San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Epicenter
SF Bay Makers: Indie fashion designers discover the power of community
Independent designers join forces under SF Bay Makers co-op.
Garlands of vibrant carnations adorn the door frame of the 384-square-foot brick cottage at the Elizabeth Spencer Winery in Rutherford, built in 1872 as Rutherford’s post office.
Inside, butter-soft deerskin jackets from My Dear Tejas hang on one rack. Stylish gender-neutral items from online women’s clothing business Eight + Sand hang on another. Peace à Porter’s large freshwater baroque pearls dangle from oxidized silver chains. SF Bay Makers, a new Bay Area fashion co-op, is holding its April fashion pop-up. And people are buying.
“That jacket is yummy,” said shopper Susan Lopes of San Francisco, pointing to one of the leather jackets in mustard yellow.
Regina Weinstein, director of marketing and retail for her family’s neighboring Honig Winery, bought an Eight + Sand Breton-stripe French terry hoodie that felt like silk.
“My friend said we should come,” said Weinstein. “And I’m glad we did.”
With the e-commerce economy surging and traditional retailers ditching their stores left and right, small, indie designers are joining with other like-minded creatives and building a shared micro economy. The co-op concept facilitates makers trading ideas and advice, utilizing one another’s resources and banding together to sell their goods in the belief that there is strength in numbers.
Eight + Sand owner Noushie Mirabedi, 47, certainly thinks so. Her sales doubled after the co-op’s pop-up in Pacific Palisades (Los Angeles County) in March. Mirabedi and her partner, Ronda Raymond, create stylish basics including T-shirts, hoodies and button-downs, made from ethically sourced materials.
“Our goal is not to work with retailers but build our own online brand by doing intimate shows like this,” says Mirabedi, whose line, founded in 2016, is based in Oakland and Austin, Texas. “It’s like a traveling boutique, so much better than any of the other shows out there. It’s a matter of getting our line more effectively in front of new markets and making meaningful connections.”
SF Bay Makers was formed in January by San Anselmo’s Susan Kim, who owns leather goods label My Dear Tejas, to share her more than 30 years of retail experience with other Bay Area makers. Depending on individual schedules, its members go as a group to venues across California and beyond, setting up as a small store with a unified sensibility.
“My goal is to work with fellow business owners who might feel stuck, lack motivation or just can’t see clearly how to believe in themselves and build their businesses,” says Kim, 59, who operated clothing stores Dosa and Workshop on Union Street for decades.
“It’s the feeling of camaraderie you get that you don’t get when you’re working alone,” she adds. “And we’re upending the traditional models where stores sell designers’ products to customers. We sell directly to the public, enabling our designers to make more money by selling items at a lower cost.”
The co-op comprises nine noncompeting designers (eight work in fashion and accessories) hand-picked by Kim. All work for themselves while collaborating with others to get logistical help and business support. There is no fee to join, and Kim does not get paid — although members share marketing, food, drink and travel costs. All goods are made in California except Kim’s jackets, which are made in Texas, and Ruiko Kurihara’s clothing, which is made and hand-embroidered in Vietnam.
Kurihara, 37, of Costa Japan in Sunnyvale, who recently moved to the U.S. from Japan, joined the co-op to learn how other designers work and expand their businesses. She has participated in one pop-up. “The sales were twice more than a fair I did by myself in San Francisco,” she says.
Jennifer Busfield, 56, the owner of Z Line Lavender Farm in Rancho Murieta (Sacramento County), handstitches vintage handkerchiefs packaged with lavender locally grown at her family’s farm. (She also made the garlands and flower arrangements for the pop-up.) Louise Stroe, 51, a native of Denmark who now lives in Woodside, creates jewelry at Peace à Porter, inspired by ancient and tribal jewelry and includes lustrous Tahitian pearls.
Stroe says the co-op has garnered her new clients. “Susan has been a valuable advocate of my work,” she says. “I’ve had more sales in the first three months of this year as a direct result of showing with the group.”
Hiroko Tsunetsugu, 47, of H-filaments in Oakland, makes chic aprons (she created the aprons and linens for Boulettes Larder), and Llane Alexis, 41, a self-taught Cuban artist, creates one-ofa-kind functional art from discarded textiles, including bags that he makes by handbraiding strips of old denim and rope.
Elizabeth Brunner of San Francisco’s Piece x Piece, makes tops, tunics, pants and dresses with clean silhouettes using hand-dyed natural fibers. Brunner, 43, who will move her studio from San Francisco to Sonoma this month, says selling to customers in person is vital.
“My line is small, and it’s better for me as a designer to be close to the actual customer to get specific feedback,” she says. “And I can’t do that with wholesale accounts. The co-op has increased the eyeballs on what I’m doing. Susan’s the driving force, very passionate about making a bigger launchpad for us to sell our goods. She has a very infectious attitude, and is really positive, very encouraging.”
The makers share business ideas and experience in product development, merchandising, styling and event planning. Because Eight + Sand’s pieces are somewhat androgynous, Kim advised Mirabedi to make a dress. She did — a charming blue and white gingham A-line — which was a hit at the popup in Pacific Palisades.
In addition, Kim handles marketing for the co-op’s events. Says apron-maker Tsunetsugu, “The marketing and business part are so not my cup of tea. Susan has a real talent for that.”
Each designer uses his or her contacts to secure venues for the pop-ups. As a result, members have shown at jam maker and co-op member June Taylor’s the Still Room in Berkeley, and at Farmhouse in Larkspur. Earlier this month, they were at the Jimtown Store in Healdsburg, and some will be at ceramicist Richard Carter’s Pope Valley Summer Salon on Sunday, June 17, and at Isarose in Pacific Palisades on June 22-23.
At the pop-up April 21, Mirabedi sold 25 pieces. “I was trying to keep up,” she said, “but that’s what’s great about the co-op. Susan and Jenny jumped in and helped.”
Says Kim, “I really feel that small-business people have to help each other.”
“Our goal is not to work with retailers but build our own online brand by doing intimate shows like this.”
Noushie Mirabedi, Eight + Sand owner