Andrea Pflaumer

News about great shops in your neighborhood

Lazlo’s Upholstery: An award-winning Claremont Avenue upholsterer and furniture designer in Berkeley for decades.
Scavengerie: a new, eclectic Berkeley antique shop on San Pablo Avenue.
Harmonique Garden: an offshoot of the Harmonique Home store on Solano Avenue with unique statues, décor and furniture for your outdoor spaces.
Shibumi Gallery: hand-crafted jewelry from April Higashi and a collection of artisans near Fourth Street in Berkeley.

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Arts and Crafts Fare

The East Bay is home to high-end arts and crafts artists who planted the genre here decades ago. From ACCI to Jingletown, we peek at artists in their elements and give you a heads up about East Bay Open Studios.

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How Green Is Your Garden?

Concerns about the scarcity of water and desires to be truly green, are spurring East Bay gardeners to “go xeric.” These dry gardens aren’t boring beds of cacti anymore. Here’s a guide to why, how and where to begin planting your dry, native garden.

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Faces of the East Bay

In the Philanthropic Swim

In the Philanthropic Swim

Rockridge residents John Bliss and Kim Thompson may live far removed the gritty flats of East and West Oakland. But this philanthropic couple see themselves as one with the citizens of Oakland, particularly those who are struggling financially, and they’re leading a campaign to get their “financially blessed” peers to invest in the community like they have by funding city programs to teach kids how to swim.