Many business owners were forced to temporarily close in the spring of 2020, leading Jessica Zarate to open a shop, Beary Creative, from her home. Its name belies the fact that Beary Creative does not carry stuffed bears.

“I’m a Bear,” Zarate said of being from Pharr-San Juan-Alamo. 

If you live in the Rio Grande Valley, you likely know Bear pride runs deep in PSJA High School graduates.

“I started by making personalized epoxy cups,” Zarate said. “A friend recommended that I sell them. Then people started asking, ‘Can you do shirts?'”

Zarate discovered she could. Zarate’s need for more space grew as did her orders. Opening a shop would have an added benefit.

“When I was at home, I was not sleeping,” Zarate said.

She received calls and texts from customers late at night and the wee hours of the morning. Zarate realizes now she could have responded to those calls and messages during business hours, but that lesson came later.

First Step In Growth

In October 2020, Zarate opened her first brick-and-mortar shop on Main Street in McAllen’s Olde Towne neighborhood. Zarate added boutique items to her line of personalized clothing and epoxy cups. At first, people called in their orders and paid by phone or through a mobile-payment app. The small space did not lend itself to a browsing-and-shopping experience.

Zarate’s customer base expanded further, leading to the need for a larger shop. In July 2021, Beary Creative moved to a second-floor space on 8th and Quince in McAllen. The new location initially met the demand from Zarate’s growing customer base. She longed for a storefront on ground level. Within months, she called her landlord, Jim Moffitt, to ask if he had any sites available. 

He did. Moffitt told her about his new development, Plaza del Norte, on the east side of Country Omelette on North 10th in McAllen. It had a storefront, sat on ground level, and was double the size of the 8th and Quince location. The new site turned out to be perfect.

“He let me pick everything and he even had them build real dressing rooms.”

Opening Opportunities

The new shop, which opened May 28, has an office where the personalized creative work happens, using Zarate’s Direct-to-Film and eco-solvent printers.

It also has a Build-Your-T-Shirt Station. There’s a Selfie Station as well, with a glittery-gold fabric background and a “Hello gorgeous” neon sign, the outline of a pink heart shining brightly next to “Hello.”

Zarate still specializes in personalized orders for males and females of all ages, up to size 5X. Custom t-shirts for birthdays, graduations and family trips remain popular, and Beary Creative has no minimum-order requirement. Customers show up with an idea or a drawing or ask Zarate for advice. Most designs can now be done in full color.

At the Build-Your-T-Shirt Station, kids and adults choose a t-shirt and a screen print, categorized to make searching for the perfect one easier.

“One customer came in with pictures of her mom that she wanted to have printed on a cup using sublimation,” Zarate said. “It was beautiful!”

Zarate expanded Beary Creative’s selection of boutique clothing and accessories for women, including jewelry, hats, travel bags and coin purses. She also offers customized, silicone-bead wristlet keychains that can be made in school colors, favorite colors or random colors of a customer’s choosing.

Zarate attributes Beary Creative’s growth to social media and word-of-mouth advertising. Owning her own shop has been a blessing for Zarate.

“It’s rewarding,” she said, the shine in her eyes matching the smile on her face. “People come in and leave happy, and you know it’s because of what you have done.”