TANYA HOLLAND

DISHING UP STYLE We’re swooning over these small-batch porcelain dishes and imagining the possibilities: change catcher, sculpture atop a stack of books, ring bearer’s wedding-band tray (true story!). The irregular shapes, painterly glazes, and gold flourishes are pure artistry—and proof that sometimes a single handmade item is all it takes to add amazing style. Ring dishes, $30 each; suiteonestudio.com

Talk about versatile. These beauties are foodsafe. Use them as saltcellars or condiment dishes.

Lindsay Emery, founder of Suite One Studio, is bringing a chic, feminine look to pottery. “I love girly, but I also love to play in mud and get dirty,” says the North Carolina designer and ceramicist.

READER DISCOUNT! Get 15 percent off Lindsay’s pottery through November 30. Shop suiteonestudio.com with coupon code BHG15.

One of the good things about an art subscription: You never get

kohlrabi. LOCAL STYLEMAKER City native Tanya Holland is happy to bring a modern twist to soul food classics, but she does it her way: “in a straightforward and unfussy manner—just like Oakland itself,” Tanya says.

SPOTTED Specialty sake at Umami Mart’s Japanese kitchen and barware store. umamimart.com

oaktown

OAKLAND, CA POPULATION: 406,253 Long overshadowed by its Bay Area neighbors, Oakland is an underdog incubator of cool.

SOUL SEARCHING With her Brown Sugar Kitchen in West Oakland, chef Tanya Holland helped turn a gritty neighborhood into a tourist destination. The wait can be as long as two hours for her famous fried chicken and cornmeal waffl es. If you can’t wait, head to nearby off shoot B-Side Baking Co., or pick up a copy of her cookbook, Brown Sugar Kitchen: New-Style, Down-Home Recipes from Sweet West Oakland ($29.95, Chronicle). CUSTOM CURATION The Compound Gallery is singlehandedly spreading local art love with its monthly CSA-like Art in a Box. Sign up, pick your art preferences, and get ready for just-for-you original works. artinabox.net NOW BLENDING The Living Apothecary wants you to drink to your health. Its vegan kefi r water tea tonics are gaining popularity as the new potable probiotic—they’re fermented in a 48-hour cycle, then mixed with tasty loose leaf tea blends like peony-lavender and pear ginger. Bonus: The Living Apothecary off ers fresh-pressed organic almond nut milks, too. livingapothecary.com FUR REAL Cat Town Cafe—the fi rst of its kind in the United States—is part coff ee shop, part cat adoption center, and all heart. cattowncafe.com SAY CHEESE Homeroom’s founders thought outside the mac and cheese box when they opened an eatery specializing in the comfort food. Choose from a dozen fl avor options (Buff alo chicken! Sriracha!) or build your own via an ample à la carte list of add-ins (Peas! Soyrizo !). Eat in, or order through the free app and have your food delivered to your car. homeroom510.com

WHO KNEW? Bay, schmay. Oakland’s other body of water, Lake Merritt, off ers parks, performances, and lots of boating.