Rachel Konte has turned her brick-and-mortar boutique into a online store.

OwlNWood, an Oakland favorite for beautifully curated clothing and goods, has moved to an exclusively online model as of August. Rachel Konte’s brick-and-mortar boutique featured a blend of international and locally made fashions, and the space had a welcoming, high-style vibe.

“It sometimes helps to pivot your business model,” explained Konte, who will now be able to focus on and expand her clothing collection O.N.W. by OwlNWood. “I hope for my online store to have the same feeling as my store, and I hope to be able to give it the same attention.”

Loyal and new customers should visit the OwlNWood webstore for Konte’s utterly chic and very wearable blouses, bottoms, and more, as well as her stylish graphic print T-shirts, tank tops, and sweatshirts with Oakland-centric logos, many of which support local causes and foundations.

Konte said she’ll miss the great friendships and beautiful connections that came from having a storefront in Oakland but also pointed out the challenges that independent shop owners face. “The perception that Oakland is booming now is not always the reality for small retail businesses. There’s an influx of new people that are still working in SF. During the day, we don’t have enough foot traffic and people shopping local.”

Konte is a member of OIA, the Oakland Indie Alliance, and urges for pressure to push for empty storefronts to be filled with indie businesses that make the fabric of Oakland unique. When communities cater to bigger chain stores, they end up with the same stuff everywhere, Konte said.

“I put in seven years of retail in Oakland, and it was time for a break. Oakland has a lot to offer, but as a small business owner, at times it can feel very stressful to make it all go around. I wasn’t able to manage my storefront, produce my own collection, develop an exciting Legacy Collection collaboration with Fredrika Newton, and design and create products for my other job as chief of design at Red Bay Coffee. I am super excited to have my O.N.W. Design Studio, where I can design and develop all my projects in a more focused manner.”

See all the stylish magic that Konte has afoot at www.OwlNWood.com.

World Accolades for Olive Oil

Congratulations to EXAU Olive Oil for receiving the Silver Award at the New York International Olive Oil Competition, the largest and most competitive olive oil competition in the world. It’s a prestigious placement (with over 1,000 entrants from 27 countries), and especially noteworthy as the owners, Skyler Mapes (an Oakland native) and husband Giuseppe (a third- generation olive oil maker from Calabria, Italy) just started the company in January 2018.

“We were deterred from entering the competition last year,” explained Mapes. “In Italy we met with an agriculturalist, an olive oil sommelier, and a well-respected owner of a large olive oil company to get their feedback on our first harvest.” The couple were told their olive oil was good, but that they weren’t ready to compete on a global level. “I kick myself now for listening to them,” said Mapes. “I knew we had a great olive oil, but they had so much more experience than us.”

Fortunately for the 2019 competition, Mapes trusted her instincts, didn’t ask for opinions, and entered their Letregi — an olive oil with flavor notes of vanilla, black olives, and banana. They entered the oil in March 2019 but the results weren’t decided until May. “The sommeliers fly in from all over the world” — including Italy, Spain, France, Israel, Brazil, Australia — “and taste oils the week before. The day of the awards ceremony, the results are live, like the Oscars.” Because of work, Mapes couldn’t attend the event but was repeatedly loading the results page to learn if they placed.

“I lost it. I started screaming and running around. It was such a memorable, happy moment. It was also special because we’d been told by someone much more knowledgeable not to go for it and yet we won silver.

“Giuseppe’s family has been making olive oil from their family estate for almost 100 years, so the decision to start the company felt natural,” Mapes said.

She previously worked in the design and wine industries, natural springboards to the company. It was important for them to learn from the ground up, she said, and they spent seven months of 2017 in Calabria to go through harvesting, pressing, decanting, bottling, and labeling. Local stores such as Belotti Botega in Oakland carry the EXAU brand, and it’s also available online at www.EXAUOliveOil.com.

New Skincare Services

Montclair Village welcomed SkinSpirit medical spa in early May. Stop in for top-quality skincare products available for purchase to the public, not just clients of the spa, including Skinceuticals, Colorescience, SkinMedica, and more. First-time clients of skincare services —such as Botox, dermal fillers, laser hair removal, facials, etc. — will receive 15 percent off their first treatments. If you’re interested to learn more, the knowledgeable staff offers complimentary consultations. 2017 Mountain Blvd., 510-368-7500, www.SkinSpirit.com.