Daily Gems & other musings — San Francisco

We recently announced our outreach in our Berkeley community here on the blog, and this week we're sharing more about Dorothy's Closet, the thrift shop we'll be helping to open to support a special program here in our hometown. Opening this spring, Dorothy's Closet has been developed in partnership with Rebuilding Together East Bay North and will be a store that provides workforce development, social services and shopping for those in need. With our own experience in opening our flagship location in Downtown Berkeley, viv&ingrid was asked to help open Dorothy's Closet, which will accept donations and provide a shopping...

We're beyond excited to share one of our favorite Bay Area #localgems with you this week - FLOWERLAND, "an old fashioned nursery and gift shop for the modern gardener."  We couldn't love the description more, combining both the traditional {think great, friendly customer service in a charming neighborhood} and modern {the best products from gardening to gifts, all in one convenient spot}, and we'd like to think of ourselves in a similar way! Nestled in a quiet but accessible spot in Albany, California on one of our favorite streets, Solano Avenue {home to our original design studio!}, Flowerland is our go-to...

Happy Monday, friends!  With the holidays just days away, we're keeping the Small Business Gift Guides coming - next up:  the best in Coffee and Tea! This round, we're not only featuring some of our very favorite brands for a coffee or tea buzz, but you can visit these locations in the East Bay to enjoy all of these five-star reviewed goodies and pick up your sweet treats in person for all those last minute gifting needs!   Bundts & Crumpets Specialty Teas @ the Mel & Ash Beau-Tea Lounge We've been obsessed with premium loose leaf teas ever since Bundts...

We recently launched our small business gift guide with a feature on Gourmet, Artisanal and Vegan Treats, and we're so excited to share our next installment with more of our favorite brands in organic and small batch wellness!   Flower of Love SF Based in San Francisco just across the bay from our design studio, Flower of Love creates vegan and cruelty free products in small batches that "redefine the standard 'clean up'."  They never use added artificial dyes, fragrance oils or additives to create a product you can trust.  Inspired by nature, Flower of Love believes that nature gives us everything...

Now more than ever, it's so important to us to support our fellow small businesses, so this holiday we're launching a Gift Guide series featuring some of our favorite brands!  Not only have we tried and loved all of these products ourselves, but they are all five-star reviewed and most are currently run in the San Francisco and East Bay Areas.   First up: Maison Bouche! Founded by trained pastry chef Diane Beaty in 2009, we have carried this artisanal chocolate brand in our very own shop since we opened our doors and haven't been able to keep it on shelves...