The Bay Area is home to many creatives, and did you know many fashion designers create their own merchandise right here in the bay? Check out what we found for you. The Sausalito Center for the Performing Arts has a new(ish) location in the heart of that gorgeous town of Sausalito. You must visit. Opera can be intimidating, but not the Merola Summer Festival, try it, you’ll like it. The future is here! Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut take the stage at Z space, just wow! (Not the actual people of course)

Check Out the Gallery Store

The Sausalito Center for the Arts has many new and dynamic offerings for the Bay Area arts community this summer, including a brand new Gallery Store which will showcase the talents of local artists. Launching July 11, the Gallery Store is an entirely new space at SCA that offers a curated shopping destination where people can discover original artwork, handcrafted jewelry, sculpture and thoughtfully made gifts by SCA members, with offerings refreshed bimonthly.

Shoppers not only can come away with a locally made gift but will learn the story behind the artwork that makes it so special. Each offering is accompanied by information about the artists’ process and inspiration, as well as behind the scenes video of the artists at work.

The SCA was founded in 2021 and is dedicated to enriching the community through experiences and events showcasing diverse artists. It is a nonprofit that runs on the passion of their artist members, volunteers and donors. I recently visited and will be back for the wonderful events they have planned in the coming months. Support the arts! Sausalito Center for the Arts

Fashion Around The Bay

Llea Blue

If you are like me, you lived in the clothing brand CP Shades in the 80’s. I used to love their soft and cozy clothing. And can we talk about the shoulder pads! CP Shades was around for a long time and did you know they made their clothes in Sausalito?  Yes, indeed and now their son Zach has started his own brand called Llea Blue. Many of the same women who worked for CP Shades are still sewing the new merchandise in Sausalito. There is no storefront, but their lovely, soft, hand crafted shirts and more, can be found in a few local boutiques as well as specialty stores across the country. Many of the same designs and fabrics we fell in love with are still available along with some fresh new ideas and creations.  Although they are only selling wholesale for now, they are growing.

I had the most delightful factory tour and wanted all the merchandise I saw. Made for all ages of course, but tomatoes, you will love! In fact, if you know of any boutiques, let them know about Llea Blue. My fingers are crossed that they open their own store soon. For now, you can find them at Leaf & Petal and Cassis in Palo Alto. LLEA BLUE

Nooworks

Are you funky and fabulous? Then you will definitely want to visit Nooworks in the mission. Their colorful dresses, jumpsuits, tops and more are all designed in collaboration with local artists. They are made in inclusive sizes and crafted as sustainably as possible in California. FUN AND COLORFUL CLOTHES

11 Wrk

Founded by brothers Arturo and Misael Marin, San Francisco design studio 11 Wrk is shaped by Mexican roots and a Bay Area upbringing. Their work channels self-taught craft and community resilience into garments built for and entirely made in the city: The brand sources textiles in the Mission, designs in Lakeview, embroiders in Bayshore, and constructs pieces on 3rd Street. Specializing in streetwear and known for their iconic embroidered Dodgers hat, 11 Wrk’s collection includes utilitarian workwear, sharp graphic tees, and original silkscreened textiles. 11WRK

Kamperett

San Francisco womenswear label Kamperett is designed and made in California. Founded a decade ago by Anna Chiu and Valerie Santillo, the collection centers on effortlessly chic pieces that express a quiet, considered femininity through silhouette, nuanced textiles, and timeless tailoring. The name merges the founders’ maiden names, Pferdamper and Garrett, reflecting a partnership grounded in their shared vision. With a focus on sustainability, refined construction, and intentional design, Kamperett offers both elevated everyday wear and pieces suited to special occasions. KAMPERETT

The Merola Summer Festival

There are Opera lovers and then there are those who have been intimidated by the art form. The Merola Summer Festival is performed at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and they present exhilarating events with opera’s brightest rising starts. Affordable so you can see if you are a lover. One of the oldest and most prestigious opera training programs in the world, Merola was founded in 1957 and operates in close artistic collaboration with San Francisco Opera, but is a financially independent nonprofit organization governed by its own Board of Directors.

Tickets start at $25 so this is a great way to get your feet wet. In July you can experience La Tragedie de Carmen – a condensed thrilling adaptation of Bizet’s Carmen. Later in the month is Ariadne auf Naxos, an operatic masterpiece that blurs the lines between mythological tragedy and lighthearted comedy. OPERA

Through July 19. Absolutely Science Fiction! 

The eerily prescient, laugh-out-loud funny new show Absolutely Science Fiction! is bringing two short stories by Ray Bradbury and Kurt Vonnegut to life at Z Space. It’s the latest production from Word for Word, a performing arts company founded at the Mission-Potrero theater in 1993 with the unusual mission to stage not plays but narrative fiction (i.e., novels and short stories). “We don’t change the text at all,” says co-artistic director and co-founder Joanne Winter. That means that, to stay true to the author’s original intention, the company must find a way to integrate all the story’s narration into the dialogue of its characters. Bradbury’s The Veldt, written in 1950 is a horror tale of sorts about a family living inside a futuristic home. The house does everything for them, from cooking their food to tying their shoes to caring for their children…. consequences ensue!

The second store, The Big Space F#&%*, written by Vonnegut in 1972 is an irreverent takedown of a not-too-distant future American society that has destroyed Earth’s ecosystem and sentenced themselves to extinction. Many parallels to our current life situation, i.e. AI, will have you reeling and laughing. Through July 19^th. ABSOLUTELY SCI-FI