Shopping Spree
A spate of new shops stocking summer staples is cropping up at the Montecito Country Mart
Written by Elizabeth Varnell
Photography by Sara Prince
Stella Peters in Heidi Merrick Mimizan swim bottom, $95, and Duchess sweater, $295, heidimerrick.com.
As the sun reaches its apex, daylight hours stretch, and shadows shrink, a spin through the newest additions to the Montecito Country Mart (1016 Coast Village Rd., Montecito) beckons. Slip into a light-as-air prairie-printed frock from sisters Margaret and Katherine Kleveland of DÔEN, who trace some of their sharpest and most influential memories to their youth in Santa Barbara. It seems particularly fitting that their voluminous blouses, pretty swimwear, printed shorts, gingham dresses, wispy skirts, and a host of organic cotton staples are now housed at their new brick-and-mortar shop at the mart. The collectively owned, women-run, online apparel label collaborated with L.A. design team Nickey Kehoe to create the shop, inspired equally by the area’s Spanish Revival architecture and midcentury design. Ojai artist Rebekah Miles added her hand-painted patterns—reminiscent of those adorning her ceramics—to the earthy shop walls. shopdoen.com.
Doên dresses are beloved for their romantic silhouettes and nostalgic patterns.
Cynthia Benjamin stocks a range of retro and designer glasses for women and men.
Fight the glare at CYNTHIA BENJAMIN eyewear boutique. After more than two decades working with specs, Benjamin and Cynthia Montoya have a sixth sense about frames and fit. Their new shop, co-owned and operated with Jordan Feldman, stocks a curated collection of luxury glasses from an array of independent lines as well as one-of-a-kind vintage, new old-stock frames from the ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s with sun or optical lenses. Richly colored Kirk & Kirk optical glasses are also on offer with embellished hinge pins. As the longest day of the year approaches, Cynthia notes, “Salt Optics is releasing a new collection of titanium Aviator sunglasses made in Japan, just in time for summer drives along the Pacific Coast.” cynthia-benjamin.com.
Handwoven linens at Heather Taylor Home.
Another new addition, HEATHER TAYLOR HOME, is stocked with all manner of cotton tablecloths, napkins, tea towels, coasters, and place mats in stripes, ginghams, and plaids ideal for coastal gatherings. Taylor, who vividly remembers childhood visits to Montecito, is also conceptualizing an exclusive pattern for the pop-up shop, which is filled with all the accoutrements—designed in Los Angeles and handcrafted by artisans in Chiapas, Mexico—for alfresco dinners in town and picnics near the water. heathertaylorhome.com.
Parker Thatch tennis bags and more at Montecito Mercantile.
Carrie Schei’s MONTECITO MERCANTILE general store is filled with the sort of finds she sources for sister shops Salt House Mercantile on Washington’s Bainbridge Island and in Sag Harbor, New York. Photographer Dewey Nicks’s summer snaps are on display, as are a variety of ceramic tablewear, linens, gifts, Parker Thatch bags, Peter Beaton hats, what Schei calls the “ultimate white shirt” from Sarah Alexandra, and key apothecary items from Bamford, plus cards, books, and magazines. montecitomercantile.com.
