Jun 24

Jun 24 neve & hawk x Kris Galmarini

At a moment when we’re all being pushed to do more and more online—more apps, more sharing, more webinars—neve & hawk founder, Kris Galmarini is making the case that actual brick-and-mortar spaces matter. In many ways, she doesn’t need her brand’s flagship location in Marin County. Neve & hawk has a thriving online presence for its super cute California- inspired, family-loving clothing line. But Kris, herself, does need it, in a very personal way, because community matters (like really matters) to her.

Neve & hawk’s storefront goes beyond just selling something (though we totally want to buy EVERYTHING they create), to actually building something. “We want it to be a place people want to come. We want people to come into the store, and feel better than when they walked in. We want them to interact, to feel inspired, to leave the store feeling better about shit. We’re in this community and we want people to feel good.”

Kris’ mission to bring people into the space has led to a new use for the back section, a café headed by the female-backed coffee brand Lady Falcon. From mid-August, the flagship will be the site of pour-overs, crafted coffees and a reason to hang out. It’s “another way to have people in there and to bring out the community.” This builds on other offerings: a monthly workshop teaching screen printing and chain stitching where people can learn how to sew, or mend, or distress something, as well as a Quarterly Artist series, which gives creatives a start and someone who believes in their work.

This focus on human interaction and holding physical space goes hand-in-hand with who Kris is as a person. Yes, she’s an introvert who might just be hiding in her studio when you visit the store, but she also believes deeply in people, in their worth, in their authenticity, in their talents.

This starts with the design and production process around the clothes themselves: which are made and sourced (from the inks to the manufacturing process) in San Francisco, Sonoma and Marin and are given a fair market price which reflects this intentionality. At all these steps, Kris never forgets that “there are humans who are making it”, that they have value too, creatively and monetarily. “Shopping can be a thought-process”.

The sentiment extends to Kris’ sense of responsibility to her clients: “Community and loyalty go hand in hand.” Both on and offline she has actively fostered a community that people can be part of and has allowed it to grow organically.

And it absolutely extends to how Kris presents (or rather doesn’t) as a person. She doesn’t play the game we’re all being pressed into playing. At a moment, when we’re collapsing our brands with our personhood, when our sense of self is tied up with clicks, when our lives need post-production effects to make them good enough, Kris is working hard to push back. And we are so grateful for that perspective: for someone who is allowing the masks to drop, for her soul to show, and proving this idea that who we are matters much more than what we know (borrowing from two of Kris’ go to quotes).

If places can be a person, and a person can be a place, neve & hawk’s flagship would be it.