TROORAMAGAZINE.COM
THE
SAN
FRANCISCO
ISSUE
Unmasking Designer
ISSUE #4 | VOLUME 4 | SEPTEMBER ’21
Lance Victor Moore’s
Exquisite BeSpoke Creations worn by A-list Celebrities Fashion Designer Jad Racha’s Inspiration
Innovative engineering, Design and Technology defining a new class of vehicle.
Lucid Motors Luxury mobility company reimagining what a car can be.
Hotel zelos
Hotel zepplin
VICEROY HOTELS & RESORTS With provocative design, intuitive service, and imaginative art encounters, each Viceroy hotel is a reflection of the local culture and a uniquely authentic experience.
Hotel Zetta
viceroyhotelsandresorts.com
elegant and timeless bridal and evening wear
jadracha.com
Collier boucles et bracelet - @martinebrunjewelry Photo Credit - Photographer Latil Pascal - @latilpascal Model - Elisa Bellone - @elly.body Make-up Artist - Stephanie Joffroy - @diamondheart_makeupartist
martinebrun.com
Fall 2021, photographed by @theginstarp Styled by @lucostudiong @isaintlu.co Beauty by @jogis_artistry Model @abiolasonaike_ @nkwuda.Victoria
The Art Of Wearing vicnate.com
Fall 2021, photographed by @theginstarp Styled by @lucostudiong @isaintlu.co Beauty by @jogis_artistry Model @abiolasonaike_ @nkwuda.Victoria
The Art Of Wearing vicnate.com
celebrating us, the strong, resilient, and radiant women in our communities that inspire the world with our diversity and beauty
cocoacentric.com
Inspired by a love of vintage pieces, flowing feminine dresses, florals, and life by the sea. cobblerslane.com
Healthy beauty that works. Personalized guidance that’s unparalleled.
image credit Justin Buell @justinbuell aylabeauty.com
a hub of inclusivity SAN FRANCISCO —
h
ello and welcome to the special 2021 San Francisco issue. Why SF ? In addition to being the home base of our magazine , the Bay Area is known as a hub of culture , diverse thinking, and inclusiveness. I hold great affection for the cit y, having visited twice in two different stages of my life. As a kid, I remember heading to San Francisco as a stopover before a trip to Hawaii. We did all the touristy things—gaped at the Golden Gate, saw the sites from the cable cars, ate Dim Sum in Chinatown. At the time, I didn’t understand the unique history and ideals of the city.
But I was for tunate enough to visit again as an adult. This time, I didn’t concentrate on the piles of chocolate in Ghirardelli Square, but rather the people. San Francisco attracts diverse tourists as well as holding its own unique histor y of diversit y. As our founder, Tr ystanne Cunningham, says, “ the beauty of the city is the people, the diversit y and inclusivity, the ar ts, and knowing that it ’s always been on the forefront of change and progress.”
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In the nex t few decades came the Gold Rush—attracting thousands of US settlers—and the building of the railroad—attracting thousands of Chinese workers and creating the largest Chinese settlement outside of Asia. EDITOR’S NOTE
TROORA MAGAZINE
San Francisco was founded on land inhabited by the Ohlone-speaking Yelamu tribe. In 17 76, Juan Bautiza de Anza came from San Diego to create a Spanish mission. A “California Republic” was briefly declared in the 1800s until James Montgomer y claimed the area for the U.S. in 1846. Shor tly after, the city was officially renamed San Francisco.
The 1900s star ted with an ear thquake that leveled 25,000 structures. But the city was rebuilt stronger including the now-iconic Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay Bridges. These times also saw the internment of Japanese Americans and an influx of African Americans who arrived from the South during WWII.
San Francisco was also the transition point from WWII to the Cold War with its hosting of the 1945 conference that led to the U.N. Char ter. More and more people were drawn to the cit y to take up work in the Bay Area and the neighborhoods expanded and diversified. Culture in the cit y was already abounding, but the 1950s and beyond proved San Francisco to be a powerhouse of inclusivity. From beat poets to the “summer of love” to the labor, gay, and women’s rights movements, the city earned its reputation for embracing change and progressive thinking. Today, the booming Tech industr y has per vaded the city. But it does so at a cost. “ The Tech industr y is moving here and really changing things and pushing out the ar ts. What San Francisco is known for [is] being pioneers of progress,” Cunningham explains. “ The ar ts are alive in San Francisco and this issue is here to prove that.” Within these pages, you’ll meet some of SF ’s great up-and-coming people and businesses. You can learn how fallen neighborhood trees are turned into beautiful, bespoke pieces (From Soul Trees to Custom Home Interiors). Check out the SF food scene with featured chefs Suzette Gresham (More than a Chef ), Daniel Azarkman (El Lopo), Ravi Kapur (“Local Food” with a Hawaiian Twist), and more. E xplore the ar ts with James Bacchi (#InTheSky), Mark Decena (Kontent for Change), and Sarah Arnold (Capturing a Concer t).
JEANETTE SMITH Contributing Editor
SAN FRANCISCO ISSUE 2021
San Francisco is rich with hidden gems and raw talents. We couldn’t be more thrilled to introduce you to them in this issue. Enjoy!
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TECHstyle SoftWEAR Surface & Shape installation Shanghai MoCA Butterfly Dream installation (opposite)
quenlife.com
PHOTOGRAPH ED B Y CHARLES SCHOENBERGER. MODEL XUE XUE ZHA. HAI R ROBERT DOUGL A S. MAK E UP ERNESTO ROBLEDO. M A K E U P C E L E S T I N E P E A R L U R B A N O . WA R D R O B E J A D R A C H A C O L L E C T I O N . A C C E S S O R I E S L A N C E V I C T O R M O O R E . T R O O R A .
STORY BEHIND THE COVER
BY: JEANETTE SMITH & T R Y S TA N N E C U N N I N G H A M STORY CONCEPT BY: BRIAN ESTERLE PHOTO CREDIT: CHARLES SCHOENBERGER MODELS: DEXTER SIMMONS & XUE XUE ZHA HAIR ST YLING: ROBERT DOUGLAS MAKE UP: ERNESTO ROBLEDO CELESTINE PEARL URBANO WA R D R O B E D E S I G N S : J A D R AC H A ACCESSORIES: LANCE VICTOR MOORE P H O T O R E T O U C H I N G : N ATA LYA B E L AYA
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STORY BEHIND THE COVER
TROORA MAGAZINE
Story Behind the Cover
S
an Francisco is a city at the forefront of change, but rising changes from the tech boom have been slowly pushing out the arts and culture that make San Francisco so unique. As soon as Editor In Chief and Founder of TrooRa [ Trystanne Cunningham] noticed the beautiful, bespoke jeweled masks from San Francisco-based designer Lance Victor Moore, she knew it would be the perfect showcase for our issue’s theme and the feature of our cover shoot. The photoshoot combines the trials of being alone and the equally arduous journey to knowing oneself. The concept for this story, envisioned by Brian Esterle, was to reveal how much “ We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.” to quote the late Maya Angelou. Our models—Dexter Simmons and Xue Xue Zha—put on their masks as they first journey through themselves, asking “who am I?” The models must feel warmth in their own skin.
Xue Xue meanwhile emerges and stands pensive as something tickles her mind. She contemplates who she is and who she wants to become. In one shot , Dex ter having put the mask that cleverly transforms into a crown, Xue Xue radiates newfound confidence as she begins to realize self-love through this exchange.
SAN FRANCISCO ISSUE 2021
In one shot Dexter, puts the mask on, sending a jolt of confused emotion. Not knowing whether it ’s ecstasy or pain, they are caught between the electric feeling of being in the moment while being cupped by a temporary fear. In the space between, they know they belong anywhere.
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Photographer: Elias Gurrola instagram.com/eliasgurrola twitter.com/Elias_Gurrola facebook.com/eliasgurroladesign pinterest.com/eliasgurrola/_created eliasgurrola.com
Contents Story Behind The Cover
26 STORY BEHIND THE COVER THE SAN FRANCISCO ISSUE ‘21 JEANETTE SMITH & T R Y S TA N N E C U N N I N G H A M
Read the story behind our San Francisco Issue ’21 Cover
Home Design & Decor
54 FROM EAST TO WEST BY: NIZIE LOKMAN
Interior Designer Jonathan Rachman Letting his heart be his compass
68 J E A N C L A U D E R O C H AT A R B O R U P CYC L E BY: NIZIE LOKMAN
From Waste to Custom Home Interiors
78 LET’S GET SOCIAL BY: NIZIE LOKMAN
Social and community connections The Academy San Francisco
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Culinary
S TAT E B I R D P R O V I S I O N S BY: CARY WONG
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LIHO LIHO BY: CARY WONG
N O PA BY: CARY WONG
“Local Food” with a Hawaiian Twist
Staying Power
Flying Free
114 ACQUERELLO BY: CARY WONG
More than a Chef 104
124 SORREL BY: CARY WONG
California Dreaming
132 EL LOPO BY: CARY WONG
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El Lopo
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140 G O L D I E LOX BY: CARY WONG
Goldie Lox
148 THE VEGAN HOOD CHEFS BY: CARY WONG
The Vegan Hood Chefs Ronnishia Johnson and Rheema Calloway’s obstacles and triumphs in the vegan food industry
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MOCHILL MOCHI DONUT BY: CARY WONG
SARAH ARNOLD PHOTO BY: GRACE HENDRICKS
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LA COCINA BY: CARY WONG
SAN FRANCISCO RAPPER FRAK BY: CRISTINA DEPTULA
Mochill Mochi Donut
Capturing a Concert
La Cocina
San Francisco Issue 2021
Frak
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OX A N D T I G E R BY: CARY WONG
#INTHESKY BY: MICHAEL DAKS
ERYN KIMURA BY: MICHAEL DAKS
This Japanese-Filipino pop-up is a true story of yin and yang
James Bacchi captures the energy of San Francisco through his mobile photography
Eryn Kimura
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R A P P E R K A LY J A Y ’ S ARTISTIC JOURNEY BY: CRISTINA DEPTULA
E V O LV I N G AUTHENTICITY BY: DANIELLA SCHOEMAN
Rapper Kaly Jay’s Artistic Journey - Individual style raised in the Western Addition’s jazz and funk milieu
Chef Chris Bleidorn’s Birdsong
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SEVEN STILLS BY: CARY WONG
LA DOÑA BY: MICHAEL DAKS
Seven Stills
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How multiculturalism has influenced one singersongwriter’s debut album
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258 RENT CHECK BY: GRACE HENDRICKS
Rent Check
262 SINGER AND SONGWRITER L U K E D AV I D BY: CRISTINA DEPTULA
266 STUNNAMAN BY: CRISTINA DEPTULA
That’s A Rap
Art Music Film
196 SIRRON NORRIS BY: GRACE HENDRICKS
Blue Bears and Burgers From commercial artist to recognizable muralist to animator, Sirron Norris is an all-around artist who only continues to grow.
270 KO N T E N T F I L M S - M A R K DECENA BY: GRACE HENDRICKS
Kontent For Change
276 W I N DY C H I E N BY: MICHAEL DAKS
Windy Chien
SAN FRANCISCO ISSUE 2021
Singer & Songwriter Luke David
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Uniquely Hawaiian Skincare From Soil to Skin to Soul
honuaskincare.com
352 THE RETURN OF COUTURE BY: GRACE HENDRICKS
In a world increasingly geared towards commodity and convenience, Couture reestablishes style through craftsmanship and individual client care.
358 DANIEL GEORGE BY: GRACE HENDRICKS
Fashion Is Back
364 MABEL CHONG JEWELRY BY: CRISTINA DEPTULA
Uncivilized Elegance
372 A P O T E C A ( FA S H I O N ) BY: NEHA SURADKAR
Fashion Pharmacy
380 TO K YO G A M I N E BY: CRISTINA DEPTULA 310
Fashion & Accessories
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Travel
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LANCE VICTOR MOORE BY: MICHAEL DAKS
OFF THE B E AT E N T R A C K BY: CRISTINA DEPTULA
312 FA S H I O N D E S I G N E R J A D R A C H A ’ S I N S P I R AT I O N BY: CRISTINA DEPTULA
Clean Modern & Timeless Reflecting Classic Elegance
320 THE EXPRESSIONIST BY: NEHA SURADKAR TROORA MAGAZINE
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300 We unmask the man behind the stunning bespoke mask creations worn by A-List Celebrities
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A Collaborative Journey of Resplendent Design
For Designer Colleen Quen, each piece is art, an inspiration and an expression of herself
338 STELLA FLUORESCENT BY: NEHA SURADKAR
A Radiant Lens - Accessories Designer Tiersa Nureyev’s Stella Fluorescent
San Francisco Neighborhood Gems
400 REDEFINING H O S P I TA L I T Y BY: CRISTINA DEPTULA
San Francisco’s Viceroy Hotels Give Homage to Art, Serenity, Beat Poetry and Rock and Roll
Wellness
422 S P L A S H O F I N S P I R AT I O N BY: CRISTINA DEPTULA
Archimedes Banya: Combining healthy spa traditions from ancient world cultures
428 POSH GREEN BY: GG BARRON
Posh Green
434 S U S TA I N I N G P O T BY: GG BARRON
One of San Francisco’s longest-running cannabis dispensaries has undeniably left its mark on the city’s history and it continues to pave the path for its future
440 THE DUTCHMAN’S AMSTERDAM BY: GG BARRON
San Francisco’s Amsterdam Cannabis Dispensary Shop 452
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Beauty BALANCED BEAUTY BY: NEHA SURADKAR
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A boutique beauty haven driven by thoughtfulness, relationships, sustainability and passion
FOUNTYN BY: NEHA SURADKAR
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Science & Innovation
L AV I S H E V E R G R E E N SKINCARE BY: NEHA SURADKAR
Herbalist Sarah Buscho creates a plant-based skincare brand connecting us to the planet
462 FLORAMYE BY: NEHA SURADKAR
Good for you Good for the planet
Healing with Needles
480 THE BIG PICTURE COMPETITION BY: STEVEN BEDARD
California Academy of Sciences’ renowned Big Picture Photography Competion celebrates some of the world’s best photographers and the year’s most striking images
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Hand Crafted Jewelry & Accessories Sustainable Materials Environmental Responsibility
Instagram: @stellafluorescent Pinterest: @stellasfsf
PHOTO CREDIT CHARLES SCHOENBERGER, MODEL XUE XUE ZHA, HAIR ST YLING ROBERT DOUGL AS, MAK E UP ERNESTO ROBLEDO, M A K E U P C E L E S T I N E U R B A N O , S T Y L I N G T R Y S TA N N E C U N N I N G H A M , A C C E S S O R I E S S T E L L A F L U O R E S C E N T , P H OTO R E TO U C H I N G N ATA LYA B E L AYA
Contributors OF THIS ISSUE
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GRACE HENDRICKS
Writer
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CARY WONG
Culinary Contributing Writer
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CRISTINA DEPTUL A
Contributing Writer
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03 04 05
JEANET TE SMITH
Contributing Editor Editor 's Letter
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MICHAEL DAKS
Contributing Writer/ Photographer
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NEHA SURADKAR
Beauty Contributing Writer
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NIZIE LOKMAN
Travel & Wellness Contributing Writer
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SHERDELL AH ANUNCIADO
TROORA MAGAZINE
Editorial Design Director
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T R Y S TA N N E CUNNINGHAM
Editor In Chief, Founder, CEO
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ALEX FRAKNOI AMOS NACHOUM ANDREW CURRY ANGEL FITOR A N I TA B SPA @ACESINCE1990 BIOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE B I G P I C T U R E N AT U R A L W O R L D PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION BRO JACKSON CHARLES SCHOENBERGER
H-K Q-R
HANNAH WAGNER JAMES BACCHI JO-ANNEMCARTHUR JOSE FIGUEROA JUSTIN BUELL K A LY J AY KARI ORVIK @K.BAARDE
R ALPH PACE R I CH AR D VAN R YA N T I S C A R E N O TISCARENO
C-D
OF THIS ISSUE
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CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES COLEEN QUEN COUTURE DA R I US TA R E L A DAVI D E N LO E D O N TA E B LI N K S DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN DRA ZEN GRUJIC
L-M S-U
L I N D S AY M I L L E R LUKE GONHES MARK DECENA MICHAEL ALLEN MICHAEL KEENEY MICHELLE K MIN MICHELLE K VALB ERG MOGLI M O L LY D E C O U D R E A U X
SARAH ARNOLD SARAH BUSCHO SARANGNAIK SOFI PENCHER SUSANNA SCOTT S H A N E K A LY N TESSA CHEEK @THALIAGOCHEZ TIM SANTOS TORIN NIELSEN
ERIC WOLFINGER FRAN RUBIA
N-P V-Z
@ _ N ATA L I E A L E M A N N ATA LYA B E L AYA (IMAGE RETOUCHER)
NICK KANAKIS NICOLAS REUSENS NICOLE MORRISON P E T E R M AT H E R
VICEROY HOTEL GROUP VI O LE T TA G O N Z A LE Z YUNG-SEN WU
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A-B
Photographers Credit
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STONEANDSAWYER.COM
Designed and hand-produced stoneware ceramic table lamps from the Catskill Mountains of New York
TrooRa Magazine LLC • A For tunest Group PO BOX 152 • Brisbane CA 94005 • 833∙755∙7273 hello@trooramagazine.com
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Welcome to TrooRa Magazine.
The changes will be effective from [September 4th, 2021] on every platform. We would like to take some time and thank you for your time with us. TrooRa stems from Truly Rare. As the founder and editor-in-chief of TrooRa Magazine, I wanted to stay true to my roots by keeping the creole version “Ra” of the word “Rare” in the brand name. My vision to create a space for the unheard and provide a platform for unique talent in all industries has always been a dream. My passion to inspire and be inspired, to amplify voices that are yet to be heard is filtered through each and every story shared in this publication. My team and I forage the corners of the world for inspiring stories packed with individuality. By partnering with passionate creatives, artists and entrepreneurs who are looking to gain exposure through an organic lens, we proudly connect the unheard with individuals that admire TrooRa’s diverse inclusive exclusivity. By reading TrooRa Magazine, we hope to motivate your mornings, inspire your afternoons, energize your evenings, and spark your curiosity at the turn of every page. Against the grain of the mainstream, TrooRa Magazine features a wide range of lifestyle topics, thought-provoking articles, beautifully curated and presented, immersing our readers in a sophisticated and luxurious experience. In a world of conformity, TrooRa Magazine is daring you to stand out. By connecting our readers to insightful stories, brands and meaningfully crafted products across the globe we hope to continue to inspire. TrooRa is a lifestyle brand for the bold, the curious and the unheard that offers an organic and personal journey of learning, growth and reflection alongside a community of unique individuals. Our vision is for each individual to discover what makes them truly rare.
SAN FRANCISCO ISSUE 2021
As we embark on our third year of publication, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support. We are pleased to announce that on [September 1st 2021], we are rebranding our [Name/Logo/Icons and Branding Kit] as part of our rebranding strategy. This step’s major idea is to strengthen our growth and commitments by helping our customers identify with our brand in the marketplace.
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T H E
W O R L D ’ S
F I N E S T
kylebunting.com
H I D E
R U G S
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HOME DESIGN & DECOR
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HOME
From East to West BY CRISTINA DEPTULA NIZIE LOKMAN, FCIM
PHOTO CREDITS SUSANNA SCOT T @SUZ ANNASCOT TPHOTO DOUGLAS FRIEDMAN @DOUGLASFRIEDMAN J O N AT H A N R A C H M A N . C O M
Interior Designer Jonathan Rachman
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Rachman-Portrait-headshot - Judit ibañez ilundain
“Sometimes [you have to] expect the unexpected. I never expected to meet Marc Jacobs, but one thing led to another. Marc Jacobs and his company deserve credit for allowing me to break through into interior designing.”
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ndonesian-born interior designer Jonathan Rachman, founder of San Francisco-based Jonathan Rachman Design, has crafted a beautiful path in life. He ove rc a m e c h i l d h o o d s t r u g g l e s to b e c o m e a s u c c e s s o n h i s ow n te r m s . Na m e d o n e o f A m e r i c a’s To p D e s i g n e r s , h e s p e a k s o p e n l y a b o u t h i s c h i l d h o o d , h i s m i s s i o n to i n s p i re c o m p a s s i o n , h u m i l i t y, a n d l ove, a n d h i s b re a t h t a k i n g wo r k t h a t c o m b i n e s d e s i g n e l e m e n t s f ro m a l l c o r n e r s o f t h e g l o b e.
Love Prevails Rachman was born in the small town of Tanjung Karang in the province of Lampung on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. He had a difficult childhood, experiencing bullying and abuse. Fortunately, his late adopted sister Wewe’s love and support gave him the strength to heal. He decided to share his journey of growth and forgiveness through his first-ever memoir, The Garlic Peanut Story.
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“Initially, I was planning to write a letter to my late sister’s children in loving memory of their mother from my perspective. However, I realized that this story is more than [just about] my family and me, so I decided to write a memoir instead, ” Rachman recalled. He hopes to inspire and help others who have gone through similar experiences, including children from remote parts of the world.
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“I remembered when I told my very religious parents about my sexuality and my relationship with my then-boyfriend, now husband. They simply told us: love prevails. Faith, hope, and love will always win.”
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Plant-based designs bringing the outside in & celebrating the natural world fableandbase.co.uk
Soul Trees to Custom Home Interiors B Y N I Z I E LOK MAN, FCI M
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HOME DESIGN & DECOR
Jean-Claude Rochat, Owner - Jody Barhanovich
TROORA MAGAZINE
PHOTO CREDIT D AV I D E N L O E @ T H E E N L O E C R E AT I V E
The only “tree-to-table” company in San Francisco, Arbor Upcycle has created an innovative new milling machine that moves another notch on its interior wood slabs offerings
SAN FRANCISCO ISSUE 2021
The rare local and historical wood material from the city ’s oldest residents was less appreciated in the past. “It was disappointing to see San Francisco’s urban lumber go to waste for years,” said Jean Claude Rochat , owner, and CEO of Arbor Upcycle. Rochat , who was always fascinated with trees, recalled he had an epiphany moment as he looked at the urban forest of San Francisco before he founded the arbor company.
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MAKING A SOUL DIFFERENCE
Rochat is an arborist by profession. He attended an arborist school in Swit zerland and later gained a broad knowledge and deep experience in agriculture in America. He initially star ted a tree ser vice with his co-founder Gui. He built the parent Arborist Now Inc. together with Remy Hummer.
TROORA MAGAZINE
He and his co-founders, Gui and Remy, realized that it ’s up to them to salvage and repurpose the urban forest , which has beautiful authentic woods. They made a meaningful action to change the status quo, and Arbor Upcycle was born with the mission to share their work back with the communit y. Currently, Arbor Upcycle is the only company in San Francisco dedicated to salvaging and milling downed trees in San Francisco.
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-- ELISE BALLARD
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Believe in your epiphanies. Believe in yourself. Take action. And watch the world conspire to support you.”
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yoursustainablehome.com
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B Y N I Z I E LOK MAN, FCI M
HOME DESIGN & DECOR
P H O T O C R E D I T L I N D S A Y M I L L E R @ W I L D L Y V I S I B L E & @ H E R YA N T I S C A R E N O
Let’s Get Social
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Social and community connections night and day at the happy place—The Academy San Francisco
ental heal th has taken a toll on humank ind sinc e the pandemic invade d our world. F or to o long , we have b e en aske d to prac tic e so c ial distanc ing and limi t phy sic al interac tion, creating indi v idual isolation. S tay ing at home and c onf ining our se l ve s wi thin our four walls rat tle d our c age s to b e f re e.
Revitalizing our sense of belonging, The Academy San Francisco (academysf.com) is an LGBTQ+ social club that opens doors for community members searching for authentic human connections. Regardless of race, ethnic background, gender orientation, or any other factor, The Academy creates a happy place where ever yone feels included. It is a true landmark of inclusion and diversity in the Bay Area.
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The Academy. Showroom.
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WE PRODUCE ALL OF THE BEERS USED TO MAKE OUR WHISKEYS & ARTISAN SPIRITS
sevenstills.com
ULINAR
“Local
Food ”
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CULINARY
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with a Hawaiian Twist
BY CARY WONG
Chef Ravi Kapur and Liholiho Yacht Club CH E F PH OTOS B Y MEDIA R AW IMAGE S
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l ife stor y of Chef Ravi Kapur seems to revolve around Hawaii and San Francisco. His mother is Hawaiian Chinese and his father is from India. They met in the Bay Area but returned to Hawaii to get married and stayed there afterward. Chef Kapur was born and raised in Hawaii and grew up in a multi-ethnic community with relatives and friends from all over the world.
TROORA MAGAZINE
His family really enjoyed eating but the practice of enjoying and sharing food together made the biggest impact on him. Ever y thing was shared and not meant to be kept to oneself. That individualistic idea was completely foreign to him. “ The trend of familystyle, it ’s pretty hilarious,” he says. “ To me, it 's not a trend. It 's just how it 's always been and honestly how it should be.”
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Though he grew up watching cooking channels and Food Network he never imagined having a career as a chef. During his college years, he star ted cooking for friends for fun. Eventually, he made the move to eschew college and instead attended culinar y school in San Francisco. He worked
“The trend of family-style, it’s pretty hilarious,” he says. “To me, it’s not a trend. It’s just how it’s always been and honestly how it should be.”
at restaurants in New Mexico but eventually returned to the Bay Area and star ted working with Nancy Oakes. He progressed up the ranks, eventually ending up as the E xecutive Chef and the par tner of Prospect Restaurant , which received 4.5 stars from The San Francisco Chronicle. He is very proud of his Hawaiian heritage. As a result , you may be surprised to learn his real thoughts about the general renewed interest in Hawaiian food in the past few years. A lot of people scroll through Instagram to see streams of Tiki bar videos and poke bowl images because these are exciting. In Chef Kapur ’s mind, however, it is very hard to define what true Hawaiian culture is.
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Healthy Eating Tasteful, Playful & Beautiful
Certified organic, 100% vegan Real Food Dressings Carefully selected Blends of premium oils & Ingredients From artisan producers committed to sustainability Gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free, dairy-free - no garlic
Staying Power The Story of Nopa and Chef Laurence Jossel
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CULINARY
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By Car y Wong
Born in South Africa, Chef Jossel moved to the United States in 1978. Not an academically gifted person, he began cooking in San Francisco back in 1991 and has been a chef in town ever since. When he started Nopa in 2006, it was open seven nights a week until 1 AM in addition to serving two brunches. The initial target audience was those who worked in the restaurant business—servers, bartenders, cooks, and others—who finished
their shifts after 10 o’clock before visiting the establishment. At its peak, it served almost four thousand customers weekly. As time moved forward, however, San Francisco changed. It became a much more technology-driven town and is now too expensive for restaurant people to call home. A lot of food and beverage workers moved outside of the city limits. It seemed like cooks and other industry workers had disappeared from San Francisco. “When you have to get on a bridge and drive for a little bit, you're not going to come in and have a beer. You're going to get home,” he says. As a result, he saw a steady decline in the number of restaurant guests. So, he dialed back the hours five years ago to close at midnight during the weekend, and 1 AM for the weekends.
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restaurant is a notoriously difficult business. Places open and close at the drop of the hat due to various reasons. Those who manage to stay in business, remain successful, and eventually become icons are few and far between. Chef Laurence Jossel and Nopa have undoubtedly achieved that and more.
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Statebird Provisions’ Chefs Brioza and Krasinski BY CARY WONG
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g n i y l e F Fre @ S TAT E B I R D P R O V I S I O N S @ AT O M I C S T E W @ H A N D S T H AT K N O W Y O U
“We started to increase our love for cuisines in other (French) regions,” he says. “I wanted to decode cooking and I felt like that’s where the code or the philosophy lives, in French cooking. I felt like I cracked the code of food in the world and through that, I was able to kind of look through Italian, Spanish, and Asian cookery as well.”
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t could be argued that open-mindedness is one of San Francisco’s hallmark characteristics. From the hippie movement to the gay rights movement and on, the city has welcomed countless new ideas. The Bay Area is also incredibly multiethnic and ver y diverse. As a result , it should surprise no one that the same acceptance also applies to the culinar y scene.
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That influence has been a crucial par t to the stor y of Chefs Brioza and Krasinski, and their restaurant Statebird Provisions.
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Both San Franciscan natives, Chefs Stuar t Brioza and Nicole Krasinski took winded paths to where they are. Chef Brioza graduated from Culinar y Institute of America in New York while Chef Krasinski was trained in pastr y and baking at the Red Hen Baker y in Chicago. They met as students, and in the year 2000 moved to nor thern Michigan to work together. As the couple finished their stints, they travelled the world to learn more about different food cultures and techniques. That path took them all over Europe and Asia. However, it was in France that something really awakened in Chef Brioza. They tried out all kinds of restaurants and stores
across the countr y – haute cuisine restaurants with Michelin Stars, neighborhood bistros, beloved bakeries, local charcuteries, acclaimed chocolateries and more – in Paris, in Lyon, as well those in different areas. “ We star ted to increase our love for cuisines in other (French) regions,” he says. “I wanted to decode cooking and I felt like that 's where the code or the philosophy lives - in French cooking… I felt like I cracked the code of food in the world and through that I was able to kind of look through Italian, Spanish and Asian cuisine as well.” After returning to San Francisco, they worked together again at Rubicon as the executive chef and pastr y chef respectively. During that time, the idea of opening their own restaurant star ted percolating. Finally, they took the step of doing just that in 2012 . Their ideal restaurant was one that presented the soul of cooking through the lens of ever yday people and a place where they can explore cooking around the world. And that led them to the great idea of using dim-sum car ts and trays to ser ve the food.
Dylan + Jeni Ice Cream Sandwich
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EUPHORICS FOR HUMANKIND kineuphorics.com
F A N TA S Y I S C R E AT E D I N T H E M O M E N T. WE BESTOW THE JOY YOU DESIRE AND THE PLEASURE YOU DESERVE
More than a A Chef B Y CA RY W O N G
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The stories of Chef Suzette Gresham and Acquerello
Foie Gras Pasta Acquerello’s Chef De Cuisine Mr. Seth Turiansky
standard-bearer for Italian cuisine in San Francisco, Acquerello first opened its doors in 1989. And Chef Suzette Gresham has been running the kitchen since day one. When visiting the restaurant , guests not only enjoy great food but they also get a taste of the warmth of Italian hospitality. The sommeliers, wine service, food pairing, chefs, and servers are all knowledgeable and kind. The meal costs less than the flight to Italy but guests can still live “La Dolce Vita” for an hour or three. In 2007, the restaurant picked up a Michelin star, and in 2014, its second. This puts Chef Gresham in elite company as one of only three female chefs in the United States to hold two stars. As entrenched as she is within the world of Italian food, her background actually came from another European countr y—France.
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Suzette Gresham
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Chef Gresham’s grandmother came to the United States in 1906 (she went through Ellis Island, New York and travelled down to New Orleans), and Chef Gresham’s mother was born in San Francisco in 1919. Although staunchly proud to be Americans, they brought along the French tradition of treasuring great food. “(My mother) was growing vegetables, that 's where she came from. She grew great vegetables, and we ate really well and I was a recipient of all that ,” she says. “And I didn' t realize that not ever ybody else knew that or had that foundation. We always thought (getting) fresh herbs is just going outside the kitchen door and picking some. Or tomatoes were in the backyard. Or we canned some apricots in the summer time.” Even though that mentality and philosophy runs in the family, she did not originally plan on working in the kitchen. Being immigrants, Chef
Gresham’s family wanted a stable life for her. In school, she was interested in oceanography, social psychology, and the ar ts. However, when she star ted working in a cafeteria, she was as happy as a clam. Back then, women were not expected to work in professional kitchens. Her manager, however, insisted she should take this path. And that was the pivotal point that made her stop and think maybe she had a chance and maybe there was a glimmer of hope. She star ted at a restaurant with two chefs. One was a Jewish gentleman, who took her under his wing. The other was a German gentleman. Their fighting was hysterical to her. At the same time, they taught her how to be pragmatic and how to be intellectual. As a result , she was able to put both together to become a great chef. “ Today 's chef can' t just cook . Today 's chef really has to be aware of issues that are on the table
Wolfe Ranch Quail with sumac, chicory, tamarind and elderflower
To her, most people see the romantic and glamorous side of chefs’ lives. That, however, is not a true picture of what a dyed-in-the-wool chef does. Whatever you think about a certain celebrity chef or another T V personality, they have to have substance. Different people may be more sensational, others more charismatic, but they all have, at their core, a love of food, a love of a kitchen, and the grit to achieve their goals. For all those who come through her kitchen, she helps them grow and
learn. She tries to tailor her approach for each individual according to their strengths and weaknesses. Some may be quick intellectually but have not yet developed the physical techniques to complete the task . Others are not aware of the proper ways to communicate to their teammates. “I'm like your worst nightmare of your mom on steroids,” she says jokingly. “Because I will nag, then I will draw a line and say, here's where I stop nagging and here's the penalty phase and here's where you perform. And if you don' t , here's what 's going to happen. You're like a coach of a team. And you're really in there tr ying to pull the best out of absolutely ever ybody at the same time while you're making food,” she says.
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and be aware of different people, st yles, communication; (issues like) sustainability, advocacy, just a bazillion other things,” she says. “And you better hope you can make good food as well.”
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California
Dreaming
How Chef Alex Hong’s Sorrel Restaurant rose to prominence
BY CARY WONG
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an Franc isc o has an inno vati ve v ib e. Dreamer s , entrepreneur s , and amb i tious p e ople o f all t y p e s are drawn to i t . C he f Ale x Hong is de f ini te l y one o f tho se intrep id one s . He op ene d S orre l, his f ir st re staurant , in 2 01 8, and was awarde d a Miche lin S tar in 2 01 9. Though the real stor y star t s wi th his li fe in B oulder, C olorado.
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Gifting With Style FOOD. ART. DESIGN.
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Daniel Azarkman recreates Spain in the hard-to-define concept of El Lopo BY CARY WONG
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l L op o is a ne ighb orho o d jo int that de f ie s de scription ; though the all-knowing G o o gle clas si f ie s i t as a wine bar. Danie l A z arkman op ene d this plac e wi th a distinc t idea in mind—treating Cali fornia as a the ore tic al re gion o f Spain.
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Delightful Surprises and Cultivating Gratitude PERSONALIZED GIFTING.
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Goldie Lox
Julie Podair Is Giving a Vegan Facelift to the Classic Lox and Bagel
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s. Julie Podair's favorite comfort food growing up was lox and bagel—the popular Jewish cured fish and baked good combo. As a scientist by training , she loves to experiment with new food combinations. So, when she got a job cooking for a vegan brunch, she knew it was her chance to experiment with a carrot lox and bagel bar. It turned out to be a huge hit and she has now built Goldie Lox , a business centered around various vegan, Jewish deli foods.
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Hood Chefs BY CARY WONG
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ver yone has to eat. Yet the number of minorit y business owners in the food and beverage industr y is shockingly low. It drops even fur ther when focusing on vegan or gluten-free spots. But chefs and owners Ronnishia Johnson and Rheema Calloway intended to change that when they star ted their pop-up business in 2017.
Best friends since the ninth grade, they both have been interested in the vegan lifestyle for years. They star ted a vegan blog together and went into the catering business by accident , stepping in for a vendor that had fallen through. The business was ver y challenging to get off the ground as they both worked full-time jobs and care for their grandmothers. " We have had to overcome many obstacles and one is being underrepresented as black
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DISCOVER A COFFEE YOU WILL CRAVE No... seriously, you’ll drink it and crave it, but don’t worry... we can send it to your home or office monthly, so you’re good!
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Disrupting the Donut Industry with MochiRelated Treats
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La Cocina A community space for chefs to learn and grow
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a Cocina is an organization born to suppor t a communit y of talented, natural entrepreneurs. They aim to provide hopeful chefs/owners an affordable commercial kitchen space , industr y-specific technical assistance , and access to market oppor tunities. It is both the space—a modern building and commercial kitchen—and the program—an innovative business incubator—that suppor ts a growing roster of small businesses.
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DLISH CURATIONS. BESPOKE GIFTING.
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and
Ox
Tiger This Japanese–Filipino pop-up is a true story of yin and yang BY CARY WONG
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P H O T O C R E D I T S H A N N A H WA G N E R , F E A S T I N @ F E A S T I N T O G E T H E R , M O G L I @ T H E M O G L I
It was ver y interesting to find out that initially, Chef Wada was not entirely confident on this concept. Japanese
and Filipino food does not mix well in general. They are almost opposite in taste. In addition, there are no existing cookbooks or guides on how to integrate them. Instead, they had to rely on themselves in three ways: mixing organically, experimenting, and learning about histories. There were times when it was as easy as putting another type of citrus like yuzu in for calamansi. More often than not , they have to think outside the box , such as marinating pork with patis (a Filipino fish sauce) for their tonkatsu (a Japanese breaded pork dish).
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he f/c ouple E J Mac ayan and Hi tomi Wada star te d the ir p op -up in 2 01 8 and change d i t to a take ou t sp ot during the pandemic . A great mi x o f C he f Mac ayan's Filip ino heri tage and C he f Wada's Japane se background, the y name d i t after the ir re sp e c ti ve zo diac animals .
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ECO-LUXURY HOTEL & ALPINE EXPERIENCE
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Chef Chris Bleidorn’s Birdsong
Evolving Authenticity
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an Franc isc o, a c i t y known for i t s f ine dining and increasingl y high c onc entration o f Miche lin S tar s , has just gaine d another gem—Birdsong R e staurant . Tak ing o ver the old AQ spac e in S oma in S an Franc isc o, Birdsong blends f lavor s o f the Pac i f ic Nor thwe st wi th the che f ’s E ast C oast childho o d upbringing. This highl y antic ipate d re staurant was so we ll re c e i ve d b y the lo c al c ommuni t y that i t quickl y gaine d international re c o gni tion. Wi th a remark abl y talente d team and e xc e llent cuisine , this high- end re staurant earne d i t s f ir st Miche lin S tar onl y se ven months after op ening i t s do or s to the public . This is qui te the ac c omplishment . E sp e c iall y in a f ine - dining marke t as f lo o de d as S an Franc isc o.
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Birdsong is Chef Chris Bleidorn’s first restaurant , but his impressive fine-dining background hails from a number of other superb establishments. He has sharpened his knives at famous institutions like Saison, Benu, Atelier Crenn, and Chicago’s Alinea. Of course, his handselected team boasts equally impressive credentials. Bleidorn’s par tner and wife Aar ti Shetty came from experiences with Benu, Monsieur Benjamin, and In Situ. She also played a large role in the creation of Birdsong Restaurant. This duo has finely-tuned their work , which is evident through their success.
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delight in the details of cooking
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Stills Quality spirits inspired by craft beers BY CARY WONG PHOTO CREDIT TORIN NIELSEN
When owner/co-founder Tim Ober t and his team decided to bring all productions in-house in 2016, they had to decide on a location. Even though the cost of building a facility in San Francisco is a lot more than other cities, they knew that their roots were so strongly tied to the Bay Area it was necessar y to stay.
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ounde d in a 4 00sq ft storage uni t in the Do gpatch o f S an Franc isc o, S e ven S till is a unique distiller y. The goal f rom the star t was to create se ven unique whiske y s f rom se ven unique craft b e er s . E ach insp ire d b y a di fferent hill o f S an Franc isc o and each lab e l de signe d b y a lo c al stre e t ar tist to dep ic t that landmark .
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b Blue Bears and Burgers
From commercial artist to recognizable muralist to animator, Sirron Norris is an all-around artist who only continues to grow. BY GRACE HENDRICKS PHOTO CREDIT MICHEAL KEENEY @THEREALMICHAELKEENEY
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a ybe you recognize his car toons from his murals around San Franc isco. Or maybe you recognize his st yle from the hit animated tele vision show, Bob’s Burger s. Where ver you recognize his work , Sirron Norris (sirronnorris .com) has e stablished himsel f as a prominent San Franc isco commerc ial ar tist whose ar t not only decorate s the c it y, bu t in many case s , tells it s stor y.
Bad Hombre Sirron Norris
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Originally from Cleveland, Norris moved to San Francisco in 1994 after graduating from ar t school. He knew he wanted to become a commercial ar tist and he wanted to move to a place where he believed he could develop his ar tistic career without encountering the racism and limitations he had experienced in Ohio. “I didn’ t know much about the US,” Norris remembered, but from the little he had heard about San Francisco, it sounded like where he wanted to be— and he hasn’ t left since. When he first moved, Norris landed in the Mission District , in the hear t of one
of the most renowned areas for murals in San Francisco and in the hear t of one of the neighborhoods most severely struck by gentrification. Shor tly after he arrived, Norris began a job at a company that created children’s educational software. The company developed video games to teach children math and English through the use of familiar licensed characters, including those from Super Mario Bros . and Dr. Seuss. While working at this job, Norris practiced and witnessed the power of using familiar car toon characters to tell a stor y and convey a message.
August2k16 Sirron Norris
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[They] were autobiographical pieces of my life at that time. I would do one painting per month and [the painting] would show what happened to me in that month, speaking through these cartoon characters.”
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P H OTO C R E D I T: M I C H A E L DA KS
Artist Dameon Priestly focuses on times and events of social and cultural change
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Capturing
a Concert
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If you’ve been missing going to concerts this past year, Sarah Arnold can take you to one from behind the lens of her camera.
PHOTO CREDIT SARAH ARNOLD
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lthough it’s been a minute since any of us have been to a concert, imagine the feel, the smells, the sounds, the ricocheting floor under a pounding bass...For Sarah Arnold, going to concerts is not only a passion, it’s her career. And capturing the feel, the sound, the moment is what she does best—all behind the lens of her camera.
Sarah Arnold (saraharnoldphotography.com) started photographing concerts at age fourteen. “I think I always had a fascination with watching an artist do their thing and really get lost in something they created,” she remarked. “It’s something really beautiful to watch.” Her fascination with concerts is no wonder. Arnold’s father was a retired touring musician, and growing up in Palmdale, California, she was raised in an environment saturated with the arts and creativity. A few years before she began photographing concerts, Arnold became intrigued with photography in part because of her father.
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“I remember going through old photographs in my parent’s house and coming across a stack of mounted portraits in black and white. My father... had taken photographs of people he had met on the road and they were absolutely striking…”
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FR AK Pro-Bay Area rapper Alex Fraknoi (Frak) is optimistic about younger generations BY CRISTINA DEPTULA
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an Franc isc o rapp er Frak ( Ale x Frakno i) gre w up in the Inner Sunse t back in the day s o f AOL Instant Me s senger and b e fore the te ch b o om’s change s to the c i t y ’s cul tural landsc ap e.
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A true San Francisco flower child, Eryn Kimura is creating art from the pains of the past.
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ryn Kimura is a fifth generation Japanese and Chinese American artist born and raised in San Francisco. She has also lived in Kyoto, Japan, and Paris, France. In the course of my interview I asked her many questions, but it was the eloquence of her responses that really set the tone. I will leave you to decide the questions. …
I come from the depths of Glen Park canyon where coyotes and pot-smoking pre-teens cohabitate and roam. My great-great-grandma’s laundromat on the horse-carriage-filled Valencia street of the late 1800s. The 1970 Lowell High School “Welcome Back” dance when a young Nikkei buck from the Richmond caught eyes with young queen from the
PH OTO C R E DI T: KAR I OR V I K - @ KAR IOR V I K TI N T YPE S
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Eryn Kimura Sunset amidst a sea of pioneering acidtrippers; within the concrete caverns of the Bayshore freeway underpass where a good friend told me he resided. This is my Mama, the topography of my ancestors, my home: Frisco.
These lived experiences are not just my own, but ours, a part of the collective narrative and culture of San Francisco. As a fifth generation settler on Ramaytush Ohlone land (San Franciscan) and fifth generation Chinese and Japanese-American, I was fortunate to be raised by a collaborative, polycultural community that nourished my radical imagination. I grew up valuing the various narratives of struggle that built this golden city. But today, more than ever, this culture of collective struggle and love is becoming less visible and respected in the face of the almighty dollar.
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“This is the San Francisco we are currently witnessing— again.”
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Seven dollar cups of coffee; the highest displacement rate of Black Americans second to post-Katrina New Orleans; chrome Aston Martins going 60 miles per hour in the now “up and coming” neighborhoods; flocks of metal cranes piercing the landscape; casual yet covert transphobic racism; and the uncompassionate cackles of the young, profit-driven, and privileged toward the older man on the corner admirably collecting aluminum cans to recycle. This is the San Francisco we are currently witnessing—again. As a culture bearer of our past and the author of the future, my thriving existence as an artist is in and of itself resistance—resistance to racial capitalism, imperialism, cis-hetero white supremacy. From the racist 1870 street ordinance that banned my great-greatgrand-aunties from carrying their belongings on bamboo poles to the Anti-Asian Exclusion act to the more
recent corporate takeover of America’s first Japantown. The Ramaytush Ohlone and Black ancestors. I owe them my voice, my struggle, my resistance, to upend the oppressive forces that be. They fought so that we all could be free. Not just me. Whether by blasting RBL Posse slaps through our subwoofers during the September sunshine or sharing our stories to the vibrant young authors, the youth, we are more than just witnesses. Like the brilliant artists that sculpted this beautifully intricate culture before us, the Ohlone Ramaytush stewards, the immigrants, the bold, the hopeful, the risk-takers, the misfits, the eclectic thinkers, the luminous lot of America’s upstream swimmers—we are the continuing, active architects of this dynamic city. I choose to embody the radically collaborative community I was born from.
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Rapper
ARTISTIC JOURNEY Individual style raised in the Western Addition’s jazz and funk milieu BY CRISTINA DEPTULA
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San Franc isco native and current re sident K al y Jay (Javonte Holloway) pride s himsel f on his unique hip -hop st yle. (K aly is his middle name and friends call him Jay, hence the ar tist name.) When asked to describe his music, he says, “I would describe my music as uplifting, introspective, thought-provoking, and slappin'. What makes my work unique is how it makes listeners want to dance and get hyphy, but at the same time hold onto the message that the lyrics convey.”
Jay says being in San Francisco and growing up in the Western Addition has played a role in his music. “ Yes, I know for a fact that growing up in the Fillmore/ San Francisco has greatly influenced my ar tistr y. As a rapper, where you come from is a huge par t of your image because you act as a representative from your cit y or neighborhood. I feel like it 's been that way since the beginning of hip hop.”
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“Most people who give me feedback on my music tell me that they can't think of another artist that reminds them of me. I embrace that, and continue to make music that’s true to who I am.”
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La Doña How multiculturalism has influenced one singer-songwriter’s debut album BY MICHAEL DAK S P H O T O C R E D I T @ T H A L I A G O C H E Z & @ _ N ATA L I E A L E M A N
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e c ilia Cas s andra PeñaG o vea is a singer, songwri ter, and mul tiinstrumentalist who wri te s and re c ords music under the name L a Doña. Her unique mi x o f L atin rhy thms and hip -hop b eat s re f le c t s her li fe on the S an Franc isc o Mis sion D istric t stre e t s . Her EP is c alle d A l go Nuev o, or “S ome thing Ne w.” The first time I listened to a song by La Doña it really stood out to me as something different and exciting. I went to Mexico on my honeymoon (many moons ago), and I still have a soft spot for Mariachi bands. La Doña’s music lusciously combines that positive energy
with a modern hip-hop sensibility. Latino/Salsa beats mingle provocatively with her lyrics, inspired by her life and loves, feminism, sexuality, and the sounds and rhy thms of the street. Her videos are also so much fun to watch. Her song “Quién Me La Paga?” (who pays me?) was filmed in her family home in Bernal Heights. I knew it was too authentic to be a set , and she confirmed my suspicions. She was born upstairs! For our video inter view, La Doña was sitting in the back of a minivan on the way to a gig in Palo Alto. Having seen her video for Algo Nuevo, I was expecting to see her lounging in a ’64 Chevy Impala lowrider, but she assured me it was on her list once the dollars roll in.
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#InTheSky A R T, M U S I C & F I L M
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James Bacchi captures the energy of San Francisco through his mobile photography PHOTOGRAPHED BY: JAMES BACCHI WRITTEN BY: MICHAEL DAKS
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ames Bacchi is a San Francisco based iPhoneographer and Curator. He is a recipient of a 2021 Urban Photo Award and a 2020 Independent Ar ts and Media Grant. He has also co-owned and codirected Ar tHaus Galler y+Consulting in San Francisco with his Business Par tner, Annette Schut z , for the past 25 years.
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Bacchi was primarily an East Coast guy. He grew up in Medford, MA , a few miles nor th of Boston, before spending three years in London and fifteen years in New York City. He arrived in San Francisco on St. Patrick ’s Day, 1993. He now lives with his husband in Western SOMA , aka The Hood. “I believe it took living here for twenty years before I thought of San Francisco as home.”
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#InTheSky is all about capturing the tension of the moment. The moments I attempt to capture can often be fleeting.
For Bacchi, San Francisco is a magical city. “ That magic in itself is inspiring! Aside from its ex traordinar y light and unpredictable weather, this cit y seems to be in a constant state of change and regeneration. Photographing San Francisco allows me to capture, create and mark time and place. I find that exhilarating.” If Bacchi were to choose one word to describe his photography it would be “spontaneous.” Unlike old school photography, Mobile Photography offers him immediacy. “I can’ t imagine waiting for inspiration or hours passing by in hope of a perfect shot. #InTheSky is all about capturing the tension of the moment. The moments I attempt to capture can often be fleeting.”
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San Francisco has changed drastically over the past twenty years he has lived and worked there. “Unfor tunately, economic growth seems to have homogenized the city that once felt like a safe, beautiful Bohemian scape of people and cultures. Buildings are taller, traffic is heavier, and the former, more laid back feel of the cit y, in comparison to what I experienced living in New York , has become increasingly tense. The upside to developers pouring money into the city is that over time, it allowed San Francisco to become a world-class ar t center.” Bacchi believes San Franciscans will need time to “heal, move forward and contribute to bringing our city back .”
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n k e R hec ec C h t C n ent Ren R eck k h c C R Che he t C n t e Ren ck e h C A story about navigating a quarter life crisis with universal truths, Bay Area up-and-coming artists, and a ton of laughs
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BY GRACE HENDRICKS
ent Check is a threepar t stor y created by writer and comedian Mike Evans Jr. The series follows the protagonist , Mike the Comedian, as he navigates through a quar terlife crisis to find his purpose. The series wonder fully captures the Bay Area and features many up-andcoming Bay Area ar tists. Honest and hear tfelt , yet hella hilarious, Rent Check is a must-see.
Evans’ star t in comedy was unexpec ted. A s a child, he de scribe s “I alway s thought it was fun to make people laugh... A lot of my friends were clas s clowns growing up, bu t I wanted to be the clas s clown that could also make the teacher laugh.
When I f irst star ted telling joke s at nineteen, the majorit y of comedians and audience [members] were ten to f i fteen years older than me. I was alway s curious [abou t ] how to make someone with more li fe experience relate to me.”
Bu t he ne ver antic ipated that his love of making people laugh would transform into his career. “Public speaking was something that I alway s enjoyed, so I thought abou t becoming a politic ian to help people with my voice. During my f irst year at San Franc isco State Universit y, one of my communications profe s sors told me that ‘people trust the comedian, more than the y trust the politic ian.’ After hearing that , it clicked for me that comed y was the path I wanted to take.”
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Singer & Songwriter Luke David
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BY CRISTINA DEPTULA PHOTO CREDIT @SOUL SBAL ANCED
For musician Luke David, San Francisco is the “perfect” place for live music
He would be “skating down endless wellpaved hills around the city, hopping on Muni and Bart to take me everywhere in minutes, walking from bar to restaurant effortlessly, journeying into the Tactile Dome in the Exploratorium, adventuring day or night through Golden Gate Park, posting up at Dolores Park for one of the best views, marching for rights in political protests, attending free concerts at Stern Grove, and wishing the wind would die down at the beach and the waters were a bit more friendly.” David appreciates the cultural diversity, progressive attitudes, and rich history of the City by the Bay. The relatively small size of his home city—just seven by seven square miles— puts people of all different backgrounds and cultures close to each other so they can have the opportunity to learn to understand and get along with each other.
“One Love, as Bob Marley wrote. Is that so hard?” David says. And, of course, David loves the storied music festivals and venues such as Outside Lands and the Great American Music Hall. “San Francisco is the perfect city to catch new live music,” he says. “Whether at a festival or just your best friend’s garage band.” To him, it’s sad that high housing costs have pushed many artists out of the city. However, while he thinks this has “affected the artistic spirit within the city, nothing will stop a true artist from commuting to [San Francisco] to share their work.” One non-local venue where David recently performed was NPR’s Tiny Desk concert series. He says that it takes effort and talent to sound good at a Tiny Desk show because you’re performing without the electronic backup and technology that has become prevalent in modern music. “If you can blow away a crowd without any extra electronic crutches and frills, then in my opinion you're a true rockstar.” David entered and won a competition to play in the Tiny Desk series, where he sang a song he wrote in memory of a cousin who passed away. According to David, much of his music is like a heartbeat, rising and falling, telling a personal and a world story.
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razilian-American musician Luke David has fond memories of growing up in San Francisco and still thinks the city is a wonderful place to find new artists. Originally from San Diego, he moved to San Fran as a young child, which he describes as a wonderful experience.
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Rap Rapper and businessman Stunnaman says SF’s rap scene is under-rated BY CRISTINA DEPTULA
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PHOTO CREDIT @K.BAARDE & @ACESINCE1990
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an Francisco hip-hop artist Stunnaman (Jordan Gomes) credits his success to growing up in the city. “Just being from the city, in general, taught me a sense of urgency most people ignore. But that same sense of urgency is the difference between a successful individual and somebody who never secured their opportunities.” He reflects on how different neighborhoods he lived in as a child and as a teen shaped his personality. “The Fillmore taught me how to use my words and articulate myself, how to formulate what I wanted to say and do. Hunters’ Point showed me confidence. I used to be reserved, but the Point took that out of me. I learned to be aggressive and go after what I wanted.”
That confidence has helped Stunnaman throughout his career. He began writing songs in 2006 while he was in a high school that he said was “cool but had somewhat of a cookie cutter mentality.” Being able to express himself as an individual is very important to Stunnaman, and he became even more serious about his music while in college. He remembers one night when he’d promised himself that he’d play video games for only one hour, then do homework for an hour and then write songs for one more hour. However, he ended up playing video games for the whole three hours—and sold his Xbox the next week. One year after that night, he dropped his first song and video. A year after that, he graduated from college with three songs on local radio station KMEL.
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Kontent for Change Kontent Films is a top-notch production company who uses their skills, talent, and passion for advocacy and activism
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BY GRACE HENDRICKS
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PHOTOS COURTES Y OF KONTENT FI LMS
ontent Films (kontentf ilms .c om) is a pro duc tion c ompany base d in S an Franc isc o that o ffer s high- quali t y c ontent creation ser v ic e s , all the way f rom ideation through e di torial, and c ollab oration wi th an award-winning team. Unlike other pro duc tion c ompanie s though, K ontent Films pushe s the ir e xp er tise and pas sion to e ven higher le ve ls as the c ompany priori ti ze s storie s that promote ac ti v ism and p o si ti ve change.
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Mark Decena
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Windy Chien Queen of Knots BY MICHAEL DAK S P H O T O C R E D I T M O L LY D E C O U D R E A U X
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ind y C hien is a C hine se Americ an ar tist who se c are er has include d owning Aquarius R e c ords for four te en y ear s , p o s sibl y the c o ole st re c ord shop in S an Franc isc o, then e ight y ear s at Apple as i Tune s pro duc t manager, b e fore publishing her b o ok The Year o f K not s in 2 01 6, and embark ing on her current c are er as a f ine ar tist .
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As a child of Chinese immigrants, Chien always felt like an outsider. During high school she finally realized that this could be a form of liberation. “ When you’re an outsider, people don’t know what to expect from you, so you are free to self-define. My identity has always been driven by being active in the worlds I’m most excited by, whether that be underground music, ground-breaking tech, and the world of knotting.”
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PHOTOGRAPH ED B Y CHARLES SCHOENBERGER. MODEL XUE XUE ZHA & DE X TER SIMMONS. HAI R ROBERT DOUGL A S. MAK E UP ERNESTO R O B L E D O . M A K E U P C E L E S T I N E P E A R L U R B A N O . WA R D R O B E J A D R A C H A C O L L E C T I O N . A C C E S S O R I E S L A N C E V I C T O R M O O R E . T R O O R A .
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TrooRa would like to take this opportunity to thank the entire team of people that made this shoot and issue possible and successful. D AY O N E S H O O T C R E W
Special Thanks to Johnathan Rachman Design. We would like to thank Judith Ibanez, Jonathan Rachman and a very special thank you to JRD’s Clients. We are grateful for your generosity and thankful to you for opening your home to us! D AY T W O S H O O T C R E W
A special Thank You to Fashion Designer Jad Racha, and The Academy SF’s Nate Bourg & Paul Miller, we are grateful for your hospitality and guidance.
TROORA MAGAZINE SAN FRANCISCO ISSUE ’21 PHOTO SHOOT
P R O D U C E R | C R E AT I V E D I R E C T O R
Trystanne Cunningham - IG @trystanne C O / C R E AT I V E D I R E C T O R
Brian Esterle - IG @acoolglassofmilk PHOTOGRAPHER
Charles Schoenberger - IG @charlesschoenberger C I N E M AT O G R A P H E R
Bro Jackson - IG @brojackson 2ND CAMERA
Drazen Grujic - IG - @zengru V I D E O A S S I S TA N T
Day 1 - Jose Figueroa - IG @endzwitdalenz Day 2 - Dontae Blinks - IG @lastnameblinks C A M E R A A S S I S TA N T
Nicole Schlaeppi - IG @nschlaeppi.photo CAMERA AND LIGHTING
Charles Schoenberger - IG @charlesschoenberger Westbound Entertainment Bro Jackson Visuals Drazen Grujic HAIR ST YLING
Robert Douglas - IG @itsmerobd MAKE-UP ARTIST
Ernesto Robledo - IG @graffitima MAKE-UP ARTIST
Celestine Pearl Urbano - IG @cel.pea MODEL
Dexter Simmons - IG @dexterflawk MODEL
Xue Xue Zha - @xue7 WA R D R O B E D E S I G N S
Jad Racha - IG @jadrachacollection Masks And Jewelry Lance Victor Moore - IG @lance.v.moore ST YLING
Jad Racha, Lance Victor Moore & Trystanne Cunningham S E T C O O R D I N AT O R
Grace Hendricks - IG @gg.hendricks P R O D U C T I O N A S S I S TA N T
Kyle Khemmanivong - IG @dead.kyle PHOTO RETOUCHING
Natalya Belaya L O C AT I O N P R O V I D E D B Y
Day 1 - Johnathan Rachman Design Johnathan Rachman - IG @johnathanrachmandesign Day 2 - The Academy SF Social Club - IG @the_academy_sf Nate Bourg and Paul Miller
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R E G E N E R AT I V E A N D J U S T .
zero-waste, fair fashion
tonle.com
Collection “Forest” dedicated for the women – who has a desire to pamper herself. For the women – who want to feel silk touches not only on special occasions, but on everyday life. Photo Credit - Darius Tarela - focusstudio.lt apotecafashion.com
Fashion Designer
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Inspiration
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BY CRISTINA DEPTULA
ashion de signer Jad Racha fe ll in lo ve wi th S an Franc isc o f rom the moment he mo ve d here. A s he pu t s i t , “S an Franc isc o ’s charm he lp e d nur se and shap e [my] take on fashion.”
Another major inspiration for him is his mother. Racha is her first name and he’s taken that as his ar tist name in her honor. She’s always been encouraging to him and as a child he grew up admiring the elegant clothes she wore to par ties and events in their native Lebanon. She now wears his new couture creations! I wondered if he considered his work
vintage or modern, and he answered, “ timeless and classic.” When asked for more detail on how he described his style, Racha explained, “Clean, modern, and timeless. My work reflects classic elegance and detailed craftsmanship.” He names Huber t de Givenchy and Christian Dior as influences on his ar t. And he says his own inspirations come from a variety of sources. “My ideas come from all over my surroundings, fabric, draping , sketching, music , vintage shops etc...I usually allow myself to not think about what I’m designing instead I just let it happen and see what comes out.”
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Instagram: @mabelchongjewelry Facebook: mabelchongjewelry Twitter: @mabelSF Pinterest: @mabelchongsf mabelchong.com
The Expressionist For Designer Colleen Quen, each piece is an art, an inspiration, and an expression of herself
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B Y N E H A SU R A D K A R | P H OTO S C O U R T E S Y O F C O L L E E N Q U E N C O U T U R E
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mul ti-fac e te d p er sonali t y, an amalgamation o f thre e cul ture s , a c ou turier, an ar tist , a danc er, a music ian, a healer—the se are j ust some words to de scrib e one o f Cali fornia’s mo st remark able women, C olle en Quen, the founder o f C olle en Quen C ou ture.
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Born on the quiet and peaceful island of Alameda, California, Quen is a third or four th generation American-born Chinese. She feels proud to be born in the US and is equally proud of her eastern roots. Fashion was a par t of Quen’s life from a ver y young age. She considers her mother to be her first ar t and fashion teacher. Her mother used to create outfits for her special occasions, and Quen would love selecting the fabrics and colours, hence developing an eye for style from a ver y young age. She would sneak into her mother ’s fabric room and be mesmerized by all the tex tures, colours, and patterns. As a child, she would spend time drawing, painting, embroider y, and playing piano and flute.
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She graduated in Computer Science and business while excelling in dance forms like ballet and modern dances. She trained in ice skating and was a freest yle ice skater for almost a decade. While into ice skating, she star ted designing costumes for the same and decided to pursue a degree in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Design and Management (FIDM), San Francisco.
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Born and brought up in the States, having a beautiful eastern legacy and having mastered French Couture, Quen’s for te lies in bringing all the three cultures into her designs. With her study of French couture, she learned to be a true ar tist. She studied the human body with perfection and loved to create ou tf it s for this ar tform. To her, French cou ture is all abou t per fec tion, ele gance , and prec ision. Mixing all three make s the ae sthetic s spiritual.
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Quen enjoys this intermixing in her designs, whether evening wear, paintings, sculpture, or Chinese watercolor painting. One of her favorite designs, “ The Butterfly Dream”, has an elegant vintage look , French couture cut , and precise ancient butterfly pattern exhibited in Shanghai Museum of Contemporar y Ar t (MOCA).
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The World’s Finest, Consciously Made Handbags
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BY NEHA SURADKAR
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Accessories Designer Tiersa Nureyev’ Stella Fluorescent
Stella Fluorescent: a fashion-forward entity using innovative elements and production techniques to create stunning treasures.
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tella Fluorescent is a San Francisco-based design studio co-founded by Tiersa Nureyev and Erik Hilburn. Named after their daughter Stella, the studio’s focus is on making fashion-forward, thoughtful objects that take the form of accessories, jewelr y, and tex tiles. Nureyev, the creative head behind Stella Fluorescent , star ted her career as a dressmaker and seamstress before training as a fashion designer. After becoming a mother, she transitioned into working as a jewelr y and accessor y designer as well as an ar t teacher ser ving children and youth. This was all to gain flexibility for managing her work and home lives.
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Renewing glasses into sunglasses lunelvintage.com
Skincare is self-care
Created in California, our all natural, sustainably sourced skincare is formulated with the recognition that we are all part of the earth.
What is good for the Earth is good for us.
earthtuface.com
Warmth from the edge of the world
inismeain.ie
Double Cuff Tunic 20% Cashmere 80% Merino Wool Crafted from a blend of super geelong merino wool and cashmere made to the highest European environmental standards using only organic and premium quality dyes. Made and hand-finished in Aran Islands workshop.
Return of THE
Couture In a world increasingly geared towards commodity and convenience, Couture reestablishes style through craftsmanship and individual client care.
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BY GRACE HENDRICKS PHOTO CREDIT COUTURE UOMO
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outure (coutureuomo. com) is a high-quality European menswear store based in Union Square, San Francisco, whose history began at the side of Owner David Yahid’s grandmother. Yahid’s grandmother was a wedding dress couturier in Iran, who paid young David 25 cents a day to help her create her masterpieces. “She kept the money in a drawer,” Yahid remembered. But it wasn’t the money that intrigued young David. It was the “the touch, the smell, the texture” of the clothing that provoked an unwavering passion within him which he would pursue for the rest of his life and through which he would gift so many. After the revolution of 1979, Yahid left Iran to find a home in Europe. In his first few months, he moved between many different countries. All of his moves introduced him to new roommates, one of whom would later become his first menswear client. Yahid recalls, “My roommates would borrow clothes from me to go out on the
weekends and to go on dates. I eventually bought a leather jacket and one of my roommates liked it so much that he asked if he could buy it from me, and I said yes.” Eventually, Yahid landed in France, where his cousin had started a clothing company. Between his passion for clothes and his recent success in selling his leather jacket, Yahid immediately began working for his cousin. Shortly thereafter, however, it became clear that the market wasn’t fruitful for them in France. This realization ultimately gave Yahid the opportunity he had wanted for a while: to sell clothing in the United States. Yahid first moved to Los Angeles, where he initially operated a clothing business out of the trunk of his car. A few months later, on July 4th, he visited San Francisco for the first time and that was it. He instantly fell in love with the Bay Area. He went to lunch in Sausalito with his girlfriend at the time and during their meal, he told her that he wanted to buy a home in the Bay. Two years later, he bought his first condo in Sausalito and he’s lived in Marin County ever since.
BIG SPUR 2.0 Mens Bow Tie Made with black and white guinea, iridescent charcoal grey rooster, and deep red pheasant feathers. Center wrap is black grosgrain. Band collar wrap with an adjustable strap and hook closure - fits neck sizes 11” to 20”. Bow tie dimensions are 2.5” tall and 4.5” wide. Each feather used in production is all-natural and sustainably sourced. Feathers for bow ties are hand-selected, giving each finished piece unique coloring. Each bow tie is hand-crafted in Charleston, South Carolina and takes approximately five hours to make, start to finish.
CRAFTED TO REFLECT THE NATURAL BEAUT Y OF EACH FEATHER
brackish.com
Fashion Is Back BY GRACE HENDRICKS
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Daniel George leads the pack in this returning age of fashion
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ounder and designer, Daniel George , owns successful brick and mor tar stores in both San Francisco and Chicago (danielgeorge.com). His designs and his tailoring are renowned, both of which—in addition to his innate abilit y to foster authentic relationships with clients—have earned him a loyal clientele. George takes pleasure in “ wearing a unique suit to a black tie event , listening to the music you want...Don’ t fall into any par ticular categor y.” Wonder fully and unsurprisingly, his clothes and the experience of wearing one of his pieces are equally as bespoke as him. “I think it ’s my parents’ fault really,” George remarked when reflecting on how his interest in fashion began. This wasn’ t hard to believe as George went on to describe his parents, who were both independent style-icons in their own rights and who both
cultivated in George a pride and passion for fashion at an early age. George described his mother—“She’s 90 and still wears couture Oscar.” Over the past few years, the two have rarely ventured out anymore due to his mother ’s health, but “I visited her recently and she had laid out a twopiece sequin Prada suit with heels, jewelr y, and a handbag. I asked her, ‘Do you want to get dressed up?” And she replied, ‘Darling, I always want to get dressed up.’” George’s father was his mother ’s equal in style: “He smoked a pipe, but never in public; he wore London tailored clothing and silk pajamas... with monogrammed clothing slippers.” His father was “a rare read that doesn’t exist anymore...He taught me how to be a gentleman,” George remarked. Although always stylish, it wasn’t until his early twenties that George would star t to establish his own place in fashion.
PHOTO CREDIT: NICOLE WILSON - @NICOLEWILSONPHOTO
PHOTO CREDIT: @QWHARTON
Welcome to your new Favorite shirt
The Digital Oxford Shirt Modern prints, gender-free fit and responsibly made from fiber to thread
wearandall.com
Uncivilized
Elegance
Jewelry Designer Mabel Chong Molds Beauty from Imperfection
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BY CRISTINA DEPTULA
She credits her early inspiration to her mother, who sold her most precious possession, a golden pair of hoop earrings she wore at her wedding, so the family could move from a rural Chinese village to Hong Kong for a better life. As she explains on her site, ‘By the time I was 13, a single piece of jewelry had not only changed the course of my life, but also captivated my heart.’
Making beautiful objects of jewelry accessible to many people is still important to Mabel, and she sells many items for $150 or less. Art, travel and the natural world are also major inspirations for Chong. Many of her pieces are for sale but some others are in museums around the world, including San Francisco’s own Asian Art Museum. She’s also been invited to a jewelry festival in Miami and people at the Golden Globes have worn her creations, and she’s exhibited jewelry at a special pop-up event at San Francisco’s Civic Center, attended by then-mayor Ed Lee. Her creations include soft metal and gem-embedded leather bracelets, re-imagined pearls in various forms, and sparkling diamond-encrusted gemstones. She also loves working with pyrite and creating floral-inspired earrings.
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abel Chong began making handcrafted jewelry in 2003 at her family’s kitchen table. Since then, the San Francisco-based designer has opened several stores, two of which are in SF, and brought her designs to Europe and Asia.
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LOVE THE WAY YOU LOOK LOVE THE WAY YOU FEEL. loveiguehi.com
The world’s first highly sustainable and environmentally friendly organic material made of Nopal cactus, also known as the prickly pear.
desserto.com.mx
Fashion Pharmacy Apoteca is like a pharmacy in your closet, creating designs to treat your body and soul BY NEHA SURADKAR P H OTO C R E D I T D A R I U S TA R E L A
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p ote c a was founde d b y Inga Tare lai te , who thought o f star ting a unique fashion brand while v isi ting silk fac torie s in C hina. Fir st , she worke d in the fashion industr y as Edi tor and Creati ve Manager for fashion magazine s , c o ordinating the ir sho ot s and inter v ie wing de signer s . Then, she worke d wi th so me o f the b igge st fashion re tail chains like B er shk a and Apranga (Bigge st Fashion R e tailer in Bal tic c ountrie s) as a buy er and store manager.
endless possibilities that are there in the fashion industr y. This is when she star ted working on her own designs and quit her job.
During her tenure with these chains, she attended many fashion shows and trade shows and visited a lot of factories and manufacturing units in China, which helped her gain knowledge about garments, fabrics, construction, and the
Apoteca is based in San Francisco, handcrafted by a team of local women in Lithuania, and sold in America, Italy, and England. The brand designs for mature and elegant women who love great fabrics, intricate design details, and are not afraid to get noticed in a crowd.
Both her parents were pharmacists. Since childhood, pharmacy had always been a par t of Tarelaite’s life, and even her husband is a pharmacist. With all this connection, she came up with the idea of the name Apoteca—a pharmacy in your closet that can treat your body with luxurious natural fabrics and your soul with beautiful prints and colours at any moment in your life.
Our mission is to remake, re-use, recycle and repurpose for a prolonged life cycle.
diarrablu.com
A Collaborative Journey of Resplendent Design Designer Yuka Uehara’s new gallery showcasing traditional Japanese artistic crafts BY CRISTINA DEPTULA
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PHOTO CREDIT RICHARD VAN
“San Francisco is an intimate, artistic, and liberal city. Every time I meet a new person I feel like I uncover a new subculture. Because of the city’s friendliness and diversity, I feel encouraged to explore and challenge myself creatively.” — Yuka Uehara, quoted in Haute Couture’s 2017 feature on new San Francisco designers.
Designer and ar tist Yuka Uehara launched Tokyo Gamine in 2015 so that she could work together with her clients to create individualized couture. Her client list includes San Francisco’s symphony, opera, and ballet as well as the Girls Chorus, and she outfitted the symphony for a production of Candide. Her designs take inspiration from nature, my thology, and psychology and are often influenced by the wearer ’s personal histor y. “I found inspiration in nature and its subtle relations within my use of color and shape. I tr y to translate its growth and decay and the soundscape of its interactions into my works. Like the natural world, I’ve been tr ying to have a more holistic approach to my ar t practice. It ’s not just about the garments; it ’s the environment , the wearer, and how all these elements interact to create a unified sensorial approach.”
Haute Couture Magazine has described Uehara as par t of ‘San Francisco’s Fashionocracy.’ She’s self-taught , crafting kimonos with traditional techniques and all of her clothing with fabrics from all around the world. A signature Uehara gown includes antique kimono panels and raw silk that she paints herself with flowers or abstract designs.
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Clothes and Accessories for Men and Women Tradition paired with Updated Technology Best quality craftsmanship and materials Genuine contribution to sustainable fashion and business practices Top quality dead stock, end lots, and private collections
throckmortonjones.com
“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” — Warren Buffett
TRAVE
BY CRISTINA DEPTULA
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Off the beaten track San Francisco Neighborhood Gems Eclectic and Sincere SF: Neighborhood Shops, Eateries, Attractions, and Cafes BY CRISTINA DEPTULA PHOTO CREDIT ISTOCK
G L E N PA R K : Tr y Cafe Bello, a local spot in a sunny neighborhood that plays classical music where you can rest or catch up on work while enjoying coffee. Drinks available include vanilla rose lattes, lavender white mochas, and sweet chai, with a full selection of milks and milk alternatives. Plus, the baristas revel in creating floral foam ar t on top of your coffee. Or get over to Bird and Beckett , a neighborhood bookstore offering free used books to all passersby in boxes outside on the sidewalk and many ar t , music and cultural titles for sale inside. Named for musician Charlie Bird and philosopher Samuel Beckett , the store hosts regular jaz z shows and literar y readings and has the atmosphere of a French book market stall along the Seine.
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ow that the Bay Area is op ening back up again, p e ople are venturing back into S an Franc isc o for f un and ad venturous day-trip s . Here are sugge stions o f some plac e s that may b e le s s crowde d and di fferent f rom the b ig-name tourist de st inations .
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Better umbrellas with a focus on the details that matter— beautiful colors, premium materials, quality craftsmanship, everyday usability.
Look Good. Feel Good.
Umbrellas | Leashes | Pouches | Mugs certainstandard.com
Redefining Hospitality San Francisco’s Viceroy Hotels Give Homage to Art, Serenity, Beat Poetry, and Rock and Roll BY CRISTINA DEPTULA
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enowne d hote l chain Vic ero y enhanc e s S an Franc isc o ’s urban tourist e xp erienc e wi th four unique ar tistic and cul turall y theme d hote ls : the Emblem, the Ze t ta, the Zepp e lin, and the Ze lo s . E ach plac e o ffer s a sp e c ial and di fferent v ib e , buil t to re f le c t a c er tain asp e c t o f S an Franc isc o and i t s ar tistic heri tage.
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PHOTOS COURTES Y OF TH E VICEROY HOTEL GROUP
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Zelos
“A fashion-forward hotel...whose restaurant is [its] sultr y hear t.” The Zelos Hotel is within the historic Pacific Building, with an elegant ex terior and modern guest rooms and workspaces painted in inviting shades of grey. Just steps from Union Square, it ’s designed for both work and play. The hotel’s bedrooms and workspaces come with natural light and 400-thread count
sheets, intending to create a meditative atmosphere. Decor and modern ar t-style paintings adorn the walls to spark creativity. Zelos’ signature restaurant , Dir ty Habit , has a cocktail-focused menu developed by Frenchtrained chef Thomas Weibull, composed of New American eats influenced by European and Asian cultures.
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Transform To Transcend
MMXIV
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Krysalis Eltheria The Kaloud Krysalis® Eltheria® is not a Hookah... It’s a Krysalis. It draws upon more than 500-years of tradition and innovation and emerges reborn as something new; something unknown.
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Archimedes Banya: Combining healthy spa traditions from ancient world cultures
Archimedes Banya brings the best of Turkish, German, Roman, and Russian historical spa bathing culture to San Francisco. Thermal bathing and saunas were traditional health practices around the world. The Greek physician Hippocrates, considered the father of modern medicine, said that he could cure vir tually any disease if he could create a fever in the human body. Currently, researchers at the University of Texas in Houston are looking into heat treatments for cancer. Bathing in hot , steamy water can induce sweating which helps to remove impurities from the body. It re-hydrates your skin and makes it glow and can help sore muscles and joints. It can also stimulate your cardiovascular and
immune systems, helping your blood circulation and bringing about some of the same benefits as exercising. Bathing, of course, is also a great way to relax . Many people say Archimedes Banya helps them deal with stress and emerge refreshed, ready to face life, and sleep better at night. Known as the “cathedral of steam and heat ,” the Banya creates a social atmosphere with large coed communal bathing rooms, steam rooms, and massage centers. There’s also a cafe where patrons can eat , drink , and talk . Inspired by the traditional cuisines of cultures with a public bathing tradition, the food and beverages have been adapted to include local organic ingredients, vegetarian options, and treats such as kombucha. The food is intended to nourish body and soul, and patrons are encouraged to arrive on an empty stomach, bathe, and then replenish themselves.
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tep in, the water ’s warm and the people are friendly!
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Posh Cannabis In the few years since starting Posh Green Collective, owner Reese Benton has already made cannabis history
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osh Green, also known as the “Nordstrom of Cannabis,” is not only one of San Francisco’s fastest-growing cannabis dispensaries, it is the cit y ’s first Equity Retail Cannabis Dispensar y to be independently-owned by a woman of color. Owner and San Francisconative Reese Benton star ted Posh Green Collective in 2016 (poshgreencollective.com).
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During the few years since then, she has already curated one of the most renowned, high-quality cannabis menus in the Bay Area. She has contributed greatly to the creation of San Francisco’s Cannabis Equity
Program. And she has endured legal battles, an attempted robber y, and a worldwide pandemic—all before she could even open the doors of her dispensar y. But let ’s take it back to the beginning. The stor y of Posh Green star ts with a breakup. Benton’s former-par tner owned a cannabis dispensar y in the Bay Area, and when they ended their relationship, Benton lost access to his store and products. She tried visiting a few other dispensaries, but she wasn’t satisfied with the available options because none of them sold the high-quality products she wanted and none of them provided the client relationships she sought. So, she decided to star t her own.
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he Vapor Room (vaporroom. com) is undeniably a par t of San Francisco’s cannabis histor y. In its original location on Haight Street , it fostered a loyal communit y, many of whom have returned over the years. It was one of the many dispensaries in San Francisco shut down amidst escalating legal restrictions for medical marijuana stores in 2012 . Now, in 2021, it stands as one of the longestrunning cannabis dispensaries in San Francisco, one of the few where you can sample and smoke in-store because of their onsite cannabis consumption permit , and one of the most dedicated dispensaries to selling cannabis that is grown sustainably. Known as
“San Francisco’s Favorite Mom & Pop Pot Shop,” the Vapor Room is here to stay.
Back in 2004, the Vapor Room opened in the Haight as one of San Francisco’s first medical marijuana dispensaries. The space was reminiscent of “ That 70’s Show ” and it attracted a community from all around the city. The Vapor Room focused on curating a top-notch menu and on educating its visitors about the range of applications and the advantages of medical cannabis. The Vapor Room has also alway s prioritized caring for it s communit y. In it s original day s , it offered a medical compas sion program, through which cooperative members could receive a small amount of cannabis , free of charge , i f the y couldn’ t afford it that day. This original prac tice has carried over into their Compas sion Program today.
Sustaining Pot BY G.G. BARRON
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One of San Francisco’s longest-running cannabis dispensaries has undeniably left its mark on the city’s history and it continues to pave the path for its future
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The Dutchman’s Amsterdam In the heart of Dogpatch sits Dutchman’s Flat, an ode to Amsterdam coffee shops and a local favorite for great cannabis
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BY G.G. BARRON
ocated in the heart of its namesake neighborhood, Dutchman’s Flat (dutchmansflat.com) is a San Francisco cannabis dispensary that provides its community with high-quality, lab-tested cannabis products and a welcoming staff whose knowledge and passion can help any visitor find their ideal experience with cannabis.
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Let’s start with the name, because could there be a better name for a cannabis dispensary? When Founder Robert Watson learned from a friend that “Dutchman’s Flat” was a lesser-known historical name for the San Francisco neighborhood of Dogpatch, where he intended to open his dispensary, he couldn’t believe it. Amsterdam coffee shops had been a huge source of inspiration and education for him throughout his cannabis journey. This name was the perfect way to blend his Dutch influences with San Francisco. He raced to check if the name was still available, only to find that another person had begun to register it without finishing the process. The two decided to meet to determine who would get the name—by flipping a coin for it. By sheer luck, Watson won, with tails, three times in a row. The rest is history. (The winning coin can still be found in the bathroom, tails-up in the center, surrounded by a floor tiled in pennies.) Nowadays, if you visit, many of the design elements harken back to Watson’s Dutch inspirations. For example, the
logo of Dutchman’s Flat is a boat. Orange, the color of the Dutch royal family, is incorporated on much of their packaging and throughout the dispensary’s decor. And the main door has three vertical crosses stacked on top of one another, which references the Coat of Arms of Amsterdam. But let’s go back to the beginning. Watson’s interest in cannabis began long before winning that fateful coin toss and officially opening Dutchman’s Flat. One of the branches that led Watson to cannabis was his background in farming. Watson was raised in Modesto, a farming mecca located inland of San Francisco in the middle of California. Many of his family members, including his grandparents and a cousin, owned farms and much of his childhood was spent hands-deep in soil. When Watson left Modesto to attend UC San Diego, he decided to study visual arts, which was a choice his parents questioned. As a child, Watson had helped his father with his contracting work and through that, he had sustained back injuries, which had begun to bother him during college. These back injuries eventually led him to take full advantage of California Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. Prop 215 allowed
Cut to post-graduation, when Watson’s passion for cultivating and breeding new strains of cannabis for various medical purposes only grew. Even though he experienced a few hiccups, including in the immediate year after graduation when his mother caught him growing in a crawl
space in his parents’ house, Watson continued to cultivate cannabis. During those years, Watson also transitioned between a few jobs, including working as a building engineer and a project engineer before eventually landing a fulfilling job with one of San Francisco’s first sustainable engineering firms. But on the side of each position, he maintained his garden and he continuously developed his cultivation techniques and new strains of cannabis. Eventually, Watson decided to open his dispensary. Watson and his partner, Sean Devlin, who focused on the front-of-house because of his background in hospitality, spent months
consulting with the local neighborhood in Dogpatch and working through community concerns around opening a cannabis dispensary there. From the beginning, Watson and Devlin have been focused on their community. Their current loyal clientele stands as a testament to the quality of their cannabis products and the quality of their customer care. Today, Dutchman’s Flat is a local favorite. Whatever your cannabis needs or desires, Dutchman’s Flat can guide you in the right direction, and maybe the right direction for you will even lead to a strain that Watson himself created.
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Californians with specific medical permits to grow their own marijuana for personal medical use and for the medical use of those in their collective. Between the inadequacy of multiple prescribed painkillers and Watson’s background in farming, one path forward seemed clear. And so, Watson built his first hydroponic cannabis garden.
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Ayla is a boutique beauty store driven by thoughtfulness, relationships, sustainability, and passion BY NEHA SURADKAR PHOTO CREDIT JUSTI N BUELL
y la is a b ou tique b eau t y store hidden in S an Franc isc o that thri ve s on clean b eau t y and e xc eptional ser v ic e. F ounde d b y Dara K enne d y, Ay la pride s on b e ing run b y an all-women team, bringing di fferent p er sp e c ti ve s and intere st s to the table.
Kennedy grew up in an ethnically homogeneous small town in New Hampshire. As a biracial kid, not fitting neatly into a box made her free to define herself in her own terms, focusing less on what she is and more on what she could be. Kennedy worked at Goodby, Silverstein and Par tners in the early 2000s, with Elizabeth Arden as one of the clients. Then, with her passion for beauty and skincare, she moved to New York to develop a skincare product and new brands for them.
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Herbalist Sarah Buscho creates a plant-based skincare brand connecting us to the planet
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BY NEHA SURADKAR
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arth Tu Face is a skincare brand created in San Rafael, California, founded by herbalist Sarah Buscho. It is an all-natural, sustainably sourced skincare line formulated to recognize that we are all part of the Earth.
Buscho grew up amidst nature, running barefoot and wild in a California garden, weeding vegetables, climbing trees, and making things from the plants. Her father believed it was essential to grow their food organically as much as possible. So, Buscho spent her childhood playing in the garden and learning to plant and grow alongside her father. With her discerning skin, she tried many products that were available in the 1990s and early 2000s and was not completely satisfied with any of those.
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So, she started making her potions and studied Western herbalism and various other nurturing modalities that eventually made it into her formulation process. She was inspired by nature, where nothing is wasted and every step leads into something else. Buscho believes that ecosystems are circular. Every “waste” component is picked up and used by something.
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Good for the planet Floramye is a skincare brand incorporating the benefits of CBD BY NEHA SURADKAR P H OTO S C O U R T E S Y O F F LO R A M Y E
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loramye—the reincarnated name of a French perfume brand from the 1920s—is now a thoughtfully sourced product line created using ethically grown, certified-organic hemp and essential oils. Allison Tryke lived in Tokyo for a couple of years as a teenager and was inspired by Japanese minimalist design and the rigid recycling practices of the country. She started a reusable water bottle company back in the US in 2008 to reduce single-use plastic. Tryke, the founder of Floramye, first experienced Cannabidiol (CBD) benefits while nursing a neck injury. She had a painful pinched nerve in her neck, and the pharmaceuticals made her feel drowsy. At this time, she experimented with CBD, which treated the pain directly without having to medicate the whole body. She became an instant fan!
Floramye was inspired by Tryke’s great grandmother. Hemp was stigmatized when she was a movie star (in the 1920s and 30s.) She was glamorous, so Tryke wanted a brand with enduring style like hers and wasn’t just trendy. Each product under Floramye serves a unique purpose. Tryke believes in making only those products that she has experienced first-hand from. For example, she loves the bath bliss set. Each of the seven bath balls contains a different natural Chakra stone and a description of what each stone represents and how to use it within your bathing ritual. With 200mg of CBD in each ball that is dusted with natural mica, they are as potent as they are beautiful. She hopes that it makes a difference in people’s lives physically as well as spiritually.
Floramye’s customers have been a part of their journey from the beginning. People use the products consistently to manage pain, discomfort, and skin conditions. Repeat customers and positive customer feedback encourage Tryke and her team to move further. With the opening of their brick and mortar store, Tryke enjoys being around their products and customers during the day. Sustainability forms the core of Tryke’s personality and Floramye’s values. Tryke believes that something cannot be good for you if it’s not good for the planet. To her, sustainability is about seeing the bigger picture in each action one takes. Every action has an impact, so ensuring that it is positive (or neutral) is essential. They grow hemp CBD outside in naturally managed soil seeing as greenhouses use a tremendous amount of resources. They work with only a few vendors they can trust and try to be mindful of everything from packaging through delivery. Tryke is constantly assessing what is best for the planet and customers, not just for the bottom line of Floramye. New products are launched after a lot of thought and deliberation. They operate with a modest budget and bring out high-quality products that speak for themselves, making them available to a wide range of consumers.
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Her husband, a former NFL player, used the creme Tryke made and experienced the same instant results. They gave samples to friends and family, and after receiving positive feedback, they decided to produce a larger batch of USDA certified organic products. They started incorporating CBD oil for skincare and general stress support. Tryke started blending CBD with essential oils for added aromatherapy benefits and healing properties. She gifted them to everyone she knew and got great feedback. She felt that launching a brand could help even more people, so she developed the concept for Floramye and brought it to the world.
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Let’s Make Reusable the Standard
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Healing with Needles Fountyn Acupuncture, a San Francisco based clinic providing Traditional Chinese treatments
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PHOTOS COURTES Y OF FOUNT Y N ACUPUNCT URE
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Dr. Rachele Lam cures people using these needles (acupuncture) and other techniques of Chinese medicine—herbal medicine, gua sha, cupping, holistic facial— at her San Francisco-based clinic, Fountyn Acupuncture. Named after Margot Fonteyn, one of Dr. Lam's favorite ballet dancers, the fountain also represents an enclosed flowing water system reminiscent of the human body and the qi (energy) and life that flows within us. BEAUT Y
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etting pricked by a needle is not a pleasant feeling. Now, imagine being pricked by close to a hundred needles. That is not something anyone would want to go through. But what if these needles could cure you of some major illness or condition? Wouldn' t you want to tr y for yourself ? I definitely would.
Acupuncture works on both physiological and energetic levels. Thin acupuncture needles are placed along energy pathways in the body to promote the unobstructed,
smooth flow of qi. When qi is flowing smoothly, the body is at an optimal functioning level. Acupuncture helps to relieve pain, reduce inflammation, improve circulation, regulate the ner vous system, and restore homeostasis. While the intricacies of acupuncture have not yet been completely broken down into biomedical explanations, modern research and imaging have visually shown some of the physiological changes to the body from acupuncture and its effects on the ner vous, endocrine, immune, cardiovascular, and digestive systems. For example, Doppler ultrasounds (which measure the amount of blood flow through your ar teries and veins) show that acupuncture increases blood flow and circulation. Also, MRI readings show how needling cer tain acupuncture points can affect specific areas of the brain. Thermal imaging before and after treatments also show noticeably reduced levels of inflammation in the body.
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Big Picture T H E
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BY STEVEN BEDARD PHOTOS COURTESY OF CAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
From the beautiful to the bizarre, this photographic showcase of life on Earth shines a light on some of our planet’s most amazing species and places.
Hope Amidst the Ashes by Jo-Anne McArthur Grand Prize Winner
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ach year, the California Academy of Sciences’ renowned BigPicture Photography Competition celebrates some of the world ’s best photographers and the year ’s most striking images. Judged by an esteemed panel of nature and conser vation photography exper ts, including Suzi Esz terhas, Morgan Heim, and bioGraphic contributing photo editor Sophie Stafford, the competition’s winning images and finalists highlight Ear th’s biodiversit y and illustrate the many threats that our planet faces. Each photo, in its own way, inspires viewers to protect and conser ve the remarkable diversit y of life on Ear th. Below, we present the winners and some of our personal favorites from this year ’s competition.
Bushfires have ravaged the Australian landscape in recent years, burning some 17 million hectares (42 million acres) in 2019 and 2020 alone. Driven by record-setting droughts and temperatures, wildfires have devastated habitats and wildlife populations alike, and scientists are worried that these events will only grow more common with climate change. Despite the sobering trend, conser vationists remain committed to protecting the places and species that make this island nation unique. In January of last year, shortly after a devastating bushfire near Australia’s southeast coast , photographer Jo-Anne McArthur accompanied one such effort , as a team from an organization called Vets for Compassion searched a eucalyptus plantation for injured and starving koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). There she encountered this female eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), a joey in her pouch, that had somehow survived the cataclysm. For McArthur, it was a powerful moment : two of Australia’s most iconic species—the kangaroo and the eucalyptus tree—standing at a worrisome crossroads in their history. But the individuals in her frame were also symbols of hope, that life can persist against all odds. 481
Sign of the Tides By Ralph Pace Human/Nature Winner
Beak to Beak by Shane Kalyn Winged Life Winner
Though a post-pandemic world is finally in sight , the scars of COVID-19 will live on for years to come— including those on our environment. Since the start of the pandemic, the production of single-use plastics has skyrocketed, largely driven by the surge in epidemiologically necessary but ecologically devastating personal protective equipment. According to one study, 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves were used globally each month during the pandemic, as much as 75 percent of which are likely to end up in landfills or the ocean. Much of that equipment— including this mask being investigated by a curious California sea lion (Zalophus californianus)—is made from durable plastics that take hundreds of years to break down. However, if the past year has shown us anything, it is that all can be accomplished through resources and resolve. Perhaps a new picture of our approach to single-use goods will soon emerge.
Rain Dance by Sarang Naik Art of Nature Winner
Dancing in the glow of photographer Sarang Naik ’s flashlight , a golden plume of spores rises from the gills of a mushroom cap outside of Toplepada, India. In due time, this magical pixie dust will create more mushrooms—and not only in the way that you might think . While a small number of these mighty motes will land on soil suitable enough for producing the branching underground filaments that beget new mushrooms, many more spores will find their way into the atmosphere to ser ve an equally impor tant purpose. Each year, millions of tons of fungal spores are aerosolized into the atmosphere where they provide the solid core for the condensation of water into clouds and rainfall, breathing life into forests around the world and sustaining future generations of fungi. This cycle can go both ways, however. As droughts worsen with climate change, fewer mushrooms will spring up, which in turn lessens spore-spurred rains, which may then lead to more intense droughts in the future.
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Common ravens (Corvus corax) usually mate for life, and this intimate, openbeaked moment captured by photographer Shane Kalyn is likely an example of allopreening—reciprocal grooming that serves both to solidif y social bonds and to keep plumage clean. Tender as this behavior is, it sometimes puts the birds at risk of an aggressive intervention from other members of their species. A 2014 study by scientists at the University of Vienna revealed that ravens will often interrupt grooming sessions between other paired individuals, especially those with more tenuously established bonds. These interventions are an apparent attempt to prevent neighboring couples from developing the kinds of strong pair bonds that lead to greater reproductive success. As scientist Kaeli Swift notes, “embracing the results of this study requires accepting the idea that an animal, especially a bird, is capable of putting future rewards ahead of current risk or losses. As humans, this kind of future planning is an ability we take for granted, but it ’s quite a cognitive feat.” For birds with a documented ability to use tools and solve puzzles, it ’s just one more impressive feat to add to the list.
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