Meet the Oakland Boutique Born in One Week

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In the movies, a boutique can be constructed within the span of a montage. In San Francisco, it's rare that a store can be finished by the end of a multi-month timeline. In Oakland, one enterprising shop owner made it happen in seven days. According to Oakland Local, Urban Stitch's Alanna Rayford was so smitten with her Broadway space at Telegraph Road that she opened in one week. The pub writes, "While it may sound crazy to open a store in a week, if anyone was going to pull it off, it was Rayford."

In its current location for a year, Urban Stitch is another example of an Oakland collective promoting local designers. The shop currently represents 20 designers: 18 from Oakland, one from Los Angeles, and one from San Francisco. And it's not just fashion fans who are impressed with the shop. Oakland has awarded Rayford a $25,000 Façade Improvement Matching Grant to upgrade the lighting and signage at her store. She's currently raising the $25,000 she needs to match the grant on Indiegogo. If you want to pitch in, the fundraiser is running until December 28.
· Urban Stitch Weaves Together Fashion and Community [Oakland Local]
· Metis Makers is North Beach's Sustainable New Neighbor [Racked]