Shibumi Gallery founder April Higashi began designing contemporary jewelry through an experiential background steeped in textiles, fashion and fine art. Working in the fashion industry for Nini Bambini and Esprit de Corps taught her the ropes of running a business and clarified her budding entrepreneurial vision. Taking a jewelry-making class at San Francisco City College at age 25 eventually led Higashi to launching her hand-crafted jewelry line on the market—accumulating 300 accounts before ultimately closing the business.  Along the way, she honed her management capabilities as an art ..read more

Holiday season is here. *Bells jingle softly in the distance; steam rises off a cup of hot chocolate.* A miraculous and much-needed week or two of rain, nippy temperature and shop windows dutifully bedecked in honor of various winter festivities all confirm it.  Whether it’s Christmas, Hanukkah or a non-denominational gathering of friends and loved ones, the winter season is a fantastic opportunity to dress up, down and generally all around. By this I mean, don’t dress to impress someone else, but let’s dress the heck up for ourselves this holiday season! Let’s give the gift of feeling g ..read more

A tale of timeless fashion My introduction to Standard & Strange began several years ago while living in Santa Fe. I worked for Iconik Coffee Roasters at the time—a must-visit to anyone passing through le Fe—and we had a location nestled in Collected Works Bookstore just off the plaza. Also a must visit! Really what I’m saying is drop everything and go to Santa Fe immediately. Every day, without fail, a group of devastatingly well-dressed people would come in for an espresso, or an Americano, until I finally had to ask who left the faucet on. Thus my introduction to a world of thoughtfull ..read more

PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST Designer Erica Tanov opened her first store in Berkeley in 1994. (Photo by Alanna Hale)Designer Erica Tanov’s aesthetic curation Those whose fashion passion slants towards an attraction—OK, let’s say an addiction—to serene and sublimely high-end women’s wear and meticulously curated home goods made by artisans worldwide, should be cautious when exposing themselves to designer Erica Tanov. The California native studied at New York’s Parsons School of Design and, after working for designer Rebecca Moses, ventured out on her own in 1990. Beginning with seamed slips and chem ..read more

Rachel Konte’s OwlNWood In the midst of the 2007 recession, Danish-born designer Rachel Konte stepped away from a 15-plus-year career in corporate fashion and her then-current high-level position as design director at Levi Strauss & Co. in San Francisco to consider future options. “My whole career had been exciting and exhausting, so finding myself thinking of what to do next and founding OwlNWood and then Oakollective, a popup fashion shop I started with a friend, was me dabbling,” Konte says. In 2021, Konte’s “dabbling” led not only to the Oakland resident becoming the founder/owner of ..read more