Category Archives: fabric

CougarHorse & 5733 – piedmont ave’s cool factor soars

A couple additions to Piedmont Avenue have me thinking that this little stretch of Oaktown has gotten way cooler…

The first is the funky little vintage & artisan clothing store CougarHorse. The name alone gives insight into what you can expect to find here… items that are interesting, beautiful, and even hilarious.

cougarhorse piedmont ave, cougar horse oakland

A tiny storefront, barely visible from street (I only noticed it because it’s close to the cemetery I like to walk in), makes way to a tiny shop consisting of three even tinier rooms. Despite its limited size, however, a ton of style is packed in by its owners – brother sister duo Dana & Reed. Oakland natives, in fact their family goes back 4 generations in Oaktown, it seemed the logical place to set up shop.

trucker caps, cougarhorse oakland

Brother Reed is the artist in the family… self-taught, he finds his inspiration in the daily experiences he takes in. All the designs are his and there’s a collection of custom hand-dyed and screen-printed T’s prominently displayed amidst all the other eclectic offerings… vintage shoes and scarves, interesting accessories, wonderful jewelry (both new and old), and a crazy cool record collection, all at really reasonable prices.

cougarhorse oakland, cougarhorse vintage

Everything is displayed in creative and artful ways… items pour out of old suitcases… or drape from ladders… or are framed by funky cowboy paintings. It’s like a supercool garage sale where every single thing is a real treasure.

hipster clothing, plaid shirts, cougarhorse oakland

I asked how they source their vintage finds… Here’s what they had to say:

The vintage pieces are a labor of love. We really enjoy the hunt – taking a day and driving to out of the way places in search of treasures is fantastic. Saturday morning estate sales are tons of fun too. Honestly, we do not have the time to be fully in the vintage game, like the ladies at Mercy Vintage (also on Piedmont Avenue)… they are fantastic curators. The artwork and vintage is just another small piece of what is inspiring to us and something we want to share with others.

Guess I’ll have to do another post on Mercy Vintage!

vintage clothing oakland, custom T's oakland, cougarhorse oakland

Next up is 5733… You know ’em right? Street artist Eddie Colla‘s clothing company – they make just about the coolest T-shirts around. And they’re made right here in Oaktown with eco-ink, no sweatshop labor, and a tag-line you gotta love… “We hope our clothing makes you look good, feel good, get laid… Whatever makes you happy.”

5733 is opening a new retail store and gallery space on Piedmont Ave and the Grand Opening is this Saturday May 1st.  Here’s their plug…

To celebrate our new opening, and as a way to say thanks to all of our supporters, 5733 will be giving away a brand-new, event-exclusive colorway of a new t-shirt in addition to various prints, posters, and stickers to the first fifty guests, additionally, all apparel will be marked down 25% for our grand opening.

Hear that? First fifty guests get a FREE t-shirt. Better get there early!

5733 Apparel and Art – Grand Opening
May 1st – International Worker’s Day
4125 Piedmont Ave, Oakland CA.
Store opens at noon, party begins at 7PM.
Beats by Tibbs and Lankston
Food and drink compliments of Chez Simone and friends

5733 gallery, 5733 clothing store, 5733 retail opening

photo courtesy of 5733

West Oakland Roots…

Wandering around my home stretch of West Oakland, I am always amazed how, after more than 10 years, I can still find things I’ve never seen before.  Just this past weekend I came across a new cafe, new art installation, new community garden plot, and more. All within a couple blocks of the BART station I’ve been to hundreds of times.  This is what I love about Oakland. And West Oakland in particular, with its vast assortment of abandoned manufacturing sites and empty lots, seems ripe for this kind of discovery.

I have to be honest and tell you I was on a bit of a mission when I came across these things, so it wasn’t completely by chance.

I went to the Oakland Indie Awards Nominee Mixer last week.  Do you guys know about the Indie Awards? An annual event hosted by the California One Foundation in partnership with the East Bay Express, to promote and highlight local artists and businesses doing amazing things in Oakland.  You have to be nominated by a community member, but after that, it’s strictly a juried process and finalists in a number of categories are chosen by a panel of judges after a series of interviews.  The awards party is on Friday, May 14th and should prove to be a huge event with local food & drink vendors, live music, DJs, and more. (tickets here)

But back to the mixer… last week was an opportunity to rub elbows with other nominees and even meet the judges and pitch your business or art a bit. I talked with a bunch of talented & creative peeps, one of whom was Keba Konte – artist, business owner, and self-proclaimed “waffle curator.” The owner of Guerilla Cafe in Berkeley as well as one of the founders of Kijiji Grows (featured in Oakland Youth Center post), he recently worked in conjunction with Mo’ Better Food and numerous other organizations in the establishment of Mo Better Food’s East Bay Farm/Garden one block from the West Oakland Bart Station. The garden workday took place on January 18th in honor of Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, and Keba organized a community installed art piece entitled “The Beautification Art Project,” directing volunteers to tie thousands of colorful ribbons onto a chain-link fence to create a portrait of the great civil rights leader. Fantastic.

keba konte, Martin Luther King art installation, community art west oakland BART

martin luther king art installation, beautification art project by keba konte

Apparently Kijiji Grows set up an aquaculture garden on site, but I didn’t see that during my visit…

keba konte, west oakland bart community garden, mo' better food garden

East Bay Urban Gardeners (EBUG) assisted volunteers in constructing numerous raised planter beds. Here are a couple…

mo' better food, west oakland garden, kijiji grows

lady bug, west oakland community garden, garden west oakland BART

Folks from Urban Releaf (formerly Oakland Releaf) planted numerous trees on the site, and it looks like this formerly abandoned lot is well on its way to becoming a beautiful green zone for food production and recreation. Way to go Mo’ Better Food!

Friday the 13th – Mystery Mojo

Ok… so I had no idea what I was going to write about today. I was racking my brain last night… another mural? an essay on gentrification? I was stumped.

And then out of nowhere… I found THIS. I saw it from the corner of my eye and thought “What’s that?” As I stepped closer I found this lovely little creature in red with his/her fantastic aura of twigs & sticks… then I noticed the inscription in stone underneath. West Oakland Home. Which I found fascinating, because West Oakland is my home, however I did not find this in West Oakland. Very strange.

Mystery Mojo

Check out the magic charm at his base… a stone with four screws (presumably representing North, South, East, and West) all meticulously wrapped in blood red thread. This was some serious mojo.

stone with red thread and screws

I walked past the creature and came upon the weirdest and most fantastic pile of stuff… it was only then that I realized I was standing in the middle of a very deliberately created sacred space. The centerpiece is below… constructed out of a hundred or more hand sewn dolls with beautiful individual beads for eyes and mouths, all laid out in a circle.

Voodoo Magic

Voodoo Magic

Mystery Mojo

Inside this circle was an interior circle constructed out of chunks of wood, and inside this two guardians flanked an intricate metal lantern, a red-feathered arrow stuck into the ground, and a dish of offerings. The “dish” was constructed out of a knarled piece of wood… resting in it, a necklace of the cross, beads, kernels of corn, and tobacco leaves.

African Statues

red feathered arrow

Spiritual Offerings

I was fascinated! The fact that someone would create such an elaborate display in a public place. And then leave it. I was also a little bit nervous. Was it ok to be standing inside this space? Would I somehow be desecrating it by walking upon it? I have no idea how this voodoo magic stuff works. I tried to be respectful and appreciative.

It was then that I noticed the masks. The installation was set in a large rectangular plot of land… the red creature from the first photo marked the entrance. At each corner of the plot was a unique and unbelievably beautiful mask. One had a tag that said it was handcrafted in Ghana, carved out of a single piece of wood, and designed to “radiate the magic of Africa.” These two were my favorites…

North and South

This one was West…

African Mask

South…

African Mask from Ghana

East…

African Mask

And North…

African Mask

I gave a nod of gratitude to each of these masks and to the four corners of our planet. It seemed like the thing to do. If anyone knows anything about casting spells or spiritual rituals of this sort, I would love more information. I am in awe of this beautiful gift of art.

Happy Friday the 13th everyone. May the mojo move you!