for wanting to pet her cat. She has no remorse for her actions. Too bad reviews of both businesses are not combined because you will see that my experiences are not unique.
If I could give a no star rating I would! I try to be empathetic towards people and consider that maybe they're having a bad day, but having been to this store now at least three times, each visit I was met with the same treatment.... rude, aggressive, and volatile behavior.
The owner was rude to my daughter and granddaughter, ages 12 and 14. First she got upset when my granddaughter went to pet her cat. Then we were looking in the shop and My granddaughter took a sip of water she had bought next door. The lady yelled that no drinks are allowed. She wasn't kind about it and I did not see a posting about no drinks allowed. Due to her rudeness, we left immediately without buying anything. She seems like she is just not a happy person in general. Maybe having a boutique is not the right profession she should be in.
The only way this place stays open is because of the foot traffic from Duartes. Being in a remote location where most of the customers are just passing through allows them to see people as disposable and get away with the communication skills of an angry 5 year old while charging beyond goofy prices for things you can easily find at the thrift store down the street. If this shop were in any other town it would have failed years ago.
I had a wonderful experience. Libby is a master at her craft. She created a perfume suited just for me. It is light and smells divine!. I heard about and am really excited about her Perfume Camp. I love the concept and know it will be a massive success! Thank you Libby!!
Beautiful little spot in the West Coast, I have bought the best organic homemade perfume and phenomenal homemade teas from her for years and when driving up the scenic route of Highway 1 I make it a point to always stop and say hello.. ❤️🌺 it’s a must stop on your West Coast Journey
If I could give 0 I would. The owner of this shop is quite possibly the rudest person i've ever encountered at a local business. We live in the area and will actively advise people not to shop here. Not only is she overpriced. We were actively going to purchase a product that our daughter was holding onto. She's a toddler. While walking to purchase this product the lady yelled at us for all being together near the store entrance. And for allowing our toddler to touch the item we were going to purchase.
She then felt it was necessary to publicly scold us on Covid Regulations and let us know we ruined a product we were about to purchase.
She really isn't looking for return customers or a good word of mouth. If you're visiting I'd look elsewhere. It's a shame to have a local act this way. There are ways to talk to customers about your stores regulations you want them to follow (which we were following based on what she scolded us about). Yelling at a family with a controlled Toddler holding the product we were going to purchase isn't how you do it.
Support local but pass this one up.
