Sarah Bailey, owner, and artist of Wrightwood MetalWorks, recently celebrated her shop’s one-year anniversary. Wrightwood MetalWorks has been in business since 2018, but the storefront location on Cedar Street in Wrightwood recently opened in the Spring of 2022. The popular metal shop caters to local clientele, creates online custom orders, and ships items throughout the country. The building also houses a uniquely designed and renovated vacation rental above the shop, dubbed the Sunshine Loft. The rental has obtained Superhost status on AirBnb with superb reviews and guest ratings.
With the immediate success of these two businesses, Bailey is set to embark on yet another business endeavor–a non-profit thrift store that will give back to local Wrightwood businesses and the community. Seeing the abundance of stores closing and businesses leaving due to high rent and struggling sales, Bailey took it upon herself to find a solution to a glaring problem surrounding Wrightwood’s town center. “I’ve been here since I was eight years old. I’ve never seen it like this,” said Bailey pointing at the ‘For Rent’ signs in now three empty shops along Park Drive, including one that used to house a bike shop and has been vacant for almost a full year. The new shop, Cedar Thrift, will be located right next to Wrightwood MetalWorks at 6040 Cedar Street. The building houses all three of Bailey’s businesses, which are not impacted by rent increases since she owns the building.
The Grand Opening is set for Memorial Day weekend on Friday, May 26th, and the money made from sales will help provide funding for various projects needed to revive the main downtown area. According to Bailey, the first project on the list is creating signage to help navigate visitors toward the businesses located on Park Drive. Sales from the consignment store will hopefully expand over time and fund other community efforts like scholarship opportunities for local students or grants to small businesses struggling to pay utility bills. The consignment store will operate under a 501.c3 non-profit organization created by Bailey herself called The Wrightwood Project. According to the Cedar Thrift website, The Wrightwood Project’s goal is “to help bring back the shopping district in Wrightwood and keep the current ones open and prospering.”
Bailey can now add ‘Philanthropist’ to her ever-expanding resume, which includes: metal artist, entrepreneur, Airbnb Host, and President of the Wrightwood Lodging Association, on top of her full-time job as a Biologist for Caltrans. When asked how she finds time to begin such an ambitious undertaking, she mentioned that her roots run deep in the mountain community stating, “Since I’ve been here since I was little, I feel like I’m MORE determined to do something.”
Cedar Thrift is now accepting donations for specific items listed on their website, which you can view at cedarthrift.com. No items will be accepted without an appointment, and absolutely no dumping items in front of the store. Please arrange for items to be picked up or dropped off by making an appointment and filling out the form on their website. Be sure to visit Cedar Thrift on opening weekend, Friday, May 26th, from 10:00 am-4:00 pm at 6040 Cedar Street in Wrightwood.
