Family General Store Coming to the Barlow

Scout West County will be selling furniture, clothing and wares of interest to the whole family.


Grace Estrada, a Chicago Art Institute graduate, opened Kitty Hawk Gallery on Sebastopol’s Main Street in 2014 because she was “craving” the aesthetics from home, a style of arts and products she describes as “a little out there.”

In April, Estrada closed Kitty Hawk Gallery and joined forces with her illustrator/artist husband Oliver Estrada to create their expanded retail vision: a general store selling clothing and wares of interest to the whole family.

In mid-June the Estradas will open Scout West County at The Barlow in Sebastopol. The store will feature an expansion of the art and women’s clothing sold at Kitty Hawk, with the addition of men’s and children’s clothing.

Oliver’s original screen printing work in his Sebastopol studio led him toward finding ethically source products: from method of manufacturing to treatment of employees. He looks forward to bringing lines of products made in this manner, including his own printed tees and well-tailored, American-milled Billiam jeans. 

Grace previously exhibited her own and Oliver’s work at Kitty Hawk, as well as that of fellow art institute grads and, of course, local artists. Grace and Oliver say their “out there” style of artwork was accepted by the community, although Oliver says there was “some pushback.”

Grace who paints “in a narrative style” said people had this image of her being “from Marin,” and Oliver said that if you don’t paint “a farm, a landscape or a farm animal” some people don’t see you as being a Sonoma County artist.

The Estradas are currently focused on launching the store, but hope to one day feature their own line of furniture in classic and mid-century styles with their inspiration being Grace’s parents who’ve made a career of designing furniture.

In keeping with the family theme, Grace’s mother is a behind-the-scenes influence on the store. “I trust her eye,” says Grace. And the namesake of Scout West County is the couple’s beloved dog Scout, a three-year-old Samoyed who will fill the role of store dog and lead greeter.

Scout West County is open Sunday – Monday (closed on Tuesday) at The Barlow, 6780 Depot St. Suite 140, Sebastopol,  707-827-6045, scoutwestcounty.com. Follow Scout West County’s story at: instagram.com/scoutwestcounty