Our friends used to tell us they’d love to shop at a store that looked like our home. Those heartfelt compliments stuck with us, and one day we decided to bring that idea to life. We began developing a strategy, setting a budget, and actively searching for the perfect space. After exploring multiple avenues and coming up short in St. Louis, where we were living at the time, we decided to pivot and search for new possibilities. During a cross-country trip in December 2016, the magic of the desert spoke to us like a shapeshifter in the night. The following month, we put our house on the market, packed up everything we owned, and moved to beautiful Palm Springs, California, to pursue our dream.

My wife and I launched Thick As Thieves with the intention of creating a boutique experience that felt both personal and purposeful. In 2017, we opened our first brick-and-mortar inside a 1920s Spanish bungalow in the heart of downtown Palm Springs. The space had the perfect bones and charm to help bring our vision to life. With a modest budget and a lot of creativity, we curated a shop filled with handmade goods, gifts, clothing, oddities, and unique finds that blended industrial, primitive, modern, and global styles. Though we came from advertising backgrounds and had no formal experience in retail, our years in the creative industry gave us a strong foundation in brand development and storytelling. That experience allowed us to approach the business with a well-defined visual identity, a cohesive point of view, and an emphasis on intentional design.

As we started to gain traction, we began closely observing consumer shopping behaviors and trends. It quickly became clear that retail was a constantly evolving business. Fortunately, we liked to mix it up too. After two years in our original layout, we undertook major renovations to expand our footprint. The larger space allowed us to grow both our inventory and our creative vision. We continued refining the environment, making thoughtful, incremental changes that had a meaningful impact. We continued evolving our personal design style within the space to make it feel inviting, aspirational, and rich with character.

Our hard work began to pay off, and we started gaining meaningful recognition. We were fortunate to receive strong media coverage early on. Our first major mention came when Goop included us in their list of the best places to shop in Palm Springs. In December 2019, we were honored to be named one of the “50 Best Home Stores in America” by House Beautiful Magazine, placing us alongside some of the most respected names in the industry. One of our favorite moments came when Joanna Gaines and her team visited the store after a local speaking engagement. Later that year, she personally included us in Magnolia Journal as one of her favorite places to shop for gifts during the holiday season. Since then, we’ve been featured in a wide range of publications, from influencer-curated guides and regional magazines to global outlets like the Los Angeles Times. The recognition was validating and gave us the confidence to expand our potential.

In 2020, like many independent retailers, we were forced to close our doors for several months. Once it was safe to reopen, we regained momentum and began looking ahead. Rather than return to business as usual, we saw an opportunity to grow. In October 2021, we opened a satellite location in Yucca Valley, California. The concept was a distilled version of our flagship that was thoughtfully designed for travelers heading to Joshua Tree and locals who embraced desert living. The product mix leaned more rustic, curated for the high desert aesthetic while staying true to our brand. A few months later, in February 2022, we launched Little Thieves, our first children’s store, in Palm Springs. Just down the street from our main location, it offered a playful, stylish, and design-forward experience for parents and gift-givers looking for well-made kids’ goods. By June 2022, we expanded Little Thieves to San Francisco, opening a location inside the historic Ferry Building. It was our way of bringing a piece of the desert up to Fog City, offering a fresh and creative retail experience in one of the city’s most iconic landmarks.

Expanding to four locations was a bold and creatively fulfilling move. It allowed us to experiment, reach new audiences, and stretch the brand in exciting ways. But as our footprint grew, so did the demands. We found ourselves managing more logistics and spending less time on the hands-on, intentional work that inspired us from the beginning. Staying true to our vision meant knowing when to pause, reflect, and realign. In late 2022, we made the decision to focus our efforts back on the flagship store. That choice gave us the space to reconnect with our original purpose and refine the experience we set out to create. The expansion taught us a great deal, and we are proud of what we built along the way. Each chapter shaped the brand into what it is today, and we are stronger because of it.