It’s November at The Rubber Rose, San Diego’s only lesbian-owned sexuality boutique and art gallery, and co-owners Carly Delso-Saavedra and Lea Caughlan have one specific interest in mind.

“Nov. 20 is Transgender Day of Remembrance, so our November featured artist is always either a trans artist or an artist that deals with themes of gender and gender identity,” Caughlan says. “Also, the whole month of November we are highlighting events that deal with the same topics, from sex and dating in the trans community, to a trans social mixer we’re calling ‘Twister.’”

To say that Delso-Saavedra and Caughlan are throwing a “twist” into the San Diego arts and cultural scene would be an understatement. Since opening its North Park doors in July 2006, The Rubber Rose has consistently been ground zero for San Diego’s most cutting-edge, controversial, and queer art exhibits, literary events, and live music shows. If San Diego’s queer arts scene is a beating heart, then The Rubber Rose is its pacemaker, keeping the community educated, inspired, and of course, titillated.

“One of the main facets of our mission statement is to ‘facilitate the development of a strong community,’ so being active in the arts community as well as the activist community by offering up our space and using the space we have to host such important events allows us to continue in that vein,” says Caughlan, who met her business partner, Carly Delso-Saavedra, on the front lines of San Diego’s activism scene.

“Lea and I met on the streets of San Diego, protesting, organizing and doing all we could to change the world,” Delso-Saavedra says. “So as simple as it sounds, The Rubber Rose is essentially an extension of that. We were inspired to open our doors in large part to help our communities grow, heal, learn and celebrate together.”

In addition to being a hub for queer arts activity, The Rubber Rose’s Ray Street location places it on the route of Ray at Night, a gallery walk held the second Saturday of every month in North Park, and the city’s largest monthly art event. As the “new kid on the block,” The Rubber Rose is certainly kicking the sex-factor of Ray at Night up a notch, occasionally hosting gallery exhibits open only to patrons more than 18 years of age. Caughlan and Delso-Saavedra explain that although some of the more traditional Ray at Night patrons may suffer from slight disorientation upon wandering into a sex shop, the outcome is almost always positive.

“It definitely has been an experience, and to be honest, it isn’t simply the attendees of Ray at Night that find themselves amazed to have stumbled into a sex shop,” notes Caughlan. “The two of us often find ourselves sitting here with our mouths hanging open, astounded at how much our little porn shack transforms during Ray at Night! Curiosity always gets the best of any reluctant shopper and soon enough they are traipsing around with everyone else, getting the full tour of our space. It is such a great night, as we are constantly educating, breaking stereotypes, opening minds, and learning more about ourselves each and every time.”

In addition to Ray at Night, the Rubber Rose gallery space is home to many other regular community events, many geared toward women and transfolk. The space is home to Siren, a women’s open mic hosted by local activist, Emily Foster.

“The Rubber Rose art gallery provides such a warm, inspiring environment that if I wasn’t hosting Siren, I would be thinking up an excuse to gather my friends to spend time with me there,” Foster told the Gay & Lesbian Times via email. “Carly and Lea have created a space that nurtures love, art, intellect and activism, and it is such a blessing to have this new little cultural hearth in San Diego.”

In addition to Siren, The Rubber Rose hosts T.M.I., an open mic and performance series catering to trans individuals, feminists, punks, and queers, as well as “From F*cking to F*minism,” a discussion series addressing a wide range of sexuality issues.

“We have had a full year of art exhibitions that have rocked our worlds; Jennifer Jackman, Jeff Johnson, Monica Hover, Spenser Little and Frida Kamau-Hathorn are just a few artists that we have had the pleasure of highlighting,” says Delso-Saavedra proudly. “Our space has sponsored fund-raisers for the Lesbian Health Clinic, the No-Border Camp, and Lithium Picnic’s legal battle against the alternative porn site Suicide Girls.” “In addition, we have had some of our personal heroes rock the mic, including artists such as Lauren DeRose, Eileen Myles, Michelle Tea, MC Flow, Anna Joy Springer, Kimberly Dark, Laura Jane Wilcox and Sue Palmer.”

As business continues to grow, the women of The Rubber Rose have a knack for staying true to their activist ideals, as well as for staying connected to the San Diego community at large. When the recent Southern California fires demolished many homes in the area, Delso-Saavedra and Caughlan quickly transformed the gallery into a location for people to drop off donations for fire victims – not an act that many would expect from “a little porn-shack,” as the owners themselves refer to it. However, it is actions such as this that make the Rubber Rose stand out as a community hub.

“Lea and I are as much a part of San Diego’s diverse communities as we are about helping to build them,” Delso-Saavedra says. “We knew that our friends and customers were affected by the fires and wanted to help. We also instinctively knew that our friends and customers not affected by the fires would want to help as well, and so we decided to share what we have the most to give – space, as well as access to a growing network of like-minded people. As a small business, we can’t really afford to let go of too much cash, but we do what we can, where we can.”

Upcoming events at the Rubber Rose include the world premier of Kimberly Dark’s latest erotic work on Nov. 18, a March installation of the historic Clothesline Project, and a Women in Hip-Hop weekend scheduled for early spring. To become more involved in the revolution that is the Rubber Rose, swing by the store and gallery located at 3812 Ray St. in North Park, or contact Carly Delso-Saavedra and Lea Caughlan at 619-296-7673.