Last Minute Holiday Gift Guide 2019

N O R T H E R N S A N TA B A R B A R A C O U N T Y ’ S N E W S A N D E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY > D E C E M B E R 12 - D E C E M B E R 19 , 2 0 19 > V O L . 2 0 N O . 41 > W W W . S A N TA M A R I A S U N . C O M

AT THE MOVIES

Dark Waters: a tale of triumph [32]

Give the presents that will last a lifetime— experiences [14]

BY SUN STAFF

NEWS

A public art plan with no way to pay for it [8]

ARTS

Annie at the Orcutt Community Theater [29]

EATS

Start your night in Orcutt’s newest wine bar [34]

Giving experience This holiday season, give your loved ones something they can treasure forever—memories that last

BY SUN STAFF

T

he Central Coast has no shortage of things to do. Hiking, biking, beach walking, and more are right outside your front door. And there’s also no shortage of all of those “specialty,” “artisan” tchotchkes that so often get thrown into a drawer somewhere after the gift-giving season is over. This year for the Sun’s annual Last-Minute Gift Guide, we propose something that could fit in between. An experience that’s unique to SLO and Santa Barbara counties that a friend or family member might never forget. You can send them sailing, riding, packing, or crafting. There are so many things to do, but we’ve only got a sampling for you. Just a little taste to whet your appetite for giving.

—Camillia Lanham

Holiday climbing The Pad Climbing comes from humble beginnings.

In 2003, Yishai Horowitz and some fellow climbers converted a 400-square-foot selfstorage unit in San Luis Obispo into a mini rock-climbing gym. Horowitz said they were simply looking for a place to climb when it was dark or raining outside.

“It lasted for a couple of years and then the [storage facility] management changed and

kicked us out,” Horowitz said.

After a few years and various locations, Horowitz and his wife, Kristin, now run a 14,000-square-foot gym in SLO, a roughly 10,000-square-foot gym in Santa Maria, and recently purchased a facility in Las Vegas.

If you’re still scrambling for gift ideas, a trip to one of these facilities is an affordable and mildly adventurous option—although the airfare to Las Vegas might be costly. A day pass to the gym in SLO costs $20, while the gym in Santa Maria costs $15. And if you’re feeling PHOTO BY ZAC EZZONE

NO ROPES, NO PROBLEM: At The Pad Climbing in Santa Maria, climbers can scale the 14- to 18-foot walls without being attached to ropes. The padded floor below cushions falls.

like a really generous gift giver, both gyms offer monthly and annual memberships.

At the Santa Maria gym, there’s one type of climbing available called bouldering—when a climber scales a short distance without a rope until he or she gets to the top of the 14- to 18-foot wall. The floor below the climbing area is padded to cushion any falls.

PHOTO COURTESY SKYDIVE SANTA BARBARA At the gym in SLO, in addition to bouldering, climbers can try out top rope or lead climbing— although the latter is more advanced. While top rope climbing, a person securely fastens a rope that’s attached to an anchor at the top of the gym’s 35-foot wall to his or her harness.

That person’s climbing partner then attaches the rope to his or her harness and holds the rope to ensure the climber doesn’t fall to the ground.

THE GIFT OF FLIGHT: Skydive Santa Barbara offers tandem jumps at altitudes so high that This process is called jumpers are provided oxygen for the minute-and-a-half free fall to the ground. belaying.

If this also sounds intimidating, don’t worry. Horowitz said gym staff members are always available to show If your loved one craves the gift of free fall, first-time climbers the ropes, literally and Skydive Santa Barbara offers one of the highest figuratively. jumps around.

People interested in bouldering can grab a Over in Lompoc, the skydiving company pair of climbing shoes—which are free with serves the entire region, hosting 7,000 to 8,000 a day pass—and get to work. But before top divers a year. Many would-be jumpers come roping in SLO, climbers have to take a belay test all the way from Los Angeles to step out the to show they can safely perform the process. airplane door.

Or climbers can use the auto-belay, which is a Dave Hughes, owner of the company, said his machine with a rope that attaches to a climber’s skydive operation is renowned, partly, because harness and allows the person to safely climb of its plane. Called a Supervan 900 Caravan, the without a partner. single-engine Cessna cost Hughes $1.6 million.

Whether the person you’re buying a gift But it was worth it, he said, because it allows for has never climbed before or is a seasoned him to get divers up to an altitude of 18,000 climber, there are options for everybody. feet—so high that they’re hooked up to oxygen.

Climbers can follow prescribed routes on the That’s his priciest jump at $269. It’s about a wall that range in varying degrees of difficulty. minute and a half of free fall with full view of Or climbers can simply grab holds and start the coast and the splashing waves of the Pacific. moving, Horowitz said.

The most popular jump, he said, is the 13,000“Obviously climbing is not for everybody, foot option, which is one minute of free fall for but I think being able to push yourself in any $169. Eight-thousand feet will cost $139. sport is really a unique thing,” Horowitz said.

Hughes’ plane was even featured in the film “And with climbing in particular, if people don’t San Andreas, starring Dwayne “The Rock” play baseball, soccer, football, or whatever team Johnson. Hughes himself was in an American sports, [climbing’s] a different outlet.”

Express commercial, jumping out of an —Zac Ezzone airplane.

“I’m the skinny guy,” he said.

He hosts graduations, birthdays, even To the top marriage proposals.

Visit thepadclimbing.squarespace.com to learn more about “The guy jumps out first and gets on his knee

Skywalking

classes, programs, and rates. The Pad Climbing’s Santa Maria gym is located at 2399 A St. Find hours and more on Facebook @thepadclimbingsantamaria.

LAST-MINUTE GIFT GUIDE continued page 15

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LAST-MINUTE GIFT GUIDE from page 14

PHOTO COURTESY OF LISA RENÉE FALK

as the girl is coming down,” he said. “Usually the girls are crying before they ever reach the ground.”

Skydive Santa Barbara also offers training for people who want to go solo.

They require completion of two tandem jumps in a 30-day period, where divers will learn how to pass their assisted free-fall program. That comes after the initial jumps, and it includes a number of jumps—about seven—and four to six hours of ground training. The ground training and first dive run cost $364.

—William D’Urso

everybody is an artist in their own way,” Falk said. “Those are some of my favorite pieces because they’re so spontaneous, they combine lots of color and texture. The majority of people who have come into a studio walk away with something they’re really happy with.”

—Peter Johnson

Blow it

Free falling

Glasshead Studio is located at 8793 Plata Lane, suite H, in Atascadero. Visit glassheadstudio.com to learn more. Contact Glasshead at (408) 839-6167 or make@glassheadstudio. com.

Skydive Santa Barbara is located at 1801 North H St., suite G, in Lompoc. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. Call at (805) 740-9099 or email jump@ skydivesantabarbara.com, for more information.

Glassy art

Gifting creativity

Lisa Renée Falk loves to draw out the inner artist in us all (no matter how hidden it is), and she’s staked out a career doing it. With nearly two decades of experience as a professional glassblower and studio owner, Falk recently opened Glasshead Studio in Atascadero, a creative space giving the community a chance to make their own glass pieces, from plates and bowls, to ornaments, to colorful mosaics. Open to all skill levels, Falk’s hands-on classes take participants through the entire glassblowing process, working with a variety of concepts, techniques, and materials. The end goal is fun and simple: to spread the creative joy of glassmaking.

“Most people love glass; you use glass every day,” Falk said. “Being able to use it in a

Joan Martin Fee has been a craft enthusiast her whole life, and she credits her passion to her upbringing.

“I lived in the middle of absolutely nowhere; we were at least 10 miles from even a teeny town. So we were always trying to find something to do,” Fee said. “We found things around the family farm to make like floral arrangements and all kinds of stuff.”

She crafted as a hobby until 1990 when she turned on her TV and came upon a nationally televised craft show called Aleene’s Creative Living where viewers were encouraged to submit their ideas for a segment on the show. She submitted her idea—a doll crafted from shrink-

ALL THAT GLASS: Give the gift of glassmaking this holiday season by signing your friends and family up for a class at Glasshead Studio.

creative way, whether it’s displaying it or using it for plants … I think it’s an accessible, tactile experience.”

Consider giving a gift certificate to Glasshead Studio to your friends or family this holiday season—let them unleash their inner artist!

Make a 6-by-6 inch mosaic tile or seahorse; or a fused glass plate or bowl; or a stainedglass hanging terrarium; or something else.

Falk offers individual, couples, and larger group classes, with discounts for groups of six or more. Groups could be a gathering of

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LAST-MINUTE GIFT GUIDE continued page 16

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your friends, a kids birthday party, or even a company team building session. The cost per person ranges from $45 to $120, and classes run about two-and-a-half hours.

Participants will get a chance to cut glass, mix glasses, add designs and text, and combine colors and textures, all while spending time together in a vibrant creative space. The possibilities are literally endless, even for the most novice of glassmakers, Falk said.

“You don’t necessarily have to be an artist per se to be able to make a plate in here. I feel like

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GETTING CRAFTY: In the spirit of the holidays, I was able to create a mosaic wonky Christmas tree.

LAST-MINUTE GIFT GUIDE from page 14 plastic—and that was the start of Fee’s creative reawakening.

Fee now owns and operates Creative Me Time, which offers workshops, kits, private parties, and women’s retreats. Attendees get expert instruction on crafting projects.

The project and price vary with the season, but she offers workshops on making succulent wreaths, a vertical succulent garden, resin necklaces, stenciled resin wall art, mosaic wine bottles, mosaic frames, stepping stones, and trivets.

Fee is already developing new classes for next year that incorporate metal-hammered wire wrap and polymer clay.

The classes are perfect for individuals, friends, or family members who want to work on crafting a project together. The workshops are offered throughout the Central Coast— including through Paso Robles Recreation Services, the Morro Bay Art Center, Cuesta College, and at private venues in Lompoc.

Fee said she’s always wanted to make people feel special, and through these workshops she can do that.

“I give them encouragement. I feel as though I’m the cheerleader coming along and saying ‘great job’ or ‘good choice of colors,’” she said.

I was invited to the Mosaics Choose Your Project Day workshop on Nov. 23 at the Morro Bay Art Center. Participants chose their project before the event—mosaic wonky Christmas trees, mosaic wine bottles, or stepping-stones.

White paper and supplies covered three tables

in the center’s activity room.

On two separate tables, Fee had multiple bins with an array of colored tiles, china plate pieces, baubles, buttons, and beads so attendees could customize their projects.

To get in the holiday mood, I chose to create my version of the wonky Christmas tree.

My supplies included wood, paint, glue for the decoration of the tree, and grout to hold everything together.

Fee gave instructions and then we started.

She walked around the tables and gave compliments, tips, and help, and she answered questions that anyone had. The atmosphere was perfect for first-timers, as some attendees had been to several workshops because everyone was giving one another compliments on their work.

My favorite part had to be when the room fell silent, as everyone was hard at work on their pieces with only the sound of positivity to break the stillness.

—Karen Garcia

Work with your hands

To learn more about Creative Me Time workshops, prices, and locations, visit creativemetime.com. Workshop prices vary from project, but range between $35 to $75.

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LAST-MINUTE GIFT GUIDE from page 16

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In need of an out-of-the-box gift idea for your edgy friend or spunky aunt? Get the gift that lasts—like, forever. and his wife and business partner offers cosmetic A tattoo! That’s right y’all—ink. tattooing services at varying prices. It’s a higher From cheap stick-and-poke tattoo sets to than average rate, but Derrick said it’s worth it personal tattoo guns to sessions with San Luis Obispo’s professional artists, tattoos of all kinds for the highly personalized experience. And, he said, gift cards are available online, so you don’t make for thrilling and customizable gifts. even have to leave the house to buy one.

Tattoos are becoming increasingly popular across the globe, and PHOTO BY KASEY BUBNASH according to a Dalia Research survey conducted in 2018, roughly 38 percent of the 9,054 individuals surveyed in 19 countries said they had at least one tattoo.

And it’s not just the young ’uns, according to Eric Jones, tattoo artist and owner of True West Tattoo.

“Everyone gets tattooed now,” Jones said. “It’s crazy.”

He might be biased, but Jones thinks tattoos make for great gifts.

Large tattoos can cost hundreds of dollars, but he said the price flexibility inherent to gift cards allows buyers to spend within their means.

STICK-AND-POKE: Home stick-and-poke tattoos like this one take time and research but are fun Some customers to give and receive once you get the hang of it. go all out and put hundreds on gift If you want your loved one to unwrap cards, he said, and others do $50 or so—money something a little more exciting than a gift that couldn’t cover an entire tattoo but could certificate, however, maybe homemade tattoos definitely contribute to the cause. With True are the present for you.

West’s minimum price for a single tattoo set at Home tattooing kits—which typically $80, which is enough to buy what Jones calls include ink, needles, gloves, a tattoo gun, and a “college Pinterest size” tattoo, he said most power source—are available on Amazon for customers stay somewhere within the $100 to as little as $46. Home stick-and-poke kits cost $150 range. even less.

The gift of a tattoo is also a great way to Like all things DIY, these kits require a lot incentivize those on the fence, Jones said of of research into safety practices and tattooing those wary individuals who might want a little techniques, but if you think your giftee has ink but are nervous about the pain or bothered the patience and creative skill to tattoo, home by the cost. Better yet, True West is giving out tattooing can be the hobby of a lifetime. one free item of apparel—shirts, hats, patches, Literally. ∆ etc.—with every tattoo this holiday season.

—Kasey Bubnash But, Jones said, this kind of present has to go to the right person.

“I’m not buying lingerie for my grandma,” he Ink the halls said.

To find out more about the services offered at True West At San Luis Tattoo Company, owner and Tattoo and San Luis Tattoo Company, visit truewesttattoo.com tattoo artist Daniel Derrick offers private, oneand slotattoo.com, respectively. For more information on home on-one sessions at a $200 an hour minimum, tattoo kits, visit amazon.com.

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