Shopping in Windsor

While other graduate students buried their noses in musty library books, Laura Hanson and Diana Benner muddied their knees in the wetlands and eelgrass habitats around San Francisco. Their research led to their respective degrees—MS in ecology and systematics, MS in environmental science—as well as a deep understanding of the inner workings of California’s ecological systems. The pair opened The Watershed Nursery with the aim of helping those ecosystems flourish.

Together with a team of botanical specialists, Laura and Diana oversee habitat restoration and enhancement projects. They specialize in growing native and site-specific California plants, as well as drought-tolerant species that thrive on the sustenance found in sunlight and loving glances. In addition to ready-to-plant items, the nursery can grow site-specific plants for a difficult area or create custom seed selections, among other services.

To further The Watershed Nursery’s mission of “habitat enhancement,” team members participate in environmentally responsible projects within the community, such as the restoration of Breuner Marsh and mitigation projects in Sycamore Grove and Portola Park. Staff members also aid the Earth in everyday practices, as they collect used plant containers from customers for additional uses and second careers as eco-friendly badminton birdies.

The organizers behind Luxury Wedding Shows orchestrate mock nuptial ceremonies that show off the latest developments in the wedding industry and put attendees in contact with local planning professionals. Each event follows the course of a typical wedding, beginning with a ceremony and cocktail hour and ending with a reception. Meanwhile, area professionals demonstrate their wedding-centric wares and skills to the delight of attendees, who get to sample their wines, taste their cakes and hors d'oeuvres, and test the three-point turns of limousine shuttle services. Guests planning their own weddings can glean inspiration from the various themes on display and from a fashion show designed to mimic a ceremony

A work of art relies on many components to maintain its integrity. Aside from the canvas and the struggle the artist went through to get Billy to stop hogging all the blue paint, the piece will require a frame to be respected as a finished product. At Ringseis Designs, the framing crew works with custom mouldings and archival techniques to protect and enhance artwork, analyzing each piece before selecting matting and frame combinations that draw attention to intended focal points. They also protect 3-D objects, protecting keepsakes in shadowboxes and preserving sports jerseys in textile cases.

The piercing, unrelenting gaze of dozens of Canon, Nikon, and Olympus cameras can be a little intimidating. Luckily, the crew at Shutterbug Camera is on hand to guide shoppers through its stock of professional equipment and accessories. The team leads in-store classes to help students explore the settings on digital cameras and traveling day trips to focus newfound knowledge on locales such as Angel Island State Park. In addition to outfitting shoppers with camera cases and lenses, staffers emblazon the resulting images on water bottles, canvas wraps, and iPhone cases, creating distinctive gifts that eliminate cell-phone mix-ups better than a ringtone plucked from Gilbert Gottfried's Christmas album.

From its serene country roads to its grassy hilltops, the Sonoma Valley’s wine country is a terrain best traversed by bike. The staff at Wine Country Cyclery facilitates these two-wheeled treks by renting, selling, and servicing cycles from Giant and Cannondale. Their rides cater to different types of excursions; the Giant Roam is ideal for leisurely jaunts, while the lightweight Cannondale SuperSix Evo lends itself to fast-paced sprints down tree-lined trails or away from the dryads that guard each vineyard. When riders need help navigating the countryside, seasoned guides hop on bikes and lead them on 12- to 18-mile adventures, stopping at local sites such as Roche Winery & Vineyards along the way.

Breakaway Bikes' owners and bike enthusiasts, Phil and Christina Fifer, equip cyclists with bicycles, athletic apparel, and gear from quality brands including Marin Bikes, Haro Bikes, and Niner Bikes. To suit the needs of cyclists of varying skill levels and ages, they carry merchandise for adults and children who plan on treading rough terrain, meandering along city streets, or coasting down bowling-alley lanes. In addition to wares, the couple smoothes rides with tune-ups, bike-fitting sessions, and overhauls.