A short film from a night with friends: string lights through an iron gate, orange flowers, a guitarist’s hands on the strings, a flame under a comal, and friends cooking under a tent.

A short film from the courtyard: the iron gate and string lights at night, guests arriving for the Posada at dusk, a guest dancing under the string lights, a guitarist playing, and a flame under a comal.

655 9th St · Arcata, Califas

A Latinx and Indigenous boutique with a heartbeat.

Arte, libros, cositas y comunidad inside.
Music, markets and pop-ups out in the courtyard.

Visit the shop See courtyard events

Open Wed to Sat

Pa’ que sepan

Not a restaurant.Not a quiet gift shop.Not tourist kitsch.

We’re a Latinx and Indigenous boutique and community space, Chicano family owned. Local makers inside. A courtyard out back. Familia at the center of all of it.

This isn’t just a tiendita, it’s your space, to be loud, to be proud, to represent, to let that guard down, to chase those dreams.

Inside La Ciendita: a pink painted arch hung with a marigold garland, wood tables of handmade soaps and jewelry, a shelf of books and a rack of clothes.

La tienda

Things that feel like home.

Cositas that bring you warmth and joy, plantitas that connect you back to madre tierra, arte to remind you where you come from.

  • An arch-topped linocut print of tall corn stalks, reading “Desde la tierra hasta el sol,” by Palote Press.

    Arte

    Art

    Prints, paintings, etchings and pañuelos by artists we love.

  • Handwoven beargrass earrings with rose quartz, made by payahupaway.

    Joyería

    Jewelry

    Beargrass weaving and handmade ceramics.

  • A spread of bilingual children’s books on a cream textile and sheepskin.

    Libros

    Books

    Bilingual books para toda la familia.

  • A bottle of agua florida, chunks of copal resin in an abalone shell and fresh ruda, laid on black cloth embroidered with flowers.

    Hierbas

    Herbs and plant medicine

    Copal, ruda, agua florida, oils and salves.

  • Bags of blue, red and white corn masa harina beside a cast iron tortilla press and a woven tortilla basket.

    Masa

    Masa and kitchen

    Fresh masa from a local co-op, tortilla presses and baskets.

  • A leather patch stamped “Hecho en Humboldt” next to the carved printing block that made it.

    Hecho en Humboldt

    Patches and apparel

    Leather patches, tees, totes and one-of-a-kind bags.

  • Gold tin milagro heart mirrors and small wooden frames painted “Mi Amor.”

    Casa y altar

    Home and altar

    Milagro mirrors, candles for your ofrenda, hand-painted altars.

  • Young corn starts in a pot, held up in front of the shop’s big painting of corn and clay vessels.

    Plantitas

    Plants and seeds

    Starts from seeds our familia has kept for years.

Gift cards available in the shop.

Makers on our shelves

Latinx, Indigenous and other BIPOC artists and makers get our shelves first, many of them from right here in Humboldt.

See all the makers
See all the makers

El patio

The courtyard is our heartbeat.

Walk through the black iron gate and you’re out back: string lights, murals, plants and a lot of familia. The courtyard is open whenever the shop is.

The courtyard on a sunny day: raised garden beds, a wooden bench and gravel under string lights.
A smiling folklórico dancer in a yellow dress and calavera face paint holds her striped skirt out wide in the courtyard on Día de los Muertos, with a dancer in red behind her under papel picado.

Esta temporada

Día de los Muertos

Cempasúchil comes from the Náhuatl for twenty flowers. Its color and scent light the way home.

“Gracias ancestros por hoy y cada día.”

See our big days

What happens here

See the whole courtyard

Nuestra historia

Named for a ranch in Michoacán.

We named La Ciendita after the ranch of Jessica Vanessa Olivera’s great-great-uncle in Coalcomán.

Y’all came with your blessings, support, excitement, dance moves, but most of all a heart wide open!

Familia Wall

  • Opening day: a crowd of familia and friends, elders and kids among them, holding a red ribbon in front of the white shop with its carved La Ciendita sign.
    Opening day, Oct 5, 2024
  • Octavio in sunglasses and a red neckerchief, holding his daughter in a red ruffled dress inside the shop.
    Papá bear
  • Black and white portrait of a man in a black brimmed hat and suspenders, tattoos on his arms, in front of the painted wood Nemiliztli installation.
  • A woman with a marigold tucked in her hair sits in the rust velvet chair holding a mug, under the painting of corn and clay vessels.
  • A woman in glasses and a man in a fur coat laugh together at an art pop-up, colorful prints hung on the courtyard wall behind them.
  • Octavio in a felt hat kisses a sleeping newborn in a bright knitted cap, a red truck and tall trees behind them.
  • Black and white portrait of a woman in a white cowboy hat and a heart-patterned sweater vest, beside the shop door.
  • 2022: the founder, pregnant, in a wide white hat behind a hand-lettered La Ciendita sign lined with marigolds at the Blue Lake summer market.
    Blue Lake market, 2022
Read our story See the whole wall

Visítanos

Come see us.

The front of La Ciendita on a sunny day: a white clapboard building with a carved wood La Ciendita sign, a pink door, a 655 mailbox and a bronze sculpture of two figures out front.

We’re all about creating a market for our people, our artists, and cultivating our cultura.

655 9th St, Arcata, CA 95521

One block from the Arcata Plaza, next to the fire station.

Hours

Get directions
Wednesday
11 am to 6 pm
Thursday
11 am to 6 pm
Friday
11 am to 6 pm
Saturday
10 am to 4 pm
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
Closed
@la.ciendita on Instagram (opens in a new tab) Call 310-743-5237

How to find us

  1. The carved wood La Ciendita sign over the shop door.

    Look for the white building with the carved La Ciendita sign.

  2. The black 655 mailbox beside the open pink shop door as someone steps inside.

    The pink door by the 655 mailbox is the shop.

  3. The black wrought iron courtyard gate seen from the street, flowers at its base.

    The black iron gate beside the shop opens to the courtyard.