Batí Co-Founder Taylor Ross spent 2011-14 in the verdant country town of Tobatí, Paraguay working as an English Professor and College Adviser at the Macchi School, a 7-12 high school for underprivileged youth in the area. In January 2017 he and lifelong best friend / hermano Jose Valladolid Jr. founded Batí together to provide more opportunities for the ambitious students of the Macchi School.
They designed the leather goods to reflect the natural beauty of the Paraguayan landscape and tell the powerful story of the Macchi students. All Batí goods are handmade with vegetable-tanned leather by artisans from Tobatí. The leather is treated exclusively with organic ingredients (tannic acids, vegetable oil), which give the goods a natural glow and allow them to soften and strengthen over time. No chemicals are used in the tanning process, and the slight imperfections of the hide are embraced to add life to the goods. Because of this, no two items ever look the same.
Batí Goods embody true beauty, the kind that weathers the effects of time and the ups and downs of life. Each product is like a story passed down through generations. It never gets old and is never forgotten.
*Ross and Valladolid use proceeds to grant Macchi students access to more english classes and college-prep courses which assist them in their dream of graduating college.
Encompassing evocative design and modern vision, Alucik is a line of wearable art created by internationally-recognized Venezuelan light artist, Claudia Bueno.
While experimenting in 2007 with digital and aerospace engineering technologies to use in large-scale installation art, Claudia discovered that her intricate designs could be produced with incredible accuracy on stainless-steel sheets.
What started as a fun side project to make jewelry for family and friends, evolved over seven years, while living on four continents, to eventually become a Made in USA product based in her husband’s native state of California. Their small studio is nestled in a five-acre amphitheater of giant boulders adjacent to Joshua Tree National Park.
Claudia begins by developing a series of watercolors and drawings inspired by a lifetime of international exploration. Pushing the limits of raw materials and technology, her designs are given form. Alucik jewelry is then hand-assembled by a young team of local artists, musicians and rock climbers.
Claudia refers to Alucik as ‘concept jewelry’, each limited-edition design reflecting her artistic vision in a unique blend of nature and culture.
Matter & Bone has been a dream in the making for us. We began our journey 15 years ago restoring vintage furniture as Hayes Gallery, creating livable modern pieces which seamlessly blend the past with the present. The marriage of the past and the present has always been an important component to everything we do and the inspiring community we work with. Today, Matter & Bone is dedicated to working with people in our community and beyond to curate a special collection of new and vintage home decor designed to inspire and elevate every day life.
Imperfect fights food waste by finding a home for ‘ugly’ produce. We source it directly from farms and deliver it to customers’ doors for 30-50% less than grocery store prices. We offer a subscription produce box that’s affordable, convenient, customizable, and delicious. It’s bigger than a box, though. By eating Imperfect, you’re helping build a more sustainable and effective food system in the most delicious way imaginable. You’re helping fight food waste. You’re ensuring farmers are rewarded for their full harvest and can feed more people with less wasted land, fossil fuels, and water. You’re improving access to healthy food. You’re creating fulfilling careers for employees. With every bite into a misshapen apple or crooked carrot, you’re helping shape our world for the better.
Kids live in a hyper magical version of reality. Much of my design time is spent imagining what their world might look like and then translating that into wearable pieces.
I know that buying small takes extra effort, so I try my best to reward that effort with a superbly crafted product. I also pay it forward by sourcing supplies from other small businesses whenever possible.
Aki & Co was created by Jan Miyabara; a Fashion & Graphic Designer, who discovered the art of hand embroidery in the fall of 2016. What started as a hobby creating pet portraits & gifts for friends and family has grown into a company that offers a wide range of hand-embroidered products including up-cycled clothing, patches, and accessories.
we make single origin chocolate bars, a range of chocolate provisions for both baking + confection making, and drinking chocolates hot + cold in our craft chocolate workshop. cacao beans have amazing stories to tell, and happily for all of us, the beautiful language they speak is chocolate.