As we close out our 5th year of business, we have some big news-- we’re moving! But not to fear, we’re still and always will be an Oakland business. We’re heading into a new chapter for the business and our retail footprint. You might remember that I shared our big-picture vision for Viscera in a previous blog post that laid out my plan for a new business model (that actually harkens back to the old ways of production). In short, Viscera will be a vertically integrated business-- designing, producing, and selling everything in-house. Slowly and steadily we’ve had a larger portion of our inventory made locally, but with the limitations of our current shop, we wouldn’t be able to fulfill our vision without making some major changes. Moving is the first bold step in forming the business into what we’ve always wanted it to be! We’re on the path to Viscera 2.0.
We will be closing our 1542 Broadway shop at the end of November while we work on building out our new location, targeted to open in Spring of 2020. For the Holiday season we will be online only, but not to worry, we will still have the same products you know and love. A major strategy for us in being able to sustain our own in-house production has been to diversify the business by leveraging e-commerce and wholesaling to other retailers. We’ve successfully done both grown both of these channels this year, but a break in our brick & mortar operations will give us the bandwidth to focus on growing our online presence so we can continue to support a physical location in 2020. The retail landscape has changed and this is our chance to adapt and grow. To celebrate this new chapter, in typical fashion, we’re having a party! Join us on November 29th for our 5 Year Anniversary/Moving Sale/Small Business Weekend Party. I hope you can join me in celebrating the last five years and sharing some of the excitement for what’s coming next.
Of course, like all new things, this shift is scary. Thinking back to opening the Broadway shop in 2014, I wasn’t sure if it would work, and I had no idea what I was doing, but I trusted my gut and here we are five years later! In those early days, I was terrified because I didn’t know if things would go wrong, but in that naivety, I also didn’t know how many amazing things would come if things went right. I didn’t know that on the other side of that fear would be our amazing community of makers, creatives, and supporters like you. There was energy, excitement, parties, projects, friendships, and we built a magical space for the convergence of so many good things. As we enter this new chapter, I have some of the same feelings I did in 2014, but this time I have the experience to tell me that there are even more amazing, beautiful, and joyful times on the other side of the unknown.
]]>
During the week of October 14th-18th, Viscera is celebrating Indigenous Peoples' Week. On Monday the 14th, people throughout the country will be observing Indigenous Peoples' Day, a holiday that celebrates and honors Native People and commemorates their shared history and culture.
Here at Viscera, we want to extend that celebration through Friday by donating a portion of next weeks' sales to Bay Area Legal Aid. As a thank you to our customers, we will be giving you a free gift of our Everything Balm with all orders over $100.
Shop our collection here.
]]>Firstly, we’re about to celebrate five years in business! It’s gone by in a flash, but it also feels like I’ve been working on this business forever all at the same time. A lot has gone into this business and while we’ve had so many amazing milestones along the way it still feels like there’s so much more work to be done. This journey started with what I can boil down to two major goals:
While those two goals sound simple, achieving this involves tackling our existing consumption habits, global production models, and the bleeding line between work and life. Each of these topics I love and they all have so much potential for innovation and growth, but are ultimately are big issues to tackle. I’m proud to say that we’ve made a lot of headway in our first five years-- we’ve raised awareness of the importance of shopping locally and USA-made through our press features, provided a platform for so many makers/designers/craftspeople, and every year a bigger percentage of our inventory is made right here in Oakland. We’re on track to have our 7,000th order by the end of the year, which translates into 10,000+ items. Behind each and every one of those items is a person who’s put hours and hours of work, passion, and dedication into their craft.
We’re also lucky enough to have an amazing customer base who share their stories with us-- how a gift helped them say what words couldn’t, or that an article of clothing is part of their signature look, how that outfit gave them the confidence to kill it in a presentation or an apothecary item that reminded them to slow down and take care of themselves. We treasure every one of these stories. We are so grateful that we get to be a part of your lives and bring a little bit of peace to hectic days. Running a business can be brutal-- there are so many demands and it’s a delicate balancing act, but knowing that we’re able to make a positive impact makes it all worth the hard work.
We are certainly going to take some time to enjoy this milestone by doing a happy dance, eating ice cream, and maybe (definitely) throwing a party to celebrate, but we also have more work to do and big plans ahead! You might remember in 2018, I shared our big vision for vertically integrating our products; meaning we design, make and sell all of our products under one roof. Like with many big plans, it takes big resources, which have been slower to gather than I had hoped. My goal was to make this shift by May of 2019, but alas, Rome wasn’t built in a day. We do have some things cooking to make this vision a reality (that I can hopefully share very soon) but we nonetheless, we have made progress! At the end of the day it’s about the journey, right? Our V by Viscera ingredients are all sourced from our neighboring city, Richmond, from an all-organic distributor, we’ve expanded our “made here” offerings to include fiber necklaces, earrings, and home goods, found local partners who will help with our digital fabrication, and have increased the number of Oakland makers we carry! We still have more to do, but if you’re interested in getting involved, drop me a line.
Now, onto the next topic-- we have a sidewalk! After two challenging years of construction on our block, we are through the dip and can get back to business. We’re so excited to have more folks living next door to the shop and for our beautiful block across from Latham Square to fill out. If you haven’t been to our neighborhood in a while I’d love for you to come and visit! The shop is stocked with lots of new products, we have some workshops scheduled and a very exciting and spooky Halloween party.
I hope to see you soon!
Good Things this Fall
I'm so excited to announce that we're refining and redesigning our brand to reflect our design perspective today. When we closed the SF shop, we decided we wanted to focus in on the Oakland shop, designing great products, and the creative community that we've called home in Oakland. With this redesign of our brand and store, we're making it happen.
When I opened the shop in 2014 I was an entirely green entrepreneur and hadn't made a product before and was winging just about everything. I was just learning how to make jewelry, learning out how to run a shop, and hacking my way through the fashion industry. Four years later, I still don't feel like I know what I'm doing, but now I have more experience to draw from and a community that I know is here to figure it out with me.
While this is a redesign, in some ways we're going back to basics and focusing on the things that make Viscera unique. So, what does this mean? You'll see this redesign reflected in a few different ways-- the two biggest changes you'll see is our new website and our redesigned storefront. The website is going to feel more like us; you'll notice new photography as well as product copy that sounds more like who we are. No more boring descriptions-- if you should buy something because it's badass, we'll say just that. The other big change is the store redesign. I could not be more pumped about this. I literally rearrange my apartment every December-- without fail (if you don't, believe me, there's photo evidence on my personal insta @ariinaferrari sandwiched somewhere between dog photos). I'm so excited about this because I get to physically express this new chapter for the business. I'm personally very attached to the shop, it's my baby, and this redesign feels like being about to watch that baby grow up and become what it was fully meant to be (I know this is maybe too mushy for 4 walls and a roof, but it is my second home). In more practical terms, we're changing the arrangement of the shop to create a more natural shopping flow and we're creating more spaces to sit down and hang out. One thing that isn't changing about the shop is that we're still a community space and so we want to make the shop more conducive to hosting salon-style events.
Which brings us to a bit of change in terms of our content and programming. We're going to host more intimate events with creatives in our community, we're bringing back regular happy hours, and will be expanding some of our workshop offerings. In terms of our content, we're bringing back our "Sunday Paper" weekly newsletter filled with good things happening in our community and of course a dog photo or two, reorganizing our blog content, and will be producing more editorial content across our social media channels. Our blog will include city guides (keep an eye out for our write up of Downtown Las Vegas), product and material edits, and features on creatives we love.
So, now that you know what to expect I hope you'll be a part of this new chapter. We're painting, hammering, and merchandising away for the next couple of days but I hope you'll come by on Plaid Friday (11/23) to celebrate with us. We'll have drinks flowing all day and some excellent sales to kick off the Holiday season.
]]>
As a small fish in an infinitely complex and large pond, we too are a part of the ecosystem and are affected by industry changes. Last year we ran an indiegogo campaign to help us stay in Downtown Oakland after prolonged construction on our block caused sales to decline. We were successful in our campaign and able to stay in Downtown Oakland thanks to our amazing community of supporters and local advocates. The campaign was a real turning point for the business and for me as an entrepreneur. I learned so much from running the campaign, and it gave me an interesting perspective of the role community plays in running a small business. Of course, I’m eternally grateful for all the people who helped us stay here, but what I’ve come to realize is that crowdfunding to keep small businesses around isn’t a sustainable model. It’s an arduous process to run the campaign and is tiring for our supporters as well. Feeling the onus of keeping small businesses afloat as an individual can be disheartening. A recent Vox article dives deeper into this issue (it’s a good read so I’d recommend it) and digs into the role of policy rather than individual action to keep indie businesses in our neighborhoods. We’re at a pivotal period for the industry and for us as a company— these will be the years we look back at and see that everything changed.
A couple of months back, I shared our big vision for the future of Viscera as a brand and a community asset for good. Admittedly, sharing that with the world (a.k.a. the internet where nothing ever goes away and lives in perpetuity) made me a bit nervous, but the response I received was overwhelmingly encouraging and positive— and that’s why we’re doing this after all! We are all much stronger collectively and can make incredible things happen together. Since I released that blog post we’ve been making some moves! I brought on a new co-founder, Jen, who is absolutely amazing to work with and we compliment each others’ strengths. We’ve also launched our new travel line, Trove. We’ve launched this line as a crowdsourced design model which is the natural evolution of our experience crowdfunding and designing. With this new model we create samples, you tell us which items you’d like to go into production, and we make it. We want you to be a part of our process. It’s our first big dive into e-commerce, but it’s one of the ways we’re always looking to grow. Like all small businesses, Viscera constantly needs to evolve, adapt, and grow. It’s not always the easiest path, but it’s what makes entrepreneurship exhilarating, frustrating, inspiring, exciting, and in a word— wild.
Be a part of our new travel campaign!
]]>
Ari: How do you spend your time?
Jen: I generally wake up early with some kitty snuggles then immediately start thinking about caffeine. I love to cook, so most days involve some sort of food endeavor. It might be clique, but lately I’m super into my Instant Pot. (here’s one of my favorite one-pot vegetarian meals) I try to get outside every day and I’m lucky enough to live just a couple blocks from Lake Merritt in Oakland. I get to walk by the lake on my way to Viscera and when I’m lucky, I get to see the lady pelican named Hank. Most days, I also do some work! I’ve been working as a consultant for the last three years so every day is unique and I love the variety, routine really bores me. I have loved working with organizations who are looking to grow and change and Viscera is a great new challenge for me! I’m also a sort of secret artist so I try to do something creative every day, whether it is writing, painting, or my most recent obsession, block printing.
Ari: Yes, I love the new block prints! I can't wait to see what you do with them. So now let's get down to it! Tell everyone what your role is here at viscera?
Jen: I’m a new co-founder and COO. I really like making things work and plotting out what to do next. Viscera has been a great new challenge to me as we look at things like growing our ecommerce channel, considering funding for scale, and needing to adapt quickly based on our customer feedback and other factors.
Ari: How did you get involved with viscera?
Jen: I was initially a customer of Viscera when I worked in the office next door. Then, I left my 9-5 to focus on a small accessory company I founded and met Ari when I did a pop-up at Viscera! Ari and I have kept in touch over the last few years and our skill sets match up nicely as co-founders. I most admire Ari’s ability to connect with her customers and the community in Oakland.
Ari: P.s. You can read the feature we did on Jen back in 2016 when we talked about Esperanza's Workshop.
Ari: What did you want to be when you grew up?
Jen: I wanted to be a lot of things. I remember wanting to be a chef or a traveler. Not much has changed!
Ari: Who's your Favorite artist or designer
Jen: There are so many to pick from but I’m really drawn to Marina Abramovic’s work. She is a Serbian performance artist and I’m intrigued by the emotional and energetic power she can channel in her pieces. Her work really appeals to the spiritual side of me and inspires me to think about the emotional power of art.
Ari: Where are you from/where have you lived?
Jen: I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania and as an adult, I have lived in Pittsburgh, PA; London, UK; and 11 different apartments in the bay area. My current home is my favorite.
Ari: What inspires you?
Jen: This answer might be a bit ethereal but right now, my inspiration is slowing down. I live in a vibrant and complex place in a fascinating point in time. So, I’m trying to take more baths, look less at my phone, take a little more time getting places, and just be still and I’m finding it helps me discover all those little daily doses of beauty and inspiration that are always all around me.
Want to know more about Jen? Drop her a line at Jen@VisceraStudio.com!
]]>Viscera as a brand has always been about simplicity, deliberateness, and minimalism. With this transition, I’m taking my own advice --we’re doing more by having less. Simplifying our operations will allow me to focus on designing and creating products to grow our brand. With this new focus, I’m excited to also announce that we have a new project being released on October 2nd! A couple of months ago, I shared our vision for the future of local production and a crowdsourced approach to design-- this new project a step toward fulfilling that vision. We’re launching a collection of travel accessories that will be made in Oakland and we want you to be a part of the process.
Our new travel line will be released as a pre-production model. What does that mean exactly? In short, we designed items for you to preview, you vote on which items you want to go into production by pre-ordering, and then the winners go into production when we reach our minimum threshold. We want you to be a part of our process and this new model lets us do just that. Sign up for updates below and you'll get special discounts, access to limited items and be a part of our growth!
So it’s with enthusiasm that I share this new clarity and direct with you and hope you’ll be a part of this new iteration of our brand!
]]>Skirts have got a bad wrap for a long time. For most, the idea of a skirt conjures up the image of a stuffy polyester office-wear with no comfort and the unfortunate matching blazer. But, it's 2018-- we have better options now. You can have it all! A skirt you can move it, with pockets, and machine washable. Does it get any better?
Our favorite skirt is the denim pencil because it's a dressier silhouette that can be paired with heels and a nice blouse for a fancier outing or with flats and a slouchy tee and leather jacket. This skirt is a go-to for the Summer to Fall transition because you can easily wear it with leggings and ankle boots-- and tah dahhh it's a year-round staple.
We love layering pieces, not only because they make your wardrobe seasonless, but because they make almost any outfit slimming. By adding a good layering piece, you create a narrower silhouette that makes almost any outfit look better. I know I definitely need all the help I can get after recovering from Summer-time BBQs. The silk wrap we really love right now is easy to wear and can easily be stowed in a purse or bag for those surprise chilly days. It's also reversible, so it's actually a two-for-one. How's that for versatile?
Another consideration for the Summer to Fall switch is your skin care needs. We notice now that it's getting a little windier and cooler, you need to get on the defensive with skin care. Our favorite go-to is the Everything Balm. It's great for cuticles, knuckles, elbows-- basically anywhere that your Summer skin didn't need help but your Autumn skin does. The everything balm is non-greasy and is TSA safe so you can bring it with you just about anywhere.
]]>
Where are you from?
Jersey boy born and raised! I grew up in your typical suburban township and eventually relocated to various neighborhoods in New York; most of my time there was spent in Brooklyn.
What do you do at Viscera?
I will be working with Ari as the Retail Operations Manager; in addition I will be assisting with creative tasks ie. Visual Merchandising and Graphic Design. I'm incredibly excited to utilize my creative background as a tool to help Viscera's continued growth.
What are some of your interests and aspirations?
Art and music have always been my first loves. Researching new designers and artists with a good album playing in the background is my favorite way to relax. I also do my own art and aspire to be more prolific and involved in the Oakland art community. In addition I do have a nerdy passion for comic book and video game art; you’d be surprised how inspiring much of the art direction can be.
How do you describe your style?
I’d describe my style as vintage meets preppy/modern. I’m a huge fan of color and unique and quirky textiles. Over the years I’ve developed a knack for mixing and balancing various prints and colors.
Favorite clothing item you own?
My favorite piece by far is my black velvet bomber with a gorgeous floral pattern woven in. It’s the prime example of my vintage meets modern aesthetic.
Most coveted item in the store?
By and far Ari’s beautiful and unique 3D printed jewelry. The designs are nothing that I’ve seen before and are truly what, in my opinion, define’s Viscera’s design aesthetic.
Favorite spot in Oakland?
Lake Merritt will always be my happy place. Whether it’s going for a run or meeting up with my friends for a lovely day in the sun it’s a place that always brings me peace of mind and joy. For a delicious bite I highly recommend Sequoia Diner; you’ll wait about a decade but I promise you it’s worth it.
Favorite song at the moment?
Way too many to list so instead I will discuss some artists I enjoy. Overall I usually gravitate towards indie/synth pop; this can either be more retro artists (Depeche Mode, New Order, Erasure) or recent artists (Chvrches, Robyn, Cut Copy); I find the mix of melancholy meets electronic dance sound to be incredibly beautiful and atmospheric. In addition I’ve been a fan of Madonna since I was a child. Her music, visual artistry and fearlessness really inspired me during difficult times in my youth.
Favorite creative and why?
Eugenia Loli is a recent favorite of mine. Her stellar mix of collage work and political commentary mixed with a subversive sense of humor is truly inspiring. I’ve also recently discovered Ego Rodriguez. His work is almost Warhol-ian with a modern, quirky and queer-centric edge and sense of humor.
]]>
Before we get into how I did it, it's important to tell you why I was compelled to do this. When I think back to the Summer of 2014 it almost feels like a different person who started this business. I had just finished my masters in city planning from Berkeley and pretty quickly decided I did not want to be a planner. I felt frustrated with top-down policy approaches and saw an opportunity in grassroots approaches to economic and community development. While I was in school, I did a report for the City of Oakland’s economic development office and noticed something stunning in our economy-- retail leakage. Simply, we lose $1 billion dollars annually (now $2 billion) from people in Oakland spending money outside of Oakland. The problem is complicated, but I think the solution is fairly simple: we need more retail because it activates our streets, can create good jobs, and stimulates our local economy. I couldn’t figure out why policy didn't address the dearth of retail. So I figured, if I saw this as a problem why shouldn’t I be the one to fix it, and so I started on this crazy project called Viscera.
I started the way any good entrepreneur does-- I googled. I had no idea how to start a business, no clue how the fashion industry worked, and very little understanding of marketing or sales. Sure, I had hustled my pokemon stickers in grade school and sold some of my art online but nothing even remotely at this scale. So I spent my nights and weekends researching business plans, reading about other entrepreneurs’ journeys, and started building the foundation that would be Viscera.
Through my tireless googling, I found out about tradeshows and put it on my calendar-- I drove down to LA alone armed with business cards in hand and when I arrived, I awkwardly followed around other buyers to ear hustle what questions they were asking and see how this whole buying thing worked. After a couple of hours of walking around aimlessly and being a creep, I finally decided I would just go for it, and I wrote my first order! I barely had a website, didn’t have a store location, and was still working my full-time job, but I figured I would fake it till I made it.
Now that I sort of figured out the whole tradeshow thing, I needed to figure out how to make things more convincing-- the website was super vague and we still didn’t have any imagery for the shop so I made it. I pulled together some friends, rented camera equipment, asked a former professor if I could use his studio, and had a photoshoot! I still hadn’t received any of the inventory I ordered so I styled my friends in things from my closet and in true Tim Gunn fashion, made it work. I put the images up online, printed out nice leave behind cards, and if you didn’t know you might think Viscera was already a real place! But I still didn’t have a space.
I still needed a storefront and quick. I wanted to be open by December to catch the Holiday rush and at this point it was already September. So I went back to my handy advisor-- google. I searched around online and founds some spaces that just might work, but after reaching out to landlords, it seemed like none of them were taking me seriously. So I went back to the drawing board and found my broker (Fun fact: landlords pay broker fees, not tenants so I could essentially get help finding a space with no cost to me). I saw a bunch of different places and then saw 1542 Broadway, our home. It had been vacant for 30 years before I moved in and with the high ceilings, exposed beams, and prime location I knew this was the place. I signed the lease in October, just a month before Uber purchased the Sears Building. I got to work and started with the build out, bringing in contractors, painters, and started receiving inventory. By December, I had done it-- we were open!
I felt such relief and joy. After a super intense sprint, my work had paid off. I was able to stand in my very own shop, it fulfilled the vision I had and more. This was just the beginning.
]]>
For the last few months, I've been very behind the scenes, so you may have noticed I haven't posted on our blog or as active on social media as usual. So today I am excited to share with you my vision for the future of our brand and building a strategy to make it a reality. Through refining my business plan, building projections, pitch competitions and many, many restless nights -- I'm clear on the vision for Viscera's future.
My vision for the future is of hyper-local production to create jobs, hire locally, reduce our carbon footprint, and do good in our community. Within the next 12 months, all of our products will be designed, made and sold under one roof. When I started Viscera in 2014, I had only discovered the tip of the iceberg that is the fashion industry. After years of being a buyer, visiting factories, and developing my brand I've realized although I can make some positive change, it's still working within the context of a broken industry. Commercial fashion has a huge problem; on the whole, it’s a dirty industry-- the second largest emitter of CO2 only after oil. It treats people as replaceable and fast fashion giants rely on a race to the bottom mentality to chase even lower prices. And in turn, we as consumers are more divorced from how our products are made, treat them as disposable and confuse price with value. Suburban malls are failing, wasting resources and leaving us with a commercial real estate stock that's unusable. The average American’s closet has grown over the years, but we wear less of it than ever --only about 53% on average.
To most people this is a catastrophe. To me, this is a huge opportunity. These are daunting challenges, but in a short time we've devised solutions that have already made some big impacts to help make a positive difference:
Not only is this a glimpse into what locally sourced retail can evolve into, it also proves that underestimated cities like Oakland are not only viable but vibrant. This is why I poured my passion and life savings into starting Viscera (more about this in a forthcoming blog post). Now, well into our third year, I have bigger plans for Viscera and the ways we'll magnify our positive impact.
Another reason this is revolutionary is that it’s happening in Downtown Oakland. When I told people I was opening a brick and mortar in Downtown Oakland I got a lot of crazy looks, 'why not be in a prime city like San Francisco?', they asked. My answer is $2 billion dollars. Every year $2 billion dollars are lost to retail leakage, a term you've probably heard me talk about again and again-- it's money spent by people in Oakland outside of Oakland. And this retail leakage exists in other underrated cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, and Cleveland. Cities are growing at an incredible pace, with more than half of the population living in urban cores by 2050, and yet the media is calling mall closures the retail apocalypse. Retail is far from dead, almost 90% of sales still happen offline-- of the 10% online 52% go to businesses with physical storefronts. We have a chance to reinvent brick and mortar retail in urban cores.
We can hire locally and create vibrancy while capturing a hugely underserved market. Shouldn't the money you spend in a city help the people living in that city? My goal is to develop this model of hyper-local production in Oakland. My thought is that if we can make it work in one of the most expensive metro-regions, we can replicate it other cities to create more community investment, better jobs with upward mobility, and shrink our carbon footprint. I could probably go on for days about the benefits of this approach, but beyond any business case that I can make for my vision, the one thing driving me most is that I know it's the right thing to do. I'm so passionate about this because I know that it is the time for us to build what we want to see in the world. We've come a long way, but this is just the beginning.
]]>
Shop owner, Ari, with her Mom!
You can download a free digital copy of the guide(for personal use only) or you can order posters printed on card stock to hang up in your closet and give you a little extra nudge to help you finally build the wardrobe of your dreams.
If you’re interested in mending something, it’s safe to assume you are attached to it. Whether it fits just right, the color is perfect, or it makes you feel great when you wear it. Pretty much, you love it enough to save it. Lucky you! That is the best relationship to have with clothes or anything else that you own. When that’s the case, caring for it is the only option. It’s easy to overlook some of the hidden benefits and opportunities that come from mending your clothes.
]]>First off, extending the useful life of clothing is very beneficial. Clothing production negatively affects both humans and the environment and is often reported to be the second most polluting industry behind oil and gas. It takes a huge toll to grow, process, transport, produce, dye, cut, distribute, sell and discard clothes; therefore, choose wisely. Invest in pieces that you will wear and maintain over time. If you give your clothes a long happy life, they will return the favor.
Second, repair is a creative frontier. Basic mending tutorials are widely available via Youtube, blogs, books, and, of course, friends who sew. All you need to bring that shirt/skirt/pants back to life is a needle, thread, your two hands, some courage and a little persistence. With a good imagination, the options become endless. Welcome to the radical world of visible mending, a gateway to creative customization. Why do we hide our repairs anyway? Not because it can’t be beautiful.
What if the repair required is above your skill level? Professionals add quantifiable benefits to our community, support them! This happened to me recently. The smooth, shiny lining in my beloved 16 year old J. Crew pea coat was shredding. In addition, a small hole had appeared in the right pocket where the lining had worn through. Thankfully, my local tailor was not daunted. When I have a professional repair my jacket, I am not only supporting a local, independent business that adds resiliency to our local economy, but I’m also helping to preserve a skilled trade that actively reduces waste by keeping clothes in working order and out of the landfill.
The simple act of mending brings joy, extends the life of your clothes, reduces pressure on the environment, offers community benefits, and gives creative freedom. Feel good knowing you’re doing good when you mend what you love.
Jamie Facciola is a repair advocate, award-winning social entrepreneur, and Director of Impact at Kay Chesterfield, Inc., a 96-year-old reupholstery workshop.
]]>Natural Apothecary
With the V by Viscera line you really don’t need to worry about weird, unpronounceable ingredients or cutesy pink packaging (that might not fit your giftee’s aesthetic). The oils are lightweight enough to work for absolutely everyone. Their hair, skin, and nails will be taken care of (and you can buy them discounted as a set)! We also carry Beija Flor!
A Simple Black Dress
A Viscera classic! This basic black dress can be dressed up or down for Valentine’s Day, they are sized but the fit is flowy and the knit is forgiving so they’re basically a free size.
Warming Candle
These candles literally crackle when you light them, so you can close your eyes and pretend you’re by a fireplace with your significant other. There are a variety of woodsy scents to choose and it’s worth a quick visit to Viscera just to get a whiff of them all.
Fresh Fragrance
There is something here for everyone — V by Viscera’s fragrances are travel-friendly with note ranging from vanilla to sandalwood to jasmine and black pepper. All mixed by hand, made here in Oakland, CA.
Afternoon Pick-Me-Up
Morning Fog is V’s number one best-selling product. This spray can be used as a room spray and/or a pick-me-up face spray for a morning or mid-day refresher. The ingredients are formulated to be safely used…everywhere!
Beautifully Designed Card
Viscera has a number of stylish, minimal cards that you’d never find in your local Hallmark. No obnoxious pink and red color palettes here, just classy neutral-toned graphics, clean backgrounds, and plenty of blank space to write your own appreciative thoughts.
If even these options still seem overwhelming, there’s always a gift card! Viscera has plenty of other gorgeously designed, locally made, specially curated products for your loved one to choose from.
We’ll see you soon! <3
]]>
Join us for UnValentine's Day 2018!
When: February 11, 2018 12-3pm
Where: Viscera! (1542 Broadway Downtown Oakland)
Why: Because you deserve it!
]]>Now that you've got your juice to spruce up your insides, head over to V by Viscera to check out our line of natural apothecary products like perfumes, face oils, and balms.
We are making a point to showcase and uplift local business through this "retail apocalypse" that is supposedly happening. From Ari's point of view (owner & creative director of Viscera), retail isn’t going anywhere: “Even though everyone’s freaking out about retail dying, small business is filling in gaps where national chains are falling apart. We can leverage our shared customers who care about local, small independent businesses. As a small business owner you have a million things to do so working collaboratively can create the time and space we all need to run the back end of our businesses.”
Our in-house line of minimalist skincare and perfume will be featured along with home goods from Gold and Rust, The &nd Shop (Show & Tell), and Antiquity Juice — all your favorite small businesses centrally located in the heart of Downtown Oakland. Continue reading to learn more about each business and their thoughts on collaboration:
V by Viscera offers a line of streamlined, minimalist skincare and perfume as an alternative to harsh, chemical-filled products. Using simple, high quality ingredients and careful hand-blended precision we’ve crafted products that are actually good for your skin. No fillers, no artificial preservatives, no synthetics, and no alcohol. All made in Oakland!
Gold and Rust is dedicated to providing customers with a thoughtful curation of unique, high-quality vintage home essentials. From furniture and housewares to decor, lighting, textiles, and Americana, we love delighting our clients with the history and stories of these items’ past. Our other offerings include furniture rentals, interior design services, event staging, and personal shopping. We’re incredibly passionate about 20th century design and we love sharing it with our Bay Area community.
On working collaboratively: Wonderful things happen through collaboration. Whether in business or life, we all benefit from it. Collaboration is electric, and it’s a core value for us at Gold and Rust. The opportunity to collaborate is an integral part of our business; it’s the energetic spark which fuels our passion for what we do. With this, we’re honored to collaborate with Viscera to bring a new, eclectic offering of home furnishings to downtown Oakland.
Antiquity Juices is an artisan juice company that creates culturally-inspired juices. Our products are seasonal, produced locally, and made fresh. Antiquity Juices started in San Francisco in 2011 at the heart of the City Farmers’ Market in San Francisco. Over the next few years we opened two more Farmers’ Market locations and were sold in several local stores. We are now part of the Department Collective inside Viscera, providing juice to Oakland.
lifestyle goods + accessories
The &nd Shop (Show & Tell) celebrates little luxuries that make life sweet and details that transform fashion into style. We're here to help you find that signature lip color, the "go with everything" earrings, and the perfect pillows to cozy up your couch. Our assortment, curated with fun, function, and freedom of expression in mind, is handcrafted by women artisans and makers that prioritize sustainable and ethical design.
On working collaboratively: Space is at a premium in Oakland which requires small businesses to adapt and be creative to stay relevant and open. Working in a collective manner is one solution to this challenge. Bringing multiple elements together in one location allows smaller retailers to go up against Amazon and big box "one stop shops" while offering customers the unique "in real life" experiences they crave. Additionally, the participating businesses benefit by working collectively because they are able to share resources, ideas and the daily responsibilities of running a physical location.
Stop by Viscera at 1542 Broadway in Downtown Oakland over the next few months to experience this mini department store for yourself! Chat with the owners and creators one-on-one, Tues-Fri from 12-7pm, Sat & Sun from 12-5pm.
]]>This past Friday, December 1, 2017, marked the three-year anniversary of Viscera in Downtown Oakland — we’re so thankful for everyone who came out to support! Despite chilly temperatures outside, the atmosphere of friendship and community created a special kind of warmth inside 1542 Broadway: we enjoyed good vibes and lots of laughter with friends, old and new. There was a giveaway for a V by Viscera gift card plus drinks from Crooked City Cider, homemade chocolate cake, and great music.
We would not have had the chance to celebrate such a special night without the continued love and support of everyone who has graced the doorways of Viscera over the last three years. Ari and her team are forever grateful to have had the opportunities made possible by you!
Shout out to Lindsay Arakawa for our first press feature and this photo on her blog Growing East (she's now a social media editor for Refinery 29 continuing her journey East in New York).
I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that these photos were from three years ago. Sometimes looking back I'm not quite sure what possessed me to take such a blind leap of faith in not only starting a business but a brick and mortar one at that. But, whatever it was, I'm so grateful I followed this path. The past three years have been incredibly rich with experience, good people, and valuable lessons. Looking at these photos I wish I could reach back into time and tell past-Ari all the things she didn't know yet. In addition to telling her that her black hair looks better than this orangy-thing, I would tell her to relax, enjoy the journey, and let go because control is just an illusion. Here are the three most valuable lessons I've learned in the first three years of Viscera:
Side note before I jump into it, we're having our three-year anniversary party 12/1 from 7-10pm. I'd love to see you there.
If only I knew that getting the shop going would be the easy part. Running a small business is a marathon, but as an eager 20-something year old I wanted to treat it like a sprint. I started the shop, got the lease, built out the space, and was up and running in six months. At the time it felt like I HAD to be open in December or I would be setting up the shop for failure, but in retrospect, taking a little extra time and building in some breathing room wouldn't have been the end of the world. I get so much joy looking back at these old photos because I remember just how excited, nervous, and proud I was of Viscera. I now know I should have taken a little more time to bask in the victories because (like with anything) there will be highs and lows and you have to remind yourself of the wins to keep your chin up through the bumpy parts.
Speaking of low points-- they will ALWAYS be there. No matter how much you prepare, think you've done all your homework, or feel like something is foolproof, it's not. I could have never predicted half of the things that have happened here (both good and bad) but in looking at the back, remembering the value of resilience is key. Success is not measured in whether you fall down, but if you manage to dust yourself off and pick yourself back up. I, like any entrepreneur, have had days when I ask why I didn't just keep my 9-5? But then I remember that with the highs come the lows and just like anything else it'll pass. So the next time you go through a rough patch that it's temporary and you are amazing and valuable no matter what happens. Be kind to yourself.
Oh, and while we're talking about value, this is the biggest lesson. Value has absolutely nothing to do with money. Maybe this sounds common sense to some of you, or maybe too woo-woo for others, but it's the most valuable lesson I've learned and helps me to stay resilient. Our value (and values), both in a personal sense and in the value of the things we own are not intrinsically tied to a dollar amount. In the business world, it can be easy to get caught up in comparing revenues or be jealous of someone who makes more money than you, but taking a step back, it's important to remember that money isn't everything. What makes something valuable is the care and considerating that goes into it. This goes back to the value of creativity and learning to embrace the creative potential we all have within us. When someone comes into the shop and finds something they love, they don't love it because of the price sticker that's on it--they love it because they know it's made by a real person, with care. They love it because they know it'll do something to improve their lives and make them feel their best.
With all of this said, I still have a ton more learning to do and this is just the beginning. Thank you to everyone who supported Viscera and allowed me to pursue this passion project. I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without you all. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for making these first three years so incredible.
]]>
Allow me to introduce myself! I'm Ari's newest intern, here to help with content management and anything else she needs. I've answered a few questions about myself so we're all acquainted. Take a peek:
Where are you from?
I’m from Oakland! Born and raised here, mainly around the Fruitvale area.
What do you do for Viscera?
I’m Ari’s content management intern - I’ll be helping her with blogging, social media, and marketing. We’re always posted at one of her two locations on Sundays.
How do you describe your style?
My style is…eclectic; my closet looks like it belongs to someone going through an identity crisis but I love styling outfits around cohesive color palettes and texture. I enjoy a little chaos in my wardrobe. Of course, all black looks are always great.
Favorite place in Oakland?
Lake Merritt and all the surrounding areas. Very peaceful.
Favorite designer and why?
Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons! My dream girl! She’s a 70-year-old punk and I love her for that. I can’t wait to be a 70-year-old punk myself.
How do you spend your free time?
Watching movies, reading up on all things related to fashion, creating, blogging, eating, and spending time with family.
]]>Meet Michele! One of V by Viscera's newest employees, she'll be around V by Viscera on 902 Washington St as a wholesale representative for V. Continue reading to learn more about her:
Where are you from?
I was born in San Luis Obispo, CA and spent my childhood summers visiting my family in the SF Bay Area. Ten years ago my family and I moved back to San Francisco, and have lived in the Bay Area pretty much ever since.
What do you do for Viscera?
I am the wholesale representative for V by Viscera, and you can sometimes find me in store. Come say hi!
How do you describe your style?
I would describe my current style to be 90's minimalism, meets modern day teddy girl. It all depends on my mood.
Favorite place in Oakland?
Favorite place in Oakland has got to be Gogi Time on Telegraph... it's so good it's bad. Korean BBQ is my weakness!
Favorite designer and why?
Currently, my favorite designer is Shayne Oliver behind Helmut Lang. I am in love with his SS18 collection and am just blown away with his transformation of the brand. Helmut Lang just feels so relevant again.
How do you spend your free time?
When I'm not in class, cooking, reading or watching old runway shows, I'm spending time with my family. I love cooking for them and making sure they are well fed and happy!
]]>From November 24-26th, 2017, entrepreneurs around the country will participate by hosting events and offering specials discounts in-store. Plaid (fabric) was chosen for this campaign because it represents the diverse weaving of small businesses - why not spend time in the laid-back company of local creatives instead of fighting crowds under fluorescent lights in Target at midnight? Here are three of the most important reasons to shop #plaidfriday:
1. Find a unique gift. There is something special about rejecting generic gifts in favor of special gifts whose origins are easily traced back to a single maker (or a community of makers). Whether it’s a hand-crafted kitchen utensil or 3D printed jewelry, the character of the item alone is priceless. Anyone worth the purchase of a gift will appreciate that you took the time to support a real life artist in your own community. Plus, hunting for the perfect gift among local businesses can be very exciting!On average, close to 50% percent of all purchases from independent businesses are recirculated locally. As consumers, we have the collective power to keep our communities from being taken over by soulless chain stores that do not have our best interests at heart. Remember to #shoplocal this holiday season by participating in Plaid Friday! Visit Oakland Grown for a comprehensive guide to shopping small in Oakland, California.
Uptown, Downtown, and Old Oakland are all easily accessible by car, public transportation, or walking. A simple cruise down Broadway or Telegraph Ave will bring you straight to the heart of our shopping district.
Come shop with us this Plaid Friday and put your money where you heart is by investing your money locally! Visit us at Viscera, 1542 Broadway in Downtow Oakland or at V by Viscera 902 Washington St. in Old Oakland
]]>I have some big news for Viscera! I've been working on this for a few months now and I'm so excited to finally be able to tell you all about it. Viscera is opening a second location in Old Oakland for the Holidays! The second shop is going to be a little different concept with primarily beauty/apothecary products (made by yours truly) and essentials like undergarments and basics. Fittingly, it's called V by Viscera.
Everything about this collection was done in-house. I blended all the perfumes by end, designed the labels, and we even took a trip to Marin for all of the photos
This is a concept I've been working on for about two years and now is finally the right time to make it happen. 2017 has been an extremely stressful year and I've seen a lot of my friends and family feel the physiological effects of stress. V by Viscera is all about taking it back to basics and self-care. I want you to walk in and know you a place you can chill, relax, and enjoy treating yourself. I've also named it V by Viscera because it's stripped back-- all the products are natural, organic, and only are scented with essential oils (so there are never any synthetic or alcohol-based scents or chemicals). With V by Viscera we're taking minimalism beyond style. It's all about simple, good things.
For Viscera as a small business, this second location is crucial in making sure we're sustainable. A few months ago, I crowdfunded and our community really came together to make sure Viscera could keep it's doors open in the face of all the construction we've had in front of the shop (likely if you're reading this you backed it, so thank you!) Foot traffic on Broadway has still been difficult, but the silver lining is that business has been picking up a bit now that Fall has made its debut. V by Viscera will help the shop become less dependent on foot traffic on Broadway and stabilize us to make sure we go into 2018 strong!
The soft opening for V by Viscera is Tuesday 11/7 with a big opening party to follow soon. So, stop by next week and check out the new shop for yourself. Not to worry, I'll be bouncing between both locations so you'll still see me at the Broadway shop.
P.S. ICYMI, we now have a mini shop-in-shop with our new Issues Annex at Viscera on Broadway. Our annex has magazines about photography, design, travel, and more, so stop by and check out all the new things we got going!
]]>Women spend 3,276 hours (136 days) and men spend 1,092 hours (45.5 days) getting dressed over their lifetimes. Regardless of gender, that's too much of our precious time. And that's not even factoring in how many hours are spent shopping. Those are hours I'm so glad to have back to spend with friends, making things, or frankly DOING ALMOST ANYTHING ELSE. Shouldn't you reclaim your time for yourself?
On average, we only wear about 20% of our wardrobe. That's why most people look at their wardrobes full of things and say "I have nothing to wear". I won't get into the ecological or socio-economic impacts of this wastefulness or we'll be here all day, but I will say this is why Viscera is 100% American-made, often local (as in made within 2 miles of the shop, or in it). Imagine how much time we spend going out and buying these things we don't need, or even like for that matter? My personal frustration with the traditional shopping experience is why I made Viscera a radically different shopping experience. Viscera is about slow-fashion and developing personal connections with the things you own. It's why our brick and mortar shop is more than a point of sale but a community space that (hopefully) leaves you with a memorable experience.
So here I am, almost five years after I decided minimalism was right for me (you can read what I thought about it last year). I know it maybe doesn't seem like the most revolutionary act, but I'd argue that it's a huge shift in the way you spend your energy. Decision fatigue is real, so why would you start your day exhausting your previous mental energy trying to figure out what you wear? I'm not arguing here for giving up on being presentable, but I'm suggesting we stop making our wardrobe a struggle. We deserve to have things that are well made, comfortable, and make us feel confident. As a shop-owner, designer, and often stylist, my favorite thing about fashion is how transformative it can be. I'll often have a new mom or transitioning customer who's looking to dress for their new-selves and I find nothing more rewarding than being able to help them find clothing that makes them feel good and comfortable in their own skin. That's the power of fashion.
I appreciate minimalism for what it empowers me to spend my creative energy on rather than getting dressed. There's something really nice about the quiet confidence that comes with knowing you're well dressed without the stress. I love throwing on an outfit and feeling ready to get out into the world and make waves, because at the end of the day, what we wear does say something about us. Wouldn't you rather your outfit says 'calm, cool, collected' instead of 'stressed, worried, wasteful'?
]]>When I opened Viscera in 2014, our building had been sitting vacant on Broadway for three decades. It’s an amazing location and I fell in love with the high ceiling, so I signed a 5 year lease with the intention of planting deep roots in our neighborhood. I live Downtown, just 4 blocks away, and so I bet on our neighborhood. Keep in mind, I was negotiating and signing the lease for the shop before Uber announced they were moving to Oakland and before the deluge of tech and investment that has followed them. Little did I know, we would have two massive construction projects on our block. In Oakland, it’s only required that landlords, and not tenants, are notified of construction in advance. In 2015, the Latham Square Redesign project began, making our block a construction site for 14 months. We weathered the challenges that construction project brought, and when it was complete we had a new park right across the street! And, as interest in Oakland is increasing the shop started to get traction. With our street in-tact and more people living Downtown, we started to see steady growth at Viscera.
Then, earlier this year construction to build a 33-story on our block at the corner of Broadway and 17th began. Since construction began, our sales have dropped significantly. With this project, we’ve lost another parking lot downtown making driving access more difficult, the bus stop on our block has been relocated, we don’t have a sidewalk (it’s now k-rail in the street) which makes pedestrian access challenging, on some weekends no street access, and biking is precarious. If you’ve ever lived or worked near a construction site, you know it isn’t fun.These are all things that on their own might not seem impactful, but collectively, it makes it difficult for a retail business to survive. A boutique isn’t something you need to visit regularly like a pharmacy or grocery store. When you come to Viscera it’s because you decide to take a walk on your lunch break or because you notice something cute in the window on your walk by home. So a reduction in our foot traffic is a problem for keeping the business running. However, these are temporary setbacks. We have another 2.5 years on our lease with another 6 years in options, and once the project is complete it’ll be beneficial for the shop. We’ll have hundreds of more people living just a couple of doors down from Viscera and ground floor retail (hopefully local/indie businesses but that has yet to be seen). When our block isn’t under construction we’re doing just fine.
I picked this location because it’s one of the most transit rich locations in the whole of the Bay Area. It’s within 2 blocks of the only two BART stations that have all lines running through them, over 20 bus lines, it’s extremely bike-able, and it’s where two main arterials, Telegraph and Broadway connect. I don’t often talk about this since it’s not usually as pertinent in our blog posts but I did my Masters in City Planning and specifically studied Downtown Oakland. I’ve researched this neighborhood extensively. In a strange way, planning school was what made me want to start a shop in Downtown Oakland. While I was working on a project examining the effects the Affordable Care Act would have on Oakland’s economy, one thing that jumped out at me was our lack of retail. It was something I knew intuitively, having lived downtown but to learn that we have the biggest retail leakage (which means dollars spent on retail from one city being spent in other cities, i.e. Oakland residents spending their retail dollars in San Francisco) in the country was a clear opportunity to take action. There are a million things like this I could go on and on about but in short, Downtown Oakland can and should have retail.
Retail functions as a pseudo-public space. Think about times when you’ve traveled to a new city, when you want to explore you probably walk around from shop to shop, you ask the sales people ‘where should I get lunch?’, you get a sense for the city from the products that are carried. Retail is your entree to our city. And so, I want to ask that you help keep Viscera as a part of retail in Downtown Oakland. Since we’ve opened, we’ve hosted more than a dozen emerging companies through via pop-ups, featured various artists, sourced from more than 100 independent American-made brands, hosted numerous pit bull adoption events, donated over $1500 to our neighboring non-profits, and sold over 4,000 items that are now a part of your daily lives. We plan on being a part of Downtown for a long time to come. We just need a little help during this rough patch of construction. Our Indiegogo campaign ends 7/28, so please help keep Viscera in Oakland.
]]>
This is me in October of 2014, the day I signed my lease and embarked on the most exhilarating and terrifying journey of my life—opening Viscera. The shop was completely new to me and had been sitting empty on Broadway for the last thirty years. When this photo was taken, I was 23 years old and this was my “crazy project”. I wasn’t sure how, but I was going to open my very own brick and mortar store in the heart of Downtown Oakland. Looking at this photo brings up a lot of emotions for me. It reminds me of my excitement, nervousness, fear, uncertainty, pride but most importantly perseverance. I distinctly remember that around this time, I was being told several times a day by brand reps and the like, that my project was impossible and I’d never make it (this was also before Uber had announced they were moving to Oakland). Yet, here I am in 2017 with a shop that’s become my second home, a community space for creatives, and has become a part of the fabric of Downtown Oakland.
Like life in general, entrepreneurship will throw the unexpected at you. It requires so much mental stamina, emotional agility, but most of all tenacity. In the last couple of years, I’ve definitely hit lows where I feel like the world is over and I ugly cry over a pint of ice cream. But, I’ve also had such joyous moments that my face hurt from smiling so much. In all of this, the most valuable things I’ve learned are strategies to persevere in the face of difficulty. This isn’t to say I have it all figured out, because I certainly don’t, but my hope is that I can share some of the things I learned along the way and help someone else going through a similar struggle. I’m not a medical expert, so this is by no means psych advice, but I am someone who’s struggled with anxiety for a long time and these are some things I’ve personally used to cope. Here are 3 ways I’ve used to help persevere when things get tough
When things aren’t going well my first response is to shut-down. It’s our natural stress response— it’s fight, flight, or freeze. It can be overwhelming and so I want to put my head in the sand and not acknowledge the difficult thing. But, when we shut down, usually a sense of shame and embarrassment follows, even if it’s not warranted. When sales started slowing down at the shop, I thought it was all my fault and that I’m a terrible business owner and felt like I was failing. Rather than seeing it for what is was—slow sales being caused by construction on my block. Once I started talking to friends about it and saying my challenges out loud, I was able to hear it for myself and gain some perspective. I realized my business wasn’t slowing down because I’m suddenly I’ve turned into a dud or something. But if I didn’t say it out loud, I would have been stuck in my own negative train of thought and not taken action.
Like most people, I selectively show the good parts of myself. With social media’s growth it’s become the norm. We all put the filtered, best looking versions of ourself into the world, and I don’t just mean this literally—we do this emotionally. We only show the wins, but never the process of getting there. Despite this, I’d like to encourage you to choose vulnerability over perfection. Much of my own anxiety (which is a common one) is the fear that I’m not good enough. And it’s only natural, we’re inundated with perfect photos on instagram of perfect lives. We’re taught to strive for perfection rather than fulfillment. However, there’s liberation in being vulnerable and showing your real-self, scars and all. When I launched our Indiegogo Campaign, I was so nervous because it wasn’t “perfect”. In my anxious mind, I thought people might see the flaws and wouldn’t want to be a part of the campaign. But then something magical happened, friends and customers reached out and wrote, thanking me for sharing my story. I got emails from people telling me they experienced the shift in Downtown Oakland’s development themselves. I got messages of encouragement, and heard stories of how a piece from Viscera made a difference in their lives. Our campaign is honest, it’s real, and it’s vulnerable. I’m talking about a difficult thing that happened to my business, but that’s what we need more of. It’s not perfect and I wouldn’t have it any other way. So when you’re trying to persevere, don’t strive for perfection, let yourself be you. Be vulnerable.
This is the most difficult thing I’ve learned. Perseverance is about making it through. The definition is “steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” It says nothing about independence, nothing about perfection, and nothing about ownership. As a “solopreneur”, I felt like I had to try to do it all myself or it wasn’t my own. That’s not true. No one does anything alone. So when you’re trying to do “something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success” remember that you aren’t alone. You have a community. It’s actually one of the reasons I love Oakland. Oakland is tenacious and stubborn, it’s gritty, and it’s not apathetic or frail. We’re a city of creatives, innovators, and we’re all in it together.
So, with all this being said. I hope that my strategies for perserverence can be helpful. Right now, we're half way through our Indiegogo campaign and we're trying to 'achieve success despite difficulty'. If you want to be a part of our campaign and help keep us in Downtown Oakland, you can contribute here.
]]>