Generational Beauty
Written by Jessica Ritz
After years of operating her boutique in Summerland, fashion designer Heidi Merrick remains eager to nurture local connections. THE APOTHECARY AT HEIDI MERRICK “is a great way to bring people together and build community,” she says. Merrick is partnering with a wide circle of female entrepreneurs for her new venture, including Meredith Markworth-Pollack of Palma Colectiva and photographer and herbalist Blue Gabor of Creature Soleil. A stairwell leads to an apothecary shop, a treatment room, and a natural light–flooded “wellness atelier” intended for gatherings, ceremonies, and special events. The apothecary area is particularly special for Merrick, since antiques from her mother’s and mother-in-law’s collections double as displays for a curated selection of goods by small-batch makers like May Lindstrom Skin and Bodha. 2272 Lillie Ave., Summerland, heidimerrick.com
Get That Glow
“I can’t sell anything unless I believe in it,” Carolina Gramm says. Many may recognize the former model, interior designer, and longtime Ojai resident as one of the faces of Chanel No. 5 advertising campaigns from the 1980s, but she has spent much of her postfashion career far removed from atelier fittings and runways. In addition to running her eponymous boutique in the Ojai Arcade, Gramm (who was raised in Italy) channels her olive oil expertise into EXTRA VIRGIN SKIN, the company she founded with her husband, Jack Bunce. Years of research and development have yielded a product line centered on meticulously sourced, hydroxytyrosol-rich, California-grown olive oil as its foundational component. The offerings include a serum boosted with bakuchiol, day and night creams blended with high-polyphenol EVOO, edelweiss-enhanced body and face creams, and other organic goods that feel deliciously light yet richly nourishing. extravirginskincare.com
