Deer Community

A place where we share stories from the amazing locals who visit and love the Deer Lodge as much as we do. Stay tuned to meet new people in our community each month.

Written by Claire Detuncq

Stephanie and I met up at the Deer Lodge, ordered a couple of Aperol Spritz, and I asked her some questions.

Claire: Do you remember the first time you ever set foot inside the lodge?

Stephanie: Yes. I was still serving at the Ojai Valley Inn, so it must’ve been 2016. This wedding had just finished and my co workers suggested we go get a drink at the Deer Lodge. I had never been here. We were getting a drink and 5 mins later, everyone we had just served at the wedding arrived at the Deer Lodge for their after party. It was actually really fun and they bought us drinks.

It reminded me a lot of a bar my dad would love. It feels very hometown and has its roots in the community. I liked it instantly for that.

Claire: Tell us a little bit about your hobbies.

Stephanie: I am a serial hobbyist. I’m constantly picking up new things, but the things that are most consistent in my life are doing ceramics, podcasting, gardening, and being outside as much as possible. I can never stop moving. I love projects and I love making things.

A few of Stephanie’s handmade ceramic vases

Claire: Tell us a about your podcast, Topa Talk.

Stephanie: I started Topa Talk in 2019 with one of my best friends Melissa. We were very passionate and interested in highlighting business owners in Ventura County. I’m kind of a fangirl when it comes to business owners. I remember growing up, we would be at the local diner, and my mom would point out “That’s the owner” and my eyes would get so big, larger than life. I find it more exciting than meeting celebrities. The podcast was a good way to break the barrier down, these people we idolize are just really hard workers and people trying their best. I thought it would be fun to steal everyone’s insight and wisdom on how to run a business and try to apply it to my own life. So it was semi selfish.

From there it’s really gone off the rails, in the best way. We still love to support and contribute to the community, but it’s become a more conversational podcast. That was a huge thing during the pandemic for our listeners, just to listen to normal problems and relate. We talk about our sex life, friends, inter personal issues, political issues, and we just try to create a space where people can feel connected.

Claire: What is one of your favorite memories you’ve made here at the lodge?

Stephanie: We have been losing abortion access rapidly across the country. It was so cool to see the Deer Lodge jump into action and create a fundraiser around that. There was this incredible community event I got to be a part of where you were collecting art from artists in town to host a silent auction. That day was such a community experience to see everyone come together. It was a good reminder that when you create and make stuff it brings people together. It was just a really special way for local musicians and artists to come together and spring into action.

Also Cody’s birthday party. It was so cool to see a private event being played out like that here. We all dressed up.

Claire: What do you like most about living in Ojai?

Stephanie: I love how small it is. I can walk into anywhere and see a friendly face. Everywhere I turn there’s someone rooting for me. It’s crazy. There’s people smiling who know you, who care about what you’re doing, and are actively rooting for you. In a small town, we have to communicate with people who are different than us. I have a neighbor who is definitely on the political spectrum that doesn’t align with me at all. However, I’ve had to learn with being neighborly, and being in a small town, that’s the guy that might pull my car out of a ditch because he’s the only one with a tractor hitch that day. It grounds you in real world and real life. It reminds you that everybody is somebody who’s trying to get by and live their life and have a good day.

Claire: What are some of your favorite restaurants or happenings in Ojai?

Stephanie: Thursdays farmers market is a big one that I think is very important. Grace from Poco Farms put her heart and soul into making that happen. She really spear headed that for the community and it was such a huge need. It’s so cool. You don’t even have to bring cash I just learned. They have tokens, you can do Venmo or PayPal, they have a system for it. Watching the kids dance around while the music is happening, and you can get ice cream. Oh my gosh, if you haven’t gone and had a date night there, you’re missing out.

Stephanie is a member at Firestick Pottery where she spends about 10 hours a week making pottery.

Catch her in person at Topa Topa Brewing Co. in Ojai on June 7th from 4-8PM

Instagram:

@Makerjames_

@TopaTalk

Listen to Topa Talk on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

Tiffany and I enjoyed a drink on a dewy Spring day at the Deer Lodge and I asked her some questions.

Claire: What is one of your favorite things about working at the Deer Lodge?

Tiffany: Live music. I’ve been here for 6 months now. Just meeting all the different people and all their faces becoming more familiar. You get to know everybody’s personalities. And I love the drinks and I love the food. But the live music is where it’s at. To be able to have that and be a part of that.

Finding out that this place has been here since the ‘30’s and meeting all these creatives, musicians, and artists, and seeing all the people who are in the crowd or co workers getting up on stage. And you’re just like “whatttt”. It’s just so homey. It’s home. I love when the old timers come in and you hear all these stories of how it used to be.

Claire: What is one of your favorite memories that you’ve made here?

Tiffany: The Char-man concert. I don’t think I had ever seen Char-man before. My first time was during Thanksgiving weekend. That was the week we had to pull in the cocktail cart. We had such a big rush to pull it through and have it ready for that event. We work like that, grind all the way up to the point and the project is there in front of you and you get to see it in action. But man the Char-man show, that was my favorite.

The Stay Wild cocktail cart Tiffany and the boys of Matilija Vintage Trailer built out for Sophia, the owner of the Deer Lodge. This beautifully renovated horse trailer now offers mobile cocktail catering for weddings and events!

Claire: Tell us about what you do when you’re not working at the Deer Lodge.

Tiffany: So I work with Loren and Jessie at Matilija Vintage Trailer. I’ll do whatever they’ll have me do, but I do a lot of the sewing and hop on wherever. I’ll do a lot of the restorations on the outside of the trailer, sewing, painting inside, and basic clean up. I’m the shop girl.

Claire: What about any hobbies outside of work?

Tiffany: The truck. It’s my love. What started this whole restoration thing for me is I had ‘61 Mercury Comet. It was just after I had some big life things happen and went from making a decent amount of money to nothing really fast. I was doing hair and make up in film, television, and theater. I was working for ABC and the show went on, but it didn’t carry everybody with it. It changed my perspective on money and I gave back my financed vehicle and bought the Comet for a couple grand. I started restoring it myself with a friend. That’s what really started everything for me and just restoring anything old. I love to see old things on the road, and that’s why I do all the trailers now. I live in a 1953 International school bus and I’m fixing that up and painting the outside of it. Trying to keep my truck on the road too.

Tiffany with her 1965 Ford F 250 in front of the Deer Lodge.

Claire: What is something you’ve worked on with Matilija Vintage Trailer that you’re most proud of?

Tiffany: I think the project that we did on the Flying Cloud, a 1956 airstream, that’s the one we took to Barrett Jackson in Vegas. Seeing this trailer going from completely gutted, down to empty, and to see what the boys did. We do a lot of barn tear downs so the wood was from the 1900’s. It was so rich. I’m such a geek, but you can feel the energy coming off of that. We do a lot of stained glass on the trailers and that back window had the Matilija poppy. In that back window when the stained glass hit the sun, it was like church.

It’s like in here too at the lodge, your boots hit differently when you walk on that old wood. It feels like a saloon.

Claire: What are some of your favorite things on our menu?

Tiffany: Well I love our cowboy Manhattan. I’m a huge fan of the Matilija mule with the Wilder gin. I”ve always loved all of our BBQ. But the new veggie sandwich! That pepperoncini aioli and the house made pickles, oh man. And I love all of Mel’s deserts. That bread pudding she made last week and the crumble.

Claire: What’s your favorite thing about living in the Ojai Valley?

Tiffany: Being close to the beach and still being rural. I grew up in Texas and Chicago and always wanted to be a beach girl. I wanted to move to Hawaii and then I got stationed there. I got to go to Florida and then Camp Pendleton in San Diego County. If I hadn’t joined the navy I don’t think I would’ve ended up in California. Just the small town ruralness of our area is the best. You know that Doors song “Roadhouse Blues”, that’s the feel. I live in a school bus on an acre of land, where else would I be able to do that.

Claire (pointing across the street) : Oh! There’s a deer!

*We both sip our drinks and stare at the deer*

Stay tuned for the showroom and store front opening at 65 Baldwin Rd. in Ojai.

Instagram: @matilijavintagetrailers

Instagram: @staywildcocktailcart

Jaye and I sat down on a beautiful afternoon at the Deer Lodge and I asked him some questions.

Claire: What is one of your favorite memories from a day or evening at the lodge?

Jaye: One recent memory that was special is when I gave Sophia that vase. Just the look on her face. She said she’d never gotten anything so beautiful. That vase is my favorite piece I’ve ever made.

You know, there’s been a lot of good times here, and it’s mainly thanks to all the good people who come here, I’ve been through a few generations of them.

The wooden vase made for Sophia, the owner of the Deer Lodge, now lives at Tres Hermanas. Made from curly maple, sapele, ebony, purple heart, satin wood, turquoise, and malachite.

(photo by Jaye Johnson)

C: What is your favorite drink at the lodge?

J: Bud light or a michelada, but you know that.

C: What’s your favorite dish?

J: Oh man, the chicken dinner.

From left to right: Jaye enjoying a michelada, Jaye’s pocket chalkers and joint protectors, wooden and stone inlayed earrings, wooden pen with handmade box.

C: Tell me a little bit about your woodworking and how long you’ve been doing it.

J: Well I started 20-something years ago, with a product for the Billiards Industry called a Cue Tender. And then I had so much scrap pieces of exotic woods leftover, I decided to buy a lathe and start turning them. And then one thing led to another and before you know it you’re making 600 pieces of wood in a vase. It’s been fun, it’s really been fun. I’ve been to a lot of shows, street fairs, done the farmers markets. And I always think about the word “Wow”. Because when they come up to your booth, and they say “wow”, which has happened many many times, it makes you feel pretty good, you know? And now with pocket chalkers, I’ve been going to Vegas for 8 years, which I never thought I would, and that’s turned out to be pretty popular up there.

C: What is the show called that you do in Vegas?

J: Well they’re all pool tournaments. You’ve got BCA, APA, ACS. So it’s all different ones that they do across the country.

C: How many of those tournaments do you attend per year?

J: Last year I went 4 times. Usually I’ll do 3, but I might do 4 again this year.

C: How many months does it take you to get ready for one of those shows?

J: Not enough months! You know they’re a few months apart. I’ll go up in April and then I won’t go back up there until August. That August tournament is huge, they’ve got about 15,000 players. The whole time in between I’m working on new stock. It’s really fun, just don’t gamble too much.

C: What would be the best way for people in our community to see and shop your creations?

J: Have them call me! Or shoot me an e-mail. Or visit my Etsy page, but if you’re local just call me.

Jaye’s handmade cribbage boards with inlayed turquoise

Heyjaye@gmail.com

Instagram: @jazewoodcraft

You can find these wine stoppers for sale at the restaurant!