7x7 editors pick their favorites from the latest shops, goods, and happenings in the Bay Area and beyond.
Global Perspective
Oakland-based travel webzine Tiny Atlas Quarterly tells a global tale through sublime moments captured via the words and apertures of a veritable who’s who of the Bay Area creative class—among them, Iso Rabins of Forage SF, artists Tahiti Pehrson and Klea McKenna, surfer Danny Hess, and his wife, photographer Erin Kunkel. Editor in chief Emily Nathan and design director Liz Mullaly’s recent Kickstarter campaign raised more than $23,000 for TAQ’s first annual print issue, out now.
Inside Scoop
Virgin America’s award-winning in-flight menu recently received another sweet distinction: its own signature ice cream. Butter by Moodlight, an intense brown butter flavor with a blueberry swirl by cult churner Jake Godby of Humphry Slocombe will join other Bay Area artisanal munchies already on board, including 479° Popcorn, Philz Coffee, and Krave Basil Citrus Turkey Jerky.
Air Walks
A favorite among New York fashion bloggers, Hydrogen-1 has attained buzzy status since raising more than $89,000 on Kickstarter last year. Hotel des Arts hotelier–turned–designer Hero Nakatani “sneakerized” Italian-made leather brogues with rubber soles to create comfortable dress shoes. Tackle summer weekends in Nakatani’s upcoming collection of slip-ons or in the black calf leather midtops pictured here.
Have App, Will Travel
A cellphone loaded with the Word Lens app from SF-based Quest Visual is like a UN translator at your fingertips. Aim the lens at foreign-language signs or menus and get English decipherings in real time. Available for Android, Apple, and Google Glass. Click here for more travel apps worthy of your data plan.
Choose Your Adventure
The Outbound Collective—an SF-based online marketplace for thrill seekers—officially launched last month, making adventure available to everyone, from tide poolers to adrenaline junkies. Search for activities and guided trips by intensity and lifestyle in Lake Tahoe (kayak tour around Emerald Bay, anyone?), Hawaii (tow surfing with a pro), and Northern California (bouldering at Stinson Beach). Be sure to take advantage of the survival gear offered by Goal Zero and LifeStraw—an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Shoe Shine
The fashionably heeled wait with bated breath for the opening of San Francisco’s first Christian Louboutin boutique on tony Maiden Lane this summer. The 1,650-square-foot space will feature the label’s iconic booties and platform heels, updated this season with rainbow studs and laser cutouts. A dedicated men’s section will be filled with enough brocade loafers and pointy-toe brogues to make grown dandies weep.
This article was published in 7x7's May issue. Click here to subscribe.
