Farm Fresh Clothing Co. Designing for locals in Graton The careful observer may have noticed a family resemblance among many of Sonoma County’s coolest brands. The Hopmonk Tavern, the Russian River Brewing Co., Underwood Bar & Grill, Black Pig Meat Co., Peter Lowell’s restaurant, Taylor Maid Coffee, Dutton-Goldfield winery and others all owe the distinctive look of their T-shirts and branding to Graton’s Farm Fresh Clothing Co. The year-old “fashion T-shirt company” is a partnership between Seattle transplants
have since contracted Farm Fresh to create custom T-shirt designs. The 10-person company is growing, but Morgan says he wants to stay in Graton, or Sebastopol, where he lives. “We’re looking for a bigger barn,” he says. “No pun intended, but we’re growing organically.” More at farmfreshclothingco.com. —Stett Holbrook
BBQ Oyster Grill An easier way to cook the half-shell from Santa Rosa HIGH GEAR Google and Facebook
have both worked with Farm Fresh.
Matt Morgan and Lucio Dalla Gasperina. Morgan got his start in fashion designing T-shirts for Seattle bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Pearl Jam and Presidents of the United States of America. Dalla Gasperina, now a St. Helena winegrower, is the cofounder of Tommy Bahama, maker of casual resort wear. The two teamed up with local artist Joe Leonard to create custom designed organic cotton T-shirts that aim to capture the country cool of the NorCal lifestyle with hand-drawn, silkscreened images and fonts. Farm Fresh also makes its own line of T-shirts with images that subtly tout sustainability and green living. An expanded line of casual clothing is in development, too. The shirts are available at Nordstrom (Farm Fresh has designed T-shirts for Nordstrom executive VP Pete Nordstrom’s band, Stag) and through the company’s website. A retail shop is in the plans, too. Befitting its rootsy, homespun aesthetic, the company operates out of a hundred-year-old corrugated metal barn. Inside, the concrete floors, oriental rugs, groovy tunes and racy Macs make the space feel more South of Market than West Sonoma County. Now that it’s become the designer of choice for many in Sonoma County, word of Farm Fresh has spread to Silicon Valley, and Google and Facebook
When Charlie Williams retired from his job as a senior technical writer and information designer two years ago, he decided to spend his newfound time doing something more hands-on instead of taking up residence in front of the television. Over the years, he’d picked up welding and metalwork skills, and thus was born the BBQ Oyster Grill, an innovative rack system for barbecuing oysters and other shellfish. “I make each grill by hand,” Williams says. “For example, I use a 48-ounce dead-blow hammer and vise grip clamps to bend pieces of expanded flattened 13-gauge steel over a steel form. Making each oyster grill requires a personal effort, and I think some people appreciate that as added value for the product.” Some might wonder: “Why not just stick the oysters right on the grill?” Williams says that approach is not as “convenient or controlled” as using his patented system. “You can cook an egg on a flat rock, but a frying pan works better,” explains Williams. “The shellfish cooking rack is a tool that helps you make the perfect barbecued oyster every time.”
WORKS FOR ME Local oysters on a
local grill? Take that, Applebees!
At $20–$30, depending on size, the oyster grills work on gas and charcoal barbecues as well as ovens; they double as a serving tray and can be used to deliver fresh-cooked treats to dinner guests. The product’s website features hunger-inducing photos of the Santa Rosa resident’s forays into grilling oysters from Northern California oyster companies like Drake’s Bay and Hog Island, all doused in delicious sauces, fresh off the grill. In addition to convenience, his product is better for the environment. “Many brands sold here are produced in countries using dangerous and dirty manufacturing processes. When you purchase American-made products, you know that you are helping to keep the world a little cleaner for your children and grandchildren.” More at bbqoystergrill.com. —Leilani Clark
TierraCast The building blocks of jewelry, made in Santa Rosa If you’ve ever walked into a local bead store, chances are you’ve seen TierraCast’s designs. In fact, so ubiquitous are the jewelry parts made by the Santa Rosa company, you just might be wearing one of their charms or clasps right now. The only metal casting company in California, TierraCast sells hundreds of thousands of pewter parts— beads, spacers, posts, links, caps, cones, etc.—to local, national and international wholesalers every single day, and they’re all made out on Guerneville Road in Santa Rosa, where Steve Tierra and Alan Joseph have manufactured the building blocks of jewelry since 1978. Both California natives and Sonoma County transplants, theirs was a serendipitous meeting of minds. Steve had just established TierraCast when Alan came along, looking for someone to mold and cast his jewelry designs. Fascinated by the production process, Alan
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There’s even Bottom’s Up, an all-natural baby butt salve. Specialized products include Zappers, vials of aromatherapy blends to “zap common ailments,” and a rosacea line soon to be released. “Wherever we can, we use local ingredients, like goat milk and honey, even if it costs us more,” says Burnes. Looking no further than one’s garden, Burnes reaps fruits, vegetables, flowers and even the earth itself to create fragrant soaps, scrubs and lotions. Scents range from winter’s seasonal specials like Candy Cane, Cranberry Marmalade or Sugar Cookie to the warm, wishful thinking of Get Lei’d, Red Hot and Sex on the Beach. Burnes is offering free skin consultations in mid-December as a “Be Kind to Sonoma County Day.” Sign-ups are on a first-come, first-served basis. Sumbody’s warehouse sale occurs in March. “We have the misguided theory that in order to take care of our own skin naturally, it’s going to take a lot of extra time and money,” says Burnes, “but it’s just a matter of moving your hand from here to there on the shelf. There’s something in the store for every age and every budget.” Sumbody is at 118 N. Main St., Sebastopol, 707.823.2053, and 3800 Bel Aire Plaza, Napa, 707.255.8380. sumbody.com. —Suzanne Daly