It's a rainy Veteran's Day Friday, and I've been spending the afternoon at my new home-away-from-home, the Montclair Plaza Collective. I put new, more informative tags on my collection of salvaged tie-dyed linens...

... I met my Collective neighbor, Aparna who makes fabulous silkscreened t-shirts and fun accessories as Little Paper Monkeys...

... I've been making more cards using my trusty Olympia manual typewriter (thanks again, Jenny!)...

...and I've been hanging with Greg and Reenie, the masterminds of this operation:

So Oaklanders, come check this place out! Everything is local and handmade. Now that you've moved your money out of the gigantic Wall Street banks, it's time to move your holiday spending away from the Wall Street big box mega-corporations, and into our community!

Montclair Plaza Collective

6112 LaSalle Avenue, right in the heart of the Montclair district of Oakland

Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays:  12 noon - 7:00 pm

Sundays:  10:00 am - 3:00 pm (conveniently next to the farmer's market)

Read more about the Montclair Plaza Collective in this Nov. 3 article from the Montclarion newspaper: http://www.contracostatimes.com/montclair/ci_19257180