| | Published January 31st, 2024
| New Orinda business offers home accessories from Genuine Goodness site
| | | By Sora O'Doherty |  | | Mother Gwen Callan and daughters Lisa Hoskins and Stefanie Murphy have teamed up to offer home accessories at gcd provisions, operating out of the same premises as Genuine Goodness in Orinda Village. Photo Sora O'Doherty |
Mother and daughters team Gwen Callan, Lisa Hoskins and Stefanie Murphy have opened gcd provisions, sharing space with Diane Eames, owner of the Genuine Goodness restaurant at 21 Orinda Way in Orinda Village. The team were introduced to the Orinda City Council on Dec. 5 as one of the new businesses in Orinda. They also participated in the Holiday Market hosted by Ben Zarrin of Paymun Real Estate Design & Development.
The idea for gcd provisions started percolating last January, and they opened in May. Eames has expanded Genuine Goodness into the space next door, using it for catered events and some lunch seating, leaving plenty of room for home accessories. Eames suggested to Murphy that she bring down some items. "We thought, OK, we'll try it!" said Callan, and they have found it to be the perfect partnership.
Hoskins said, "We've been kind of wanting to do something in Orinda. We have very deep roots in the East Bay; Stefanie and I were born and raised in Danville and now live in Orinda," and they are delighted to be a women-owned business.
Callan was previously part owner of a design concepts business in Alamo. She does interior design, tapping some of the accessory resources. She's done a lot of architectural design and full design work and has found that accessories are hard to stock.
Hoskins noted that there really isn't a local spot in Orinda to find high quality accessories and unique home décor items, and gcd provisions hopes to fill that gap by sourcing furnishings, rugs and some furniture. She explained that most of their products come from carefully curated small artisans.
Callan says, "We try to find things that are unique and made from natural materials that can be reused or repurposed." They favor handcrafted items. Hoskins added that they have some wonderful African pieces, such as glass beads and handmade bronze bells, which were very difficult to get. Some of their most popular serving ware pieces are bamboo salad bowls imported from Sweden.
Callan believes that items should be purchased for a certain use, "but some items just bring you joy." She suggests that if you are tired of an item, you might be able to repurpose it.
Hoskins noted that the women love partnering with the community to help causes, for example, breast cancer, and the Children's Health Guild, hosting events at the Orinda Country Club. Hoskins volunteers for almost every charity and was in charge of the Grateful Gatherings gala.
Hoskins has an MBA and Murphy has a background in merchandising for Pottery Barn.
Callan, who holds an art history degree, is an interior designer and member of the American Society of Interior Designers. She usually works with an architect, or a landscape architect, and sometimes does design work on remodels. She says that she works from an architectural viewpoint, focusing on backgrounds first. Her goal, she says, is "trying to beautify the interior and make it function better and make the clients happier." Although she now does mostly residential, she previously worked in hospitality design (apartment buildings) in San Jose and San Mateo, but professes that her heart is in residential. The award-winning designer has been featured in Lux Magazine. |
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA