Best of the East Bay
If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, check out the fashion show at Drift Denim on Saturday night. Champagne will flow.
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If you’re starving in the hills, the long-awaited Aguavero has opened on Mountain Blvd. in Montclair. Tequila lovers are spilling out onto the street.
Contractual obligations kept me from posting previously about my favorite new-ish Oakland shop, Industrielle. Owner Dana Taylor is a local collage artist who displays her own work as well as that of other artists in the shop. She also supports locally-made and designed goods (think Evo Noche and Adeline Street), although she draws her merchandise from all over.
If you need to spruce up your digs, pick up a couple of her printed throw pillows or a cool clock. If you need a gift, try a handbag and a lovely card. Candleabras? Plates? T-shirts? check, check, check. She even stocks sassy undies for those bold enough to buy without a dressing room.
If you love a bustling crowd, go on First Fridays, when there’s always an opening. But if you prefer peaceful shopping, pop in any afternoon and chat with Dana. She’s good company and she stocks great things.
industrielle
33 grand ave.
510.271.0633
No doom and gloom here - by last chance I mean that this is the last session of classes at the Alice Arts Center, because Studio One is going home this fall! After way longer than the year it was supposed to be camping out on the corner of 14th St., Studio One will finally be moving home to its original building next to Oakland Tech and the Temescal Pool. The bond-funded retrofit will be complete, and arts-and-crafters will hopefully not have to worry about the safety of their unreinforced masonry building.
Originally built in 1894 as a Children’s Home, Studio One was converted to a city recreation center in the late 1940’s. It has served as a home to community theater, art classes, yoga classes, dances, summer camp, and all kinds of other activities since. Frankly, I can’t wait to get back in there.
But in the interim, the Malonga Casquelord Center for the Arts is a pretty cool space too, so find yourself a fun class and sign up to do something crafty one night a week. It’s like camp for grown-ups. Classes start June 25.
(We’ll be back here soon!)
studio one at malonga casquelourd center for the arts
1428 alice st.
510.597.5027
Here’s news you can use to get news you can use: There’s a brand new newsstand just off Piedmont Ave, and the owners are eager to supply you with reading material. From international newspapers to small press books and supermarket tabloids, Issues has something for every reader.
And there’s something for listeners, too. Collectible records and CD’s are also in stock.
Give them a few weeks to get fully stocked with all the local ‘zines and culinary mags (an owner favorite). Until then, swing by and pick up a copy of your favorite rag. You need something to read at Peet’s or Gaylord’s, right?
issues
20 glen ave.
510.652.5700
On that stretch of MacArthur between the Laurel and the Dimond, Suede is a shopping destination in the midst of a quiet neighborhood. Owner Darchell Hamilton says most of her customers find her by word-of-mouth or by driving by and seeing something colorful in the window. But even without a lot of foot traffic, she’s doing well. Open for just over a year, the shop has expanded from its original location in a smaller space next door.
Suede carries hip women’s clothes. Hamilton stocks dresses, bags, locally-designed t-shirts, jewelry, and other clothing. Whether you’re looking for something stylish to mix into your work wardrobe or for something to go out in at night, you’ll find it here. Stop by and try something on.
suede
2710 macarthur blvd.
510.336.9792
I love free stuff and I love the Earth, so what could be more fun than stopping into the greenly remodeled new digs of StopWaste.Org, part of the Alameda County Waste Management Authority. The modern lobby boasts racks of great reading material, but if you take it with you, be sure to recycle or pass it on. Pick up pamphlets on green building and recycling as well as freebies like fridge magnets! The colorful magnets tell you who to call in order to recycle your AAAs, cell phone batteries, and other stuff that’s not allowed in the trash.
All right, it’s true, this entire post was inspired by the fact that I love magnets…
1537 webster st.
510.891.6500
