Cordelia Mendoza

Cordelia (Scott) Mendoza (born in San Diego, California) is an antiques expert, philanthropist and award-winning San Diego retailer.
Early life and education
Mendoza grew up in La Mesa in San Diego County, where she attended Helix High School, then Grossmont College and the University of California, San Diego. Her philanthropic work began at age 13 when she and her twin sister, Cathy Scott, for a year represented the San Diego Heart Association as the Heart Fund Twins, after Mendoza successfully underwent repair of a congenital heart defect, a surgery that at the time was rare. Each was awarded a Key to the City by then-Mayor Charles C. Dale.
Career and volunteer work
Since 1988, she and her husband, Bob Mendoza, have owned and operated antiques stores in the San Diego coastal community of Ocean Beach, including the first antique mall on the town's main street, Newport Avenue, which has been referred to as the Ocean Beach Antique District and called a "beachside Antique Row" by San Diego Magazine. Mendoza's current store, Cottage Antiques, has been written about and featured in Antiques & Collectibles, The Collector, San Diego Woman, San Diego Metropolitan Magazine, Beach & Bay Press, San Diego Beacon and the San Diego Union-Tribune.
'In 2006, she was given a Business Improvement District award by the City of San Diego. At the time, The Daily Transcript described Mendoza as "a pioneer in establishing the antiques district in Ocean Beach" and a "strong presence and visibility in Ocean Beach since 1988."
In October 2007, the California State Legislature recognized her community service with an award presentated by State Sen. Christine Kehoe for "commitment to strengthening the community through dedicated service with the Ocean Beach Main Street Association." Over the years, she has been interviewed by and quoted in periodicals and newspapers about antiques, including San Diego magazine and the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Her store, Cottage Antiques, was named Outstanding Neighborhood Business of the Year in 2006 by the Small Business Administration, San Diego office.
In 2009, for the third year in a row, Cottage Antiques made KGTV-10’s county-wide “A-List" at number 4 for Best Antiques. Also in 2009, the store received the Readers' Choice Award from the Peninsula Beacon.
She also consults in antiques and estate liquidation and evaluates and consults in home decorating. In 2007, Mendoza was interviewed for a feature story about antiques in the Christian Science Monitor, which was reprinted in the Daily Herald. In 1999, she was featured as a collector on HGTV's Appraise It! show, taped at the Butterfield auction house in Los Angeles
In 2009, Mendoza coordinated and co-chaired the Point Loma Holiday Home tour, a fixture in San Diego for 58 years, that benefitted Best Friends Animal Society, a national animal welfare organization. The year before, in 2008, Mendoza’s 1935 home was featured as part of the tour, which for 57 years benefited the All Soul’s Episcopal Church in Point Loma. When the church retired the event, Mendoza chaired it one last time, for the 2009 event, this time benefitting animals.
She was one of three featured in a news story about thinking outside the box when it comes to volunteering for nonprofits.
The Mendoza’s remodeled kitchen in their restored San Diego coastal home, to its original state, was featured in the Summer 2008 Better Homes and Gardens "Kitchen Makeovers Special Publication."
Mendoza co-authored Chintz and Pastel Ware, with her mother, the late Eileen Rose Busby, which is scheduled for posthumous publication by Schiffer Publishing in 2011. In addition, Mendoza was a contributing writer for her mother's second book, Cottage Ware: Ceramic Tableware Shaped As Buildings.
She currently sits on the executive boards, as well as co-chairing committees, of Rady Children's Hospital Auxiliary Board and the Ocean Beach Main Street Association board of directors. She also helps each year with Rady Children's Hospital Auxiliary's annual benefit Garden Walk and is the volunteer webmaster for its site.
Social media
In July 2009, Mendoza was a speaker at the Cool Twitter Conference in San Diego. Then, in November 2009, she was the Cool Twitter Conference promoter and official conference Twitterer at its Orange County conference, as part of its national tour.
Also in 2009, The Daily Reviewer named her store's site as one of its Top Antiques Blogs.
In 2010, she was voted number 15 in "Best Social Media in Business" by Influence Awards in San Diego.
Today's Vintage online magazine republished a column of Mendoza's about decorating with architectural objects. And the "Home China Improvement" site re-ran her blog post on the history of white ironstone Staffordshire china.
Some of her articles are published by ezinearticles, an online magazine, including "Soapstone-Countertops - Ageless, Green, and Sustainable" (May 2010).
Personal
Mendoza is the daughter of the late Eileen Rose Busby, author and antiques expert, and the late, a Senior Olympian who helped pioneer and develop the game of racquetball. She is the granddaughter of California artist Esther Rose, the sister of scientist and author Dr. J. Michael Scott, sister of true crime author Cathy Scott, and the niece of the late Russian Orthodox Hieromonk Father Seraphim Rose. She lives in the Point Loma community of San Diego with her husband Bob.

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