When you enter Bay-Made—an Oakland gift shop on Lakeshore Avenue brimming with artwork, craft goods, and other items exclusively created by Bay Area artisans—expect to be greeted by Sundae, the calico shop cat.
“She’s just so sweet—well, sweet and spicy, but we love it,” said Sarahjane Bernhisel, founder and owner of Bay-Made, about Sundae.
Since opening in 2017, Bay-Made has become a one-stop shop for gift-givers and casual shoppers. Nestled between Buckingham Wines & Spirits and BodyROK, the hole-in-the-wall store sells a variety of goods for every budget, from art prints for $12 to handcrafted leather tote bags for $225. (The latter is from duck + chick, founded by two young Oakland entrepreneurs who donate a portion of their profits to groups like the Oakland Zoo, East Bay SPCA, and Chabot Space and Science Center.)
“I want this place to be accessible,” said Bernhisel, who moved from her hometown of Salt Lake City to the Bay Area in 2008 and currently lives in Oakland’s Grand Lake neighborhood.
On Bay-Made’s shelves, patrons can find horchata-scented “jarrito” candles created by the Mexican-owned brand Fonzie’s Artisanal Goods; Lotería-themed earrings from Moon Made Creations, owned by a Latinx jewelry maker; fragrant incense sticks from family-owned and operated Laurel District Goods; and air plant terraria from Shellie Jellies.
In addition to featuring artisans from The Town, Bay-Made highlights artists and makers from across the Bay Area’s nine counties. Their creations include “lactose intolerant club” enamel pins from the San Francisco-based brand JaneLi.Co, plant-based skin care products from ardent goods in Pleasanton, hand-cut collages by Alameda artist Michael Tunk, and punny greeting cards printed by The Little Red House in Fremont.
For those who aren’t sure what to buy for their loved ones, Bay-Made also sells pre-made gift boxes that can be shipped anywhere in the U.S. Depending on seasonal availability, gift boxes may include 70% dark chocolate from San Francisco-based Dandelion Chocolate, fizzy bath salts from Heliotrope, and jars of honey from Urban Beekeeper Oakland. They can be purchased in-store or on Bay-Made’s website.
On top of running Bay-Made, Bernhisel has been a freelance illustrator since 2013. A graduate of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, she’s worked as a concept artist for the Disney+ children’s show Big City Greens, designed pitches for Deloitte Consulting, and illustrated scientific exhibits at the visitors’ centers for both Prince Albert National Park and Riding Mountain National Park in Canada.
With her background in animation and interactivity, Bernhisel said she carefully curates the shop’s aesthetic and items for sale. When she receives submissions for artworks and craft goods to sell at Bay-Made, “sometimes people have a hard time realizing that I’m an illustrator, too, so … it’s got to impress me,” she said.
The idea of opening Bay-Made came to Bernhisel in 2016, when she would host “drink and draw” art classes at Telegraph Beer Garden. During these events, she said, her artist friends would mention that it would be nice to have a store dedicated to selling their art.
At the time, Bernhisel was working as a sales associate and buyer at Adventure Toys & Learning, a now-defunct toy store on Lakeshore Avenue in the same building as Bay-Made. There, she learned the ins and outs of running a business. It was also during this time that she and her partner, Schuyler McAlister, had hoped to start a business together, saving up some money but still needing to find the right location.
In 2017, Bernhisel and McAlister invested their meager savings into opening Bay-Made. The toy store permanently closed in 2021, leading the way for Bernhisel to purchase the building from the property owner.
With limited inventory from 30 local artists, Bernhisel and McAlister would lay art prints flat on multiple tables to take up space in the store. “People asked us all the time, ‘Is this a pop-up?’ And we were like, ‘No, but please give us a chance,’” Bernhisel said, laughing.
The couple began featuring illustrations and craft items from artist friends they’d met over the years, including some of Bernhisel’s former classmates from art school. Today, they source from roughly 150 Bay Area artists and makers.
Two years after unveiling Bay-Made, McAlister and Bernhisel got married. While they founded the shop together, McAlister now primarily works at Saildrone in Alameda. He continues to work with his wife as a managing partner.
Requiring mask-wearing to protect staff and customers from COVID-19
Bay-Made remains one of a few businesses in Oakland that still requires anyone entering the shop to wear a face mask. There are eight signs posted on the store’s facade and inside the shop reminding folks to wear a mask—and to wear it properly. Bernhisel provides free face masks at the entrance in case customers don’t have one.
One of the reasons Bernhisel strictly enforces mask-wearing is that some of her close friends and family members, including her husband, are immunocompromised or have gotten long COVID. She told The Oaklandside that keeping the shop accessible to her loved ones and other immunocompromised customers is important to her.
Community members who stop by Bay-Made have generally had positive reactions to the mask policy, Bernhisel said. She mentioned that some of her customers have told her that Bay-Made is one of the only local shops they’ve felt comfortable visiting since the COVID-19 shutdowns were lifted. The store has even been featured in several local “COVID-conscious” Facebook groups in which community members who continue to take COVID precautions seriously can share information and advocate for safer public spaces.
“I just know so many people who are like, ‘I can’t shop anywhere except for Bay-Made because I’m getting over cancer, I’m in chemotherapy,’” Bernhisel said.
She estimates that she encounters one customer every week who doesn’t want to wear a mask. Sometimes, she said, she’ll receive negative Yelp reviews because of her mask policy.
“I call them ‘mask-holes,’” said Bernhisel. “It’s almost like a self-filtering group of people because I end up with just the nicest customers ever.”
A brick-and-mortar’s survival throughout the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted Bernhisel’s business in other ways. Since its inception, Bay-Made has exclusively been a brick-and-mortar shop (though Bernhisel said she’s in the process of creating an online store). Bernhisel added that she hasn’t done much advertising for Bay-Made except through word-of-mouth and on social media.
Once the pandemic shutdowns were in place in 2020, and online shopping became more convenient for many people, Bernhisel closed her store indefinitely. Her husband, then a manufacturing engineer at Google, was laid off. Bernhisel reopened Bay-Made in June 2020, requiring face masks and admitting two customers at a time.
She noticed an increase in profits in 2021, which she attributed to some people receiving stimulus checks and being more willing to spend. However, sales drastically dropped in 2022 and 2023. Last year, in particular, was her slowest year in business, Bernhisel said.
Adding insult to injury, a water line between the storefront and the street unexpectedly broke last year. From May through July, the broken line “was putting a hot tub’s worth of water every day” into the creek that runs beneath Bay-Made’s building, Bernhisel said. The ordeal left her with a nearly $2,000 bill from the East Bay Municipal Utility District and took about two months to repair.
From the yearslong decline in sales to the issues with the water line, Bernhisel said she’s dealt with depression and has considered shutting down Bay-Made permanently. In February, she opened up about her mental health on Bay-Made’s Instagram page. The response from the community, she said, was overwhelming.
“People were like, ‘I’m so glad you shared that because I’ve been feeling that, too. You’re not alone,’” Bernhisel said. “I’ve just been really grateful to have a positive environment and such great employees and community.”
While she still experiences depression, Bernhisel said going to therapy and taking medications has helped her manage her symptoms. About three weeks ago, she adopted Ginger, a scruffy terrier mix who has started working alongside Sundae as Bay-Made’s shop dog.
“Ginger was part of the plan to get me out of the house more,” Bernhisel said.
She also attributes the shop’s success to her two sales associates, Becca Compton and Charisma Butler, who’ve helped keep Bay-Made open while Bernhisel sought help. Compton, a jewelry maker living in the Grand Lake neighborhood, said she frequently patronized Bay-Made before joining the team in late 2022.
“Sarah’s legitimately one of the most supportive bosses I’ve ever had,” said Compton. “Everyone who comes by has been super sweet and supportive.”
In the far future, Bernhisel hopes to pass down ownership of Bay-Made to a fellow local artist or transform her business into a co-op. For now, she’s focusing on setting up an online shop and staying open for the Lakeshore community.
“I love beautiful things. I love sharing those beautiful things with people, and I want people to know there’s something here for absolutely everybody,” said Bernhisel.
Bay-Made, 3295 Lakeshore Ave. Open Wednesday through Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. and Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Closed on Monday.
