Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/1479440
32 culturecheesemag.com E N T E R TA I N I N G 202 2 BS: That's why I was like, I have to do it myself! I remember seeing an art installation online where somebody had used stained glass to create, at certain points of the day, lighting in this museum that would change in the ceiling based off of where the sun was coming through the stained glass—kind of like a church or cathedral. I was like, "Oh my God, what if we could do that with colored vinyl?" SS: The light at three or four o'clock is magical. It all shines rainbows. BS: It was very experimental. Sarah was in chemo at the time, she was micromanaging this project from— SS: They wouldn't let me get out of the chair! BS: Yeah, I was like, "You're not allowed to help or stand up." I remember the first time the sun set through it…It's perfect, it came together, it is the most mighty little shop you've ever seen. It's very small square footage in the front, but we do a lot of business in that little tiny square footage. And I think what's most exciting is that for so many years, we didn't have that. Your Instagrams make me want to ask you about fashion instead of food, because you have such a unique look. And at first I thought, "That has nothing to do with cheese." But that's what catches my eye about your business! It's stunning, but it's also approachable. It's not high fashion, like "You can't sit with us." You're having fun. That's in your food and in your clothes! You have great Halloween costumes, and it looks like you wear pretty fun COVID masks. BS: Oh my God, yeah. I built that mask in the peak of dark COVID times. It was a particularly dark day in the world, and I got out a hot glue gun and glued curtain fringe on my mask and went to the grocery store. And the amount of people who were just laughing out loud…we were seeing people smile just with their eyes. I remember coming back and realizing that's all it took, some hot glue and sparkly fringe. Or some laminate on your windows! BS: Not taking anything too seriously! That's how I pitched that to Sarah, like "Let's try it out. If you hate it, we'll take it down, but I think it actually could be really impactful." Did you guys set out to disrupt the charcuterie board space? Was it as simple as, "Why are these boring when produce exists?" It feels so obvious now, but I think people were a little afraid of abundance! It's that Mary Oliver quote, "Joy is not made to be a crumb." SS: I don't think we set out to build something that felt so maximal in style. We just live in a place that has so much abundance and seasonality, that part came really naturally. BS: If you walk to a California farmers' market, that's what it is, it is literally piles and heaps of color and beauty. Flower deliveries [were] more of the thing we sought to disrupt, like what if someone on your birthday delivered this to you instead of flowers? What if you could have flowers on here, but you could also eat it and share it with your family? SS: We would go to our great farmers and just say, "We're looking for raisins, but what about if they were on the stem still, does that exist?" Or really celebrating things in the most organic or unprocessed way possible, and really connecting people to the full story. We love when the herbs are flowering or have started to go and things that normal farmers didn't think were sellable…all of those moments connect people back to nature and the seasons and make for something that is just so beautiful and slightly imperfect— It's wabi-sabi! SS and BS: Yeah! SS: We grew up in this culture where at the grocery store everything is so waxed and perfect and there's something so moving about really celebrating nature in its pure form. So, you mentioned something earlier about wild clients and NDAs, and I feel like it's my duty to ask if you're allowed to mention any of them. SS: For private chef-ing, the last couple that I worked for, for the last six years or so, was Ellen [DeGeneres] and Portia [DeRossi]. Wow! SS: Which allowed me to focus on vegan cooking, which was not something that I did before, which is [an] even deeper connection to plants and plant-based food. You guys have this incredible story that you are twin sisters who started your business on the back of a napkin. It's so Hollywood. Is the napkin thing true? BS: I wish we had this napkin because I feel like a fool that we didn't save it. I feel like it would've been something good to frame. SS: I did bring this [holds up a pen] to show you because the napkin thing is not original in our family. Our dad religiously uses these felt-tipped pens, which now I use religiously— BS: I have a blue one. [Holds up the same pen.] SS: Yeah. He always had one on every shirt he ever had, and in restaurants he would pull it out and always make notes on napkins. BS: He does a lot of napkin work. And so I think that's always been a natural planning space. So, our family gets together for the holidays. We were at a bar in town, and we always try to share every year, what's everyone's goal, so that as a family, we can all kind of support that person and whatever they're trying to accomplish. And so we, as sisters, were talking about our goals for business and for work. And we aligned on more of an idea than a goal. And when we looked at it on a napkin, it was like, this is pretty low overhead. SS: We funded the whole start-up on three credit cards. BS: And we had a friend of ours, Carmen, who had been at Hollywood Market selling Iberico ham, who wasn't using her meat slicer. And she donated us her meat slicer. That was a big cost item. Outside of that, it was a lot of, "Okay, let's try it out. Everyone keep your jobs for now." SS: It's still very, very surreal that we built anything that has resonated with people in such a deep way. And I think a part of that was, I will forever be grateful that Instagram was a platform where we could really be ourselves and have honest connection with people. And that applies to last year's health scare. We decided right off the bat, we were so open with who we were on Instagram and in the shop. And since I worked actively in the shop, there was no way that I was gonna lose all of my hair and not be able to explain what was going on. So, we decided to be transparent about it out the gate. And I think that honesty with our customers has always come back threefold— BS: Tenfold. SS: It's always been a really positive thing, even though feeling vulnerable is hard. You guys opened this business, then COVID happened, and then you got cancer. Right? Was that the order of events? SS: Yes, yes it was. [laughs] So, the fact that you're even laughing and smiling now is pretty impressive! SS: Life's wild. Are you feeling better, is it in remission? SS: I feel wonderful, thank you so much for asking. I think July was one year since the diagnosis, and I'm probably seven months clear of chemo. Now I'm in remission. Hair's growing back as you can see, very exciting. I just feel so grateful for the perspective that cancer gave me…It's really like you get to decide every day how you're gonna show up in the world, and it's a really intentional choice to show up with joy and grace and positivity. I wake up every morning…if this sounds