A week of female-founded "les finds"
Favorite discoveries from my recent travels and local errands
The last week has kept me on the move - traveling to familiar cities, but spending concentrated time on the outskirts. When in a new place, one of my favorite activities is to explore local boutiques and markets in an effort to uncover new brands and products. There are so many small business owners who are expert curators with an eye toward quality, aesthetics, and storytelling for their retail shops. I’m writing to share some of my favorite finds across home, beauty, style, and food. These were all discovered between Sausalito, Marin, Stinson Beach, and Los Angeles. As I was researching more about the products I uncovered (truly one of my favorite pastimes), I was consistently delighted to find that they all happen to be female founded. Cheers to girl power!
Home
I bought these Ogaard drinking glasses for our home from General Store in Venice. We opted for the tall size, but they also come in a shorter version. I had narrowed down the purchase to these or the Hobnob tumblers from Hawkins New York, but liked the fact that the Ogaard design was more organic in nature. Ogaard was founded by someone with impeccable taste - Oakland-based Tessa Watson, a stylist and photo art director. The glasses themselves are made in Mexico from 100% hand-blown recycled glass. You can shop them here and here.
This is likely counter to the majority of women out there who shop The Great. by Emily Current & Merritt Elliott, but my #1 reason to walk into the store is to immerse myself in a Brigette Romanek designed space - not only is her own house drop-dead gorgeous, but she is the creative genius behind Gwyneth Paltrow’s dreamy Montecito home. And my #2 reason is to take a look at their curated pottery collection. They carry an array of artisans in-store only. When I visited their shop in Marin, I loved the Ariel Clute Pottery - especially the checkered options. Ariel is a mom of 3 in Berkeley, CA who is also a talented ceramicist. Some designers I know well love a good checked pattern, so I can’t help but think of them fondly every time I see it in the wild.
The Great. also carries Morgan Peck’s pottery, a Los Angeles-based ceramicist. Morgan’s style has been influenced by Bauhaus and Art Deco.
Beauty
I was chatting with a skincare expert and she brought up the topic of exfoliation. She asked me what I do for exfoliation and I told her that I was using Tata Harper’s Regenerating Cleanser (which is amazing) a few times per week. She said, great, but what are you doing to chemically, more deeply exfoliate vs. surface level? Oooo, she had a great point and I didn’t have a response. After she checked to ensure it passed the Acne App test (i.e., confirming it had no comedogenic ingredients), she recommend I purchase Vivant’s 8% Mandelic Acid Serum and to date it has had a phenomenal result on my skin. I’m truly shocked…likely the best skincare purchase of 2023, dare I say. Mandelic acid is a type of alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) that helps to shed dead skin cells. It has been known to improve the appearance of fine lines, acne, and uneven skin. One callout is that AHAs are known to increase one’s sensitivity to the sun, so if you decide to use a product like this, make sure to not skip out on sunscreen (my all-time favorite that passes all the tests linked here).
Vivant was started by Sarah Fulton in 1990. She is a notable researcher and skincare formulator and was inspired by the discoveries her husband, Dr. James Fulton, MD, PhD, was making on his dermatological, acne-focused research.
Style
I have been wearing Jenny Bird’s Chunky Doune Hoops non-stop since they arrived at my house. I must have missed this in the show, but I was walking through Bottega wearing the Jenny Bird earrings and was surprised by how similar they were to a pair in the display case. Nothing better than still snagging a great, high-quality style at a true fraction of the price.
I also tried these Rachel Comey Pollux Hoops on at the store and they are honestly divine. I already have a great pair of gold hoops that I love, so I didn’t pull the trigger, but I’m a huge fan. They are slightly oversized without being overwhelming and I love the more organic shape for visual interest. Also, 10 points for being a full-circle hoop.
I found this sweater at a boutique in Marin and am regretting not pulling the trigger. I’m someone who doesn’t like to purchase something on a whim, but rather walk away and consider how a piece will fit into my wardrobe in a level-headed, more analytical (instead of emotional) way. Polo-style sweaters are back - I have been seeing them all over street style. This Cordera Polo Sweater in navy is a great option (also available here). Cordera was founded in Spain by 2 sisters who are dedicated to 100% ethical and sustainable product efforts. Their design style is minimalist and all of their knitwear is made in Galicia with Japanese knitting machines and then finished by hand.
Some other polo style knits I’ve been coveting are below. These picks are all cashmere…nothing like wrapping yourself in a sumptuous cocoon of cashmere.
Gigi Hadid’s Guest in Residence brand creates beautiful 100% cashmere pieces. This polo comes in black or oatmeal.
The Jenni Kayne cashmere Frances polo is a great option that comes in 4 colors.
The stitching on this cashmere polo by AYR is yummy. This comes in 3 colors.
This Toteme cashmere polo is pricey, but divine (and at least it’s not as expensive as Khaite!). The ribbing within the weave really elevates the piece. It also comes in 3 colors.
Nibbles
I came across these Date Better Snacks at a local shop in Stinson Beach and chose the Peanut Butter Crunch option. My plan was to save them for when I arrived back in LA, but I was too hungry without a proper dinner on the flight home. They are medjool dates that are filled with natural peanut butter and then dipped in dark chocolate - absolutely delicious….and far less of a guilty pleasure than airport candy (though I do love a good Peanut M&M bite). You can buy them in boutiques and markets across the US - they make a nice hostess gift or holiday stocking stuffer. I adore the groovy brand art. Date Better was started by Michelle Valdez-Wilton in Los Angeles a couple of years ago.
Yay for female-founded discoveries!
x jz
Images | 1 | @b.g.mckay, styled by me | 2 | General Store | 3 | The Great | 4 | me | 5 | Ariel Clute | 6 - 8 | Morgan Peck | 9 | Vivant | 10 | Acne App screenshot | 11 | me | 12 | Jenny Bird | 13 | Rachel Comey | 14 | me | 15 | Guest in Residence | 16 | Jenni Kayne | 17 | AYR | 18 | Net-a-porter | 19 - 20 | Date Better Snacks
Note: I do not get paid for nor make money off of this post. All opinions are my own.