Sonoma Artisans Shine at the San Francisco Decorators Showcase

By Karen Kizer

The art of home decorating and interior design requires more than just the skillful mixing of different elements. Like cooking, it comes down to using the best ingredients. Handmade ceramic tiles, modernist custom shelving and embroidered linens are all things that can enhance a space. You can now view these items, made by three Sonoma artisans, at the 43rd annual San Francisco Decorator Showcase.

Benefitting the financial aid program at University High School, this year’s showcase is housed in a 1930s Mediterranean-style home in San Francisco’s West Clay Park neighborhood. The home has been renovated, room by room, by over 20 top West Coast designers and, for the first time ever, the house tour will be presented virtually due to the pandemic. Here’s a peek at some of the Sonoma-made items featured in this year’s showcase.

Wine Room and Wet Bar

In the showcase’s Wine Room and Wet Bar, you will find illuminated acrylic wine racks, designed by Blake Miremont, owner of Architectural Plastics, Inc. in Petaluma.

San Francisco designer Eugene Nahemow has created this elegant space, with wine cellar walls covered in dark Shou Sugi Ban wood slabs, a charred wood which originated in 18th-century Japan as a flame-resistant solution during a time when fires plagued the country.

Nahemow wanted to create an effect of “floating” wine bottles, so he chose steel-lined acrylic cellars, creating a lightweight counterpoint to the deep and dramatic tone of the wood.

The acrylic wine racks are a regular offering of Architectural Plastics, which was founded in 1977 by Miremont’s father, Pierre. The company’s design and fabrication work appears in homes and wineries across the country. Even Hollywood has gotten wind of these luminous wonders—Miremont just finished lucite wine shelves to serve as semi-see-through partitions in Paris Hilton’s new home.

Architectural Plastics also creates museum and retail displays, and more recently, protective barriers due to the pandemic: within a week and a half of the shelter-in-place order, the Petaluma team designed, manufactured and delivered 20,000 reusable polyurethane face shields to Kaiser Permanente.

Azure Guest Bathroom

Another made-in-Sonoma element starring in this year’s showcase is a handmade tile by Sonoma Tilemakers that sets the tone for the Azure Bathroom, designed by Barbra Bright.

Sculptural waves of blue suggest the Meditteranean Sea by reflecting light and adding fluid dimension, creating a bathroom that’s both luxe and inviting. The bathroom also features black and white tile made by Da Vinci Marble in San Carlos.

Sonoma Tilemakers creates intricate designs, using quality clays and unique glazes. Their range of exquisite styles can be found in various dealers throughout the U.S. Each tile is handmade in a Windsor studio.

No Drama Llama Bathroom

Healdsburg designer Julia Berger’s swoon-worthy linens are featured in the wonderfully playful yet elegant No Drama Llama bathroom.

A Dina Bandman design, the “Jack and Jill bathroom” embraces maximalist style—mosaic tile in rainbow animal patterns, fanciful lampshades, a high-gloss red cabinet and red tile accents. Bandman anchors all the fun in classic style and tops the beauty off with scalloped-edge towels by Julia B Handmade for Life. Embroidered monogram lettering echoes the bamboo-style trim of the cabinet.

Bandman intends for the beauty of the Jack and Jill bathroom to ward off conflict that can occur between siblings, hence the name of this whimsical triumph. With all the beauty to take in at the 2020 showcase, things can be “no drama llama indeed” — at least while we’re watching.

The work of these Sonoma County artisans and others can be viewed at the 2020 Showcase Virtual Tour. Tickets are $25. For more information, visit: decoratorshowcase.org/virtual.

6 Great Shops in Occidental

By Karen Kizer

Editor’s Note: Travel, dining and shopping might be complicated right now, but use our inspirational ideas to plan ahead for your next outing.

What’s two blocks long, nestled in redwoods and punctuated by good food options?

The Occidental shopping scene!

If you’re stopping by this west Sonoma County town to take in some nature — perhaps even embarking on a ziplining adventure — or to dine out at the historic Negri’s or the Union Hotel, you want to make time to hit up the boutiques. From longstanding favorite Hand Goods to newcomer the Altamont General Store, there’s quite the retail density given the size of this tiny town.

Click through the above gallery for details. Pro Tip: Check store hours before making the long, gorgeous trip into town. And stop for bread and scones at Wild Flour Bread in Freestone.

Santa Rosa Entrepreneur Featured on Mike Rowe Show, Receives Gifts Totaling $100,000

By Matt Villano
Letitia Hanke is the president and CEO of ARS (Alternative Roofing Solutions) Roofing, Gutters and Waterproofing. (Christopher Chung/ The Press Democrat)

Letitia Hanke is no stranger to the spotlight.

Earlier this summer, she appeared via Zoom on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” a talk show hosted by the pop music singer that airs on NBC affiliates. Now, the Santa Rosa businesswoman and trailblazer in the local construction industry is the star of the latest episode of “Returning the Favor,” a new show hosted by Mike Rowe. Within the first 24 hours after going live this Tuesday, the episode had garnered 2.5 million views.

Hanke, who won a 2020 North Bay Spirit Award this June, said she was delighted to appear on the show. She added that she was very surprised when Rowe, who became famous as the host of the Discovery Channel series “Dirty Jobs,” showed up at a construction site where she was working.

“All they told me was that they were filming a documentary about women in the trades, so when (Rowe) introduced himself, I was in shock,” she said, describing a moment caught on video in the first five minutes of the show.

“Returning the Favor” is an original series from video on-demand service Facebook Watch and highlights “remarkable people making a difference in their communities.”

As part of her involvement in the show, Hanke received recognition for her work with the LIME Foundation, a nonprofit that supports an apprenticeship program called the Next Gen Trades Academy. Hanke founded the academy in 2015 to help young adults launch careers in the trades. The LIME foundation also received gifts totaling $100,000 on the show, including more than $60,000 worth of tools for the academy and $35,000 to hire a new teacher

In the episode, Rowe and his team spent a day with Hanke on the job. The team visited in late February—before the coronavirus pandemic—so cameras capture Rowe and Hanke hugging. None of the people who appear on camera wear face coverings. Nobody worries about social distancing.

The program begins in Healdsburg, where Rowe and his crew surprises Hanke on a site being serviced by her company, ARS Roofing, Gutters & Solar, Inc.

After chatting with Hanke about how a Black woman from Lake County became the CEO of a roofing company, Rowe climbs up to the top of a roof and interviews Alex Wirtz, one of Hanke’s employees and an alumnus of the Next Gen Trades Academy.

Later in the show, Rowe and Hanke visit Nicole Humber, CEO of Bravo Restoration & Construction, a Windsor company that participates in the Academy’s apprenticeship program.

After a lunch scene with several other local contractors at Piner Café in Santa Rosa, the show concludes at Calvary Chapel of Rohnert Park. Here, in the show’s signature “reveal scene,” Rowe and his crew surprise Hanke with the aforementioned gifts and a $5,000 Yamaha electric drum set for her to play in her church band.

Rowe, who started mikeroweWORKS.org in 2008 to reverse a decline in blue collar trades, told Hanke he was happy to celebrate her accomplishments because her story resonated with him.

“Letitia’s foundation and mikeroweWORKS are on the same mission: To help make a more persuasive case for millions of jobs that suffer from bad (public relations) because the skills gap is real and it’s affecting the entire country,” Rowe said on the show.

Later, when seated with Hanke and Humber, Rowe quipped: “It’s one thing to talk about the opportunities for women in the trades, it’s something else to see them unfold first-hand.”

According to Hanke, one of her goals with the foundation and academy is to raise awareness about opportunities awaiting young people who want to work in the trades so that they might start considering these jobs a viable career alternative.

“Part of the reason this exists is because I know a lot of young people don’t want to go to college,” she said. “We’re introducing trades to young people who had no clue they could have a lucrative career in this industry.”

Since 2017, Next Gen Trades Academy has offered three or four classes a year and has served about 130 students overall. The academy trains young people in solar installation, HVAC, plumbing, carpentry, and roofing, among other skills. Following graduation, the LIME Foundation works to get alumni into apprenticeship programs and full-time jobs. Every year, more than 80 percent of participants get hired full-time.

For Hanke, the gig is a labor of love. As she explained to Rowe on the show, she was bullied as a child and sees the LIME Foundation as her chance to make good out of something bad.

“I hope to be a light in a way and show people that you can go through something terrible and still turn out to do something good not only for yourself but also for others,” she said. “I keep telling (my students), ‘If I did it, so can you.’”

As New Windsor Restaurant Prepares to Open, Healdsburg’s Brass Rabbit Closes

By Heather Irwin
The Brass Rabbit in Healdsburg. Heather Irwin/PD

Here’s a big old smorgasbord of tasty news!

Opening: Grata 

Former Starks chef, Eric Foster, will be opening a modern Italian eatery in Windsor this fall with his wife, Christina. The couple says they’ll be doing appetizers, salads, pasta and some larger plates, along with “adult” low-ABV Italian sodas in the former Chinois space near the Town Green. Christina says it will be a fun place for families, dates, and “gal pals” to hang out.

Opening: Little Saint

After more than two years of sitting empty, the 10,000-square foot SHED location in Healdsburg may finally have a buyer.

The nonprofit Little Saint is slated to open later this fall in the hulking “modern grange” once owned by Doug Lipton and Cindy Daniel, according to a press release sent by San Francisco’s Saint Joseph’s Arts Society, an uber-chic arts incubator imagined by designer Ken Fulk.

Though the owners have not been named, Little Saint is launching as a nonprofit arm of the Saint Joseph’s Art Foundation. Little Saint will be open to the public daily for all-day dining, retail and ticketed events. Acknowledging the vision of Lipton and Daniel, the new project will foster at least some of the ideals of its former owners by creating a space to talk about sustainability and support the local community. Plus some really cool art and music.

“Little Saint will continue the legacy of SHED by offering delicious food, unique retail and intriguing programming with an added focus on music and art,” according to the press release.

Closed: Brass Rabbit

We’re super sad to hear that this cozy little bistro on the Healdsburg Plaza is another casualty of the pandemic, along with its entire staff. The sister restaurant to Chalkboard at Hotel Les Mars (a Bill Foley-owned project) closed temporarily in March, reopened briefly in May, then closed again, with much of the staff moving over to Chalkboard as a stop-gap through the summer. Insiders say the staff was let go on August 4 and the restaurant is now permanently shuttered. Brass Rabbit, which opened in 2017, was a special project for its former chef Shane McAnnelly, who featured fresh pasta and other signature dishes, but the small size and lack of any real patio seating seem to have been its death knell. McAnnelly is now at Bricoleur Vineyards. Before becoming Brass Rabbit, the space hosted longtime Healdsburg favorite Bistro Ralph.

Loving: Region + FernBar

There’s a reason that Sebastopol’s Barlow has been one of the biggest scenes to be seen lately — and I’m calling it choose-your-own-adventure dining. Taprooms and tasting rooms are pairing up with nearby eateries to offer al fresco dining wherever you choose. So, say you’re up for sushi with your Seismic? Yup. Golden State Cider with a slice? Yes, please. But what I’m feeling extra excited about is Fernbar’s pairing with Region, a new wine tasting room with — breathe — self-serve machines that feature 50 unique wines from 14 appellations. Choose from $1 to $4 single ounce “tastes” to larger pours or full bottles. It’s like a classy vending machine for top-shelf wines. Sit at their outdoor patio and have Fernbar’s Chicken Liver Mousse, Smash burger, fried chicken sando or my fave — the umami bomb with veggies, sticky rice and roasted mushrooms.

Do Good: Food for Thought

Food For Thought, a local non-profit that provides healing food and nutrition to Sonoma County residents with serious illnesses, is holding a drive-thru food drive at Santa Rosa Plaza on Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the corner of 2nd and B St. Canned tuna, olive oil and hearty soups are especially needed. And here’s my special request to you: Please don’t just clean out your cupboard and offload expired food. It’s a waste of everyone’s time and energy and ultimately goes into the garbage. Think about what you’d appreciate eating, and donate that. Or consider donating money to FFTfoodbank.org.

What’s Your Calling: Join Sonoma Women In Conversation at Home

By Heather Irwin

On Thursday, Sept. 17, join us for the first episode of our free three-part virtual series, Women in Conversation at Home, featuring amazing local women from around the county talking about finding their calling and following their passions.

Emmy-winning host Amy Gutierrez delves into the success stories of inspiring Sonoma County chefs, entrepreneurs, artists, writers and speakers who’ve pivoted their careers or followed their passion to find their true calling.

Sit back and join the conversation as we go virtual this year, talking about how remarkable women live their best life. Here are the women you will meet in the first episode of the series, called “Be Your Sustainable Self.” Click through the above gallery to meet the hosts and speakers.

Tania Soderman: Welcome to Chicken Paradise

A small city of handmade structures — just the right size for chickens — dot Tania Soderman’s Sonoma farm, which she’s named Sonoma Chicks. Tania, who spent her childhood between Norway, Kenya and Botswana, left fast-paced city life in San Francisco to enjoy a more rural existence, treating her 30 breeds of chickens to some seriously spiffy accommodations. Expect some fowl language in her talk about finding a purpose in poultry.

Duskie Estes: Replanting Yourself

A wildly popular chef who’s been on Food Network and named the U.S. Queen of Pork, Duskie Estes recently pivoted from chef whites to overalls as head of a local gleaning organization, Farm to Pantry. You’ll get to see her amazing new chef garden and hear what she’s doing in the community to give everyone access to the perfect peach.

Sofia Englund: Living The Lagom Life

Is a simple coffee break a recipe for inner peace? For Swedes like writer Sofia Englund, taking small moments of joy in each day helps achieve a work-life balance they call “lagom.” Roughly translated as “just the right amount,” she’ll explain how this simple principle of moderation in everything — from busy workdays to indulgences — can benefit your life.

Deb Rock: One Hot Momma

There’s nothing that can’t benefit from a little hot sauce, according to this local entrepreneur. A native of Mexico, Deb Rock is the mind behind Sonoma Hot Sauce, a spicy (but not too spicy) sauce that uses local peppers. Hear her inspiring story and learn how her sauce is made.

Heather Irwin & Mimo Ahmed: Eat The Season

Apples are at hot commodity everywhere in Sonoma County this time of year. A booming cider industry has brought Sonoma’s apple industry back to the forefront after years of orchards being plowed under for more profitable plants. Head to a local apple farm as Chef Mimo Ahmed talks about her favorite fall recipes with this of-the-moment fruit.

About Women in Conversation

Since its inception in 2016, The Press Democrat’s “Women in Conversation” event has become a popular annual happening in Sonoma County. Over the years, the event has featured a series of inspiring women speakers, including Ayesha Curry, Geena Davis, Ashley Judd, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Lesley Stahl. This year, the event will take place online.

Register and read more about this free, three-part virtual series here: pressdemocrat.com/article/multimedia/wic-2020.

Compliment the first episode of Women in Conversation at Home with wine and food! See Specials

Woman-Owned Winery in Healdsburg Wins “Winery of the Year” Award

By Grace Yarrow
The four leaders of Breathless Wines in Healdsburg. The winery’s méthode traditionnelle sparklers are fresh and lively, with three new wines introduced in 2021: two single-vineyard blancs de noir from the Robledo Vineyard in Sonoma and a blanc de blancs from the McMinn Vineyard in Russian River Valley. (Courtesy of Breathless Wines)

Breathless Wines in Healdsburg, known for its refreshing sparkling wines, has been named “Winery of the Year” in LuxeSF’s Rising Wine Star Awards for 2020.

The awards are given annually by LuxeSF, formerly known as The Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco, with the help of a panel of industry leaders.

The “Winery of the Year” award was established in 2017 and is given to an industry leader that is innovating and experimenting with new trends and generating excitement in the industry, according to a press release.

Breathless Wines is a female-led winery that specializes in sparkling wines created in the traditional French method. The winery was started by three sisters, Sharon Cohn, Cynthia Faust and Rebecca Faust, as a tribute to their mother. Winemaker Penny Gadd-Coster is the fourth “sister,” who brings with her years of wine experience and expertise.

“We are humbled by this tremendous recognition,” said Sharon Cohn, co-founder of Breathless Wines, in a press release. “In what has been a very tumultuous year, we are so grateful for our loyal, inspiriting supporters and are honored to be the recipients of this award.”

Breathless Wines is now offering tastings on its outdoor patio and garden by reservation only. For more information, visit its website here.

Face to Face’s Art for Life Auction Moves Online

By Grace Yarrow

Face to Face, which aims to end HIV in Sonoma County and supports the health of people living with HIV and AIDS, is getting extra-creative with its fundraising events this year.

After its Beerfest event was canceled in June because of the pandemic, Face to Face organizers knew they had to focus on their next fundraising event, the annual Art for Life auction, said Gary Saperstein, development director at Face to Face.

Now, Art for Life is going virtual, which Saperstein said is an opportunity for the organization to reach an even wider audience.

“It’s fun. As I say, it’s making lemonade out of lemons. We’ve been handed what we’re going through right now, so trying to make the best of it,” he said.

The Art for Life fundraiser, now in its 32nd year, is a widely popular event, drawing artists and art lovers from across the Bay Area and beyond. This year’s online auction will run Sept. 17-22 and feature art from many local artists that can be previewed before the auction goes live.

Face to Face also is hosting a Zoom reception for artists and sponsors who will receive a delivery of wine from MacRostie Winery in Healdsburg and refreshments from the girl & the fig restaurant in Sonoma. Donors can meet the artists who have worked with Art for Life for years.

The connection between artists and the cause is what makes the event special, said Linda Galletta, development assistant at Face to Face.

“Sometimes, with charity art auctions, you may get things from artists that they haven’t been able to sell or that have been around for a long time, but that is not the case with this event,” she said. “This event is supported generously by these artists.”

Art for Life was launched in 1988 as a way for artists to contribute to Face to Face’s work. A number of the artists involved donate their work every year to the fundraiser, typically held at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts.

“It really brings the art community together to help us in our mission while we work with our clients to maintain their health and well-being,” Saperstein said.

There are more than 500 men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS in Sonoma County, Face to Face Executive Director Sara Brewer said.

“Just like we’re seeing with COVID, it’s very much a disease of inequity. The same is true of HIV and it has been since the beginning. So everything we’ve seen with COVID is something we’ve been dealing with for almost 40 years.”

What: Art for Life Auction
When: Sept. 17-22, 2020
Where: Online at artforlife.f2f.org

Wit and Wisdom Tavern to Open in Sonoma in September

By Heather Irwin
The Lodge at Sonoma. (Courtesy photo)

Wit and Wisdom Tavern, a Michael Mina project at The Lodge at Sonoma, is slated for a September opening at the former Carneros Bistro. The restaurant, inspired by author Jack London’s collection of writings by the same name, will highlight locally sourced ingredients, open-fire cooking and a wood-burning stove. It’s the first Mina restaurant in Wine Country, so expect a stellar wine program as well.

Click through the above gallery for images. More details at michaelmina.net

Top Chef Contestant Opens ‘Preview Pop-Up’ of New Sonoma Restaurant

By Heather Irwin

Like many chefs who had planned to open restaurants in 2020, Top Chef contestant Casey Thompson has been patiently biding her time. Her previously-announced “Georgette”, located in the former General’s Daughter seems to be on hold while a new concept, Folktable, is now in previews at Cornerstone Sonoma.

Thompson and her crew are doing weekend pop-ups from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m with craft cocktails and an abbreviated menu at the gardens’ Sonoma Sunset Test Kitchen until the new restaurant opens at the former Palooza space also in Cornerstone. Over the years, that location has hosted a number of concepts that never really took off, but with backing from Sonoma developers (and now Cornerstone owners) Ken and Stacy Mattson behind her, that could change.

The pop-up menu will feature lobster, along with fresh tomatoes and seasonally-inspired dishes like Panzanella salad with peaches, mint and sumac, tostadas, hand-pulled mozzarella, a Wagyu hotdog, and funnel cakes.

Folktable is part of the Sonoma’s Best Hospitality Group, a Mattson-owned holding that includes Sonoma’s Best Mercantile and cottages, Dirty Girl Donuts, Ramekins, the General’s Daughter, Harrow Cellars and Cornerstone Sonoma. More info here.

New Fried Chicken Pop-Up Comes to Petaluma

By Heather Irwin

Table Culture Provisions will be popping up for a fried chicken takeout dinner deluxe at Wishbone restaurant in Petaluma on Sunday.

The fledgling project from the Shuckery’s Executive Chef Stephane Saint Louis and business partner Steven Vargas is a toe-dip for a mobile bistro the two plan to launch in the future. The menu includes fig, capicola and baked Red Hawk cheese; fried chicken with farmers vegetables and caramel flan.

We’re looking forward to hearing more about this project, along with the reopening of Wishbone. It seems chef/owner Miriam Donaldson has been keeping herself rather busy lately with disaster relief and setting up emergency kitchens in her spare time.

Patio dining and curbside pickup only. Pre-orders required at tablecultureprovisions.square.site.