Is singing the new self-care?

by Daniela Province on August 23, 2019, no comments

Lisa Poulson never imagined that at the age of 54 she’d be performing at Bottom of the Hill with a backing band — but that’s before she discovered how something as simple as singing lessons would transform her life.

Taking up singing as an adult provided a way to reconnect with herself after leaving a career in tech PR. “I was a hard-ass badass,” she says. “I was in my angry phase, and I was a very intense person, so whatever tender, kindhearted side of me got buried.”

Poulson turned to Songbird Studios in San Francisco after starting a certification program for integral coaching that forced her to take a deeper look at the spiritual, emotional, physical and intellectual aspects of her life.

Birdies feathers a nest on Union Street

by Daniela Province on March 13, 2019, no comments

When Birdies founders Bianca Gates and Marisa Sharkey launched their line of luxury slippers designed for indoor entertaining, they were just dipping their toes into the waters of a lifestyle brand. A little over two years later, they’ve raised $2 million from prominent venture capital firms and strategic angel investors, and just opened a new boutique on Union Street. And their Blackbird style happens to be a favorite of the future Mrs. Harry, Meghan Markle.

“Shortly after we launched, we thought about having an influencer, and we saw Meghan Markle and we were just like, ‘She’s it,’” Gates says. “She just embodies this feminist, beautiful, ambitious, humanitarian aura that we felt so deeply connected to as a brand.” When Markle and Prince Harry announced their engagement on Cyber Monday, Birdies had already exceeded sales from the previous year by 8 a.m. — clearly the “Markle effect” in full effect.

Cherry Bombe’s Jubilee gathering provides food for thought

by Daniela Province on March 13, 2019, no comments

For a community reeling from the North Bay fires and still in the thick of it, a sense of collective grief cast a shadow over Jubilee, the annual conference on women and food held Oct. 14 and hosted by Cherry Bombe magazine. Some participants, like Dominique Crenn and Williams Sonoma brand president Janet Hayes, had just swooped in from hours of cooking and serving meals to those affected.

“Just this last week, the Williams Sonoma brand organized and fed over 1,200 meals in three days to first responders in Napa and Sonoma,” Hayes recounted. “But it wasn’t lost on me that everyone who was cooking, organizing and delivering to push the towns to let them feed us were the women I work with. And it wasn’t lost on me as we dropped off 250 meals of chicken parmigiana just last night, someone said, ‘Wow. Definitely the best-looking dropoff crew that’s been here.’ And while I said thank you, it was a reminder that we still have lots of room to go, because the comment although it was nice, didn’t actually need to happen.”