Bugambilia’s Marketplace reminds me of the magic boxes that hold so much more than the outside dimensions suggest.  Two years after Patti and Larry Dittburner launched the Villa de Cortez and  stimulated Weslaco’s downtown revitalization, Patti Dittburner opened Bugambilia’s Marketplace.

Initially the Dittburners bought the property along Business 83 opposite the Cortez, they thought it could provide a needed parking area for downtown. But after the couple toured Boerne, Comfort and Kerrville, they had a better idea: retail.  “We said we should do it,” she recalled.    For her, Weslaco’s main street Texas Blvd. is the heart of the city.  She felt it was important to invest time, money and ideas in the building to help retain downtown’s character which was tied to the Spanish look of the 1920s and 30s.  Bugambilia’s is instantly recognizable from Business 83 because of the bronze sculptures of children gamboling across its east wall.  But Dittburner doesn’t operate the store for sentimental reasons: she fully intends Weslaco’s downtown to be as functional as it is attractive. Successful businesses attract more businesses.

Patti Dittburner, a bundle of energy and organization, envisioned making the rambling old building into an incubator for decorative crafts, spread out in 36 small shops with each vendor claiming a separate room or niche.  Today, each room retains its own personality-western, Victorian, ranch, feminine, jungle, nature, -- although there are fewer individual vendors.  But throughout Bugambilia’s the predominant ambiance is good taste and joie de vivre, from the lamps, framed prints, and jewelry, to furniture, decor items, and sculptures.

The shop’s entry possesses rich-red walls and the original pressed tin ceiling, setting the stage for a marketplace that aims to provide unusual merchandise at wholesale prices on to the public.   The sheer quantity of items can be overwhelming.  And be warned:  if you find something you like pick it up, because it’s almost impossible to retrace your steps and find it a second time.   Dittburner warns customers about the cats curled up on chairs and couches throughout the marketplace–they’re well-behaved fakes.  

More than merely selling home furnishings, Dittburner likes to create rooms that suit the personalities of her customers, using items from Bugambilia’s.   “It’s fun to decorate a home,” she said, so she does it frequently.  When Dittburner does a room makeover from top to bottom, she has never heard a complaint from her customers about the price.  “I found what they wanted but they didn’t know to get there.”  

Her success comes from listening to the customers, seeing the home....and having a very large building filled with almost every kind of item to decorate a home, bringing it to life.   She doesn’t charge for decorating plans and recommendations.  The shop has a floral designer who customizes arrangements to suit the settings.