Daily Gems & other musings — woman owned business

In 1999, Chitose Abe founded the Japanese brand Sacai, a luxury label known for its unique pattern combinations and design techniques, and is currently the label's Creative Director and owner.  When we first heard about her, we were so excited to learn more about this incredible #girlboss, mom and all around raw talent! Before founding Sacai, Chitose worked at Comme de Garcons as a pattern cutter and as a member of Junya Watanbe's design team.  Afterwards, she became a mom and now, as the head of Sacai, she bases her collections "...purely on my creative instincts.  Maybe I’m an idealist, but I am a...

In creating our Diversity in Design Style Board series, we set out to find and feature established and emerging designers that we both loved for their work on the runway as well as for how and why it's all created.  In discovering the line Maki Oh, founded by Amaka Osakwe, we were inspired not only by beautiful design, but also by the brand's vision to extend "beyond physical beauty to a textured, layered, and three-dimensional aesthetic, embodying the philosophies of sustainability, preservation, strength and complex simplicity."  The brand is centred in a strong sense of identity and culture, creating narrative pieces...

When we discovered Anaïs Jourden Mak's collection when creating our Diversity in Design StyleBoard series, we became instantly obsessed with the Hong Kong-born designers modern, unique take on femininity, something that felt so refreshing and new. Anaïs gained popularity quickly, with her designs seen on celebrities like Ariana Grande and Bella Hadid.  When we discovered her Ready to Wear collection, we were immediately drawn to elements like sweet polka dot details paired with edgy combat boots, classic bow accent on this super-modern fuchsia dress and a classic, feminine sweater set atop a sparkly black skirt. Perhaps our favorite discovery was when we discovered that,...

Image via eco-age.com Not only does Studio 189 create beautiful, colorfully printed pieces that we want to wear everywhere, but they are a beyond inspiring brand.  We discovered the brand when curating our Diversity in Design Styleboard Series, and immediately went to work to learn more.  Co-founded by Rosario Dawson and Abrima Erwiah, Studio 189 "is an artisan produced fashion lifestyle brand and social enterprise that focuses on empowerment, creating jobs and supporting education and skills training.  The brand currently operates a store in Accra (Ghana), an ecommerce site, a manufacturing facility in Accra, and supports various community led projects in Africa and...

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...