Sonoma County artists craft creative gifts that give back to fire recovery efforts

The holiday gift giving season is upon us, but for many in the wake of the October wildfires, the usual trinkets and tchotchkes appear trite and meaningless as we struggle to honor, even in a small way, the tremendous losses of so many.

The artistic community - a talented group of doodlers who, like many of us, felt helpless in the aftermath of the fire - have created an array of fire-related images and designs to raise money and mark this historic moment in time, as the community rises from the ashes to rebuild together.

These designs - from simple words of encouragement to fine art images of first responders - have been have transferred onto watercolor paper, clothing, jewelry, stickers and more. All of the profits from the items go to fire relief funds.

With these philanthropic gifts under the tree, we can all feel a little bit better about giving to our loved ones while acknowledging the pressing needs of our neighbors in need. Here are our top 10 post-fire holiday season gifts, in a wide range of styles and price ranges.

1. No more fire, please!

Agent Ink Gallery is selling a bilingual, T-shirt designed by Creative Director Matt Morgan of Harvester Co. screenprints of Sebastopol. The black, unisex T-shirts spell out “SO NO MAS FIRE POR FAVOR” (No more fires, please!) in white, red and gray capital letters. Cost is $20, with proceeds going to the Bohemian's Rebuild Sonoma, which directs funds to community-based nonprofits helping with relief efforts in Sonoma and Napa counties. The shirts are also available at Harvester Co., 6791 Sebastopol Ave. #160, across Highway 12 from Community Market in Sebastopol. agentinkgallery.com

2. From Ash Comes Love

Santa Rosa graphic designer Kristen Best, who works for Sunnyside Creative Co., was evacuated from her home off Chanate near Journey's End during the fire. Feeling helpless and with time on her hands, she started designing a simple image of water, a redwood and a heart for a sticker, tote bag and apparel line, “From Ash Comes Love.” “I had a bunch of free time,” she said, “I'm a doodler, so I started doodling.”

About a week after the fire, she and her fiancé stayed up late into the night to launch an online store, Foggy Side Up, where she is selling her products and donating the profits to the RCU fire relief fund. By Nov. 1, she had raised $12,000 with the help of a friend who is a personal trainer. “We surpassed all of our expectations,” Best said. “ We had ordered 200 stickers, and we ended up ordering 4,000 more.”

Since then, Best has added a feminine, poppy design to the line, for baby onesies and adult hoodies. Vinyl stickers are $5, tote bags are $24, onesies are $29, T-shirts and hoodies $29-$59, foggysideup.com.

3. Prints and apparel by Pete Maloney of Petaluma

Pete Maloney, an artist and professional drummer, grew up in New Jersey and attended the opening of the Twin Towers in New York with his dad. After 9/11, his alt-rock band Dishwalla performed for the first responders at St. James Chapel, a 250-year-old building that somehow survived while the towers fell all around it.

After the firestorm in October, Maloney started drawing digital portraits of first responders - a fireman, sheriff's deputy, helicopter crew, EMTs, dispatchers and a search-and-rescue team - to help himself cope, then shared them on his website to help empower the “Sonoma Strong” movement.

Maloney, whose brother is a firefighter, received such an enthusiastic response that he took the drawings to Digital Grange in Petaluma, who offered to print them for free using high-quality, watercolor paper. The six posters are now for sale on his website with proceeds going to the Redwood Credit Union North Bay Relief Fund. “I charge $75 for a print, and every penny goes into the fire relief fund,” he said. “The fireman is the most popular - he has an ax and a crowbar.”

Through the made-to-order apparel site Red Bubble, he also launched a line of men and women's T-shirts, hoodies, mugs and stickers emblazoned with his drawings. The apparel ranges from $19.50 to $45; stickers are $2.75 and mugs are $15 to $25, plus shipping fee. petemaloney.org for posters; redbubble.com for everything else.

4. Snoopy-inspired T-shirt

At the new Agent Ink Gallery in downtown Santa Rosa, owner Curt Barnickel occupies a special niche in the local art world: limited editions screen prints of concert posters along with works by local artists.

So when the owner of the Kaliber Men's Store in Santa Rosa gave him more than 100 plain T-shirts that had been donated, Curt reached out to Santa Rosa artist Zack Rhodes of Santa Rosa to come up with a design. The resulting brown and black T-shirts, sporting a Snoopy-like fireman with a hose, were printed by Farm Fresh of Sebastopol at a discount. And you can purchase either a woman's or man's shirt at both Agent Ink (531 Fifth Street) and Kaliber (315 D St.), with proceeds going to the RCU fire relief fund. agentinkgallery.com

5. Sonoma Strong jewelry

Ashley Lacer lives in Medford, Ore. But the painful destruction of her native Sonoma County inspired her to create a line of jewelery in solidarity and support. She teamed up with friend Sarah Ward of Canyon Craft Co. in Salem, Ore., who designed pendants and bracelets featured in her online boutique EllaLane.com. Their “California Love” necklace featuring a stainless steel map of the state with a heart over Sonoma and Napa counties, sold out. But a wood laster-cut version was available as of last week at $28. The pendants hang on an 18-inch chain so they would fall right on the heart of most wearers.

Lacer, a 33-year-old mother of two who graduated from Ursuline High School, isis also featuring two different cuff bracelets in copper - one handstamped with the hashtag #SONOMASTRONG and the other saying “Sonoma Strong” bracketed by hearts. Both are $30. All proceeds after cost are going to the North Bay Fire Relief Fund.

“My cousin, his wife and two kids lost their home. They're only one family among thousands,” said Lacer, whose husband is a first responder - an Oregon State Trouper. “I wanted to create something meaningful, to help, even though I'm far away.”

Lacer's boutique also features what she is calling “The Rising Rose” necklace, above right, a Tibetan silver circle pendant with a new rose blooming in the middle. It is finished with two red garnets, “symbolizing that although the fires are behind us, they will forever be events that united the community. That sells for $32. Shipping is included and Oregon has no sales tax. Sarah Ward has also designed a tiny clear ball pendant necklace that can be opened like a locket. The wearer can put a sentimntal reminder of something lose in the fire, inside the ball –– like ash or soil from their property. That will be available for sale at canyoncraftco.com.

6. Sonoma Round Barn Ornament

For many people, the historic Round Barn at Fountaingrove was an iconic symbol of Santa Rosa. It was decimated in the fire but it can live on among the branches of your holiday tree. Debbie McCormick, owner of The Sunnyside Cottage in the Montecito Center, grieved the loss of the beautiful old barn and had the idea of creating a Christmas ornament in its likeness.

A company from which she buys laser-cut wood jewelry had sent out an email saying they can create custom pieces. So she sent them an image of the landmark and ordered 50, hoping she could make back her outlay, with enough left over to make a small donation to the Rebuild the Round Barn Go Fund Me account.

The first night she posted the ornament on Facebook, they were all quickly spoken for. So she ordered another 200 but quickly realized even that was not enough. So far she has ordered 2,500. If that is not enough, she can order more.

“A lot of people, many who never heard about the store, have stopped by. They have been really touched by it. They like to get an ornament that is meaningful for them and for many people, this is the one this year.”

She's brought back a former employee just to help her mail out the 2,000 wooden ornaments, hopefully by Dec. 12. The cost is $10. shop.sunnysidecottagegifts.com. 707-525-1893.

7. Sonoma pride for your bumper

The History Museum of Sonoma County in Santa Rosa is selling all-white #sonomastrong bumper stickers for a suggested donation of $3, to benefit fire relief. The stickers are subtly rendered, in cut-out cursive writing. museumsc.org

8. Shirts for Sonoma

Bailey Verhunce, who works for a nonprofit in Seattle that combats opioid addiction and homelessness, was born and raised in Santa Rosa. So when her mom texted her at 2:30 a.m. Oct. 9 that her grandfather was being evacuated, she started following the fire from afar, through KSRO, news stations, Facebook groups and Nixle alerts.

“I was monitoring wind speeds, tracking the most up-to-date fire map,” she said. “Any resource that was available, there was a tab open for it.”

About three days later, she started hearing stories about people using their unique skills to help one another. A lifelong artist and designer, she started drawing, hoping to create “a visual that if anyone saw it, would instantly be recognized and associated with the strength and togetherness we all felt.”

After just a few hours, she came up with five designs for a line of stickers and shirts she dubbed “Shirts for Sonoma,” then opened an e-commerce platform and started sourcing apparel.

“I posted the designs on social media and orders almost immediately started pouring in,” she said.

Less than a week later, she had printed hundreds of shirts, raised thousands of dollars and started seeing people on the TV news wearing her designs. But the orders were coming so fast that she could not keep up, so she had to shut down the online store for a few weeks. Since then, she has reopened the website and by the end of November, she had raised more than $10,00 for the RCU fire relief fund with the help of her parents, who tape envelopes and deliver orders in their spare time.

Her line of T-shirts and sweatshirts featuring redwoods, roses, the state of California and the California bear cost $27 to $47. Stickers are $6. shirtsforsonoma.com. The products take 5-7 business days to ship, or you can opt to pick them up locally.

9. “Santa Rosa Strong” art print

Also at the History Museum, you can purchase a rose-laden “Santa Rosa Strong” 5x7-inch art print by San Francisco artist Brenna Daugherty for $12.50, to benefit the Sonoma County Humane Society.

“This vintage tattoo-inspired piece represents the lasting strength and care all of our community has demonstrated in the wake of the deadly fires that have swept across my hometown of Santa Rosa and beyond,” she said. “Not only were humans affected, but countless animals were lost, injured or worse, and my aim in creating this piece is to raise money for the Sonoma Humane Society to assist in their efforts to provide care for those four-legged fire victims. “

The print can also be ordered from her website, brennadaugherty.com.

10. A cup for Mike

The Sonoma County glassblowing community, including Travis Sandoval and Steve and Jean Gandolfo are making handcrafted glass tumblers to raise money for fellow glassblower Mike Hanson, who not only lost his home in the Tubbs fire but suffered severe burns over 30 percent of his body while trying to save his wheelchair-bound daughter, Christina.

Christina died that night, and Mike is still in a San Francisco burn unit. The local artists hope to sell 1,000 cups for a donation of $50 each to support Mike's recovery. To purchase, go to buyacupformike.com.

Staff writer Diane Peterson can be reached at 707-521-5287 or diane.peterson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @dianepete56. Staff writer Meg McConahey can be reached at 707-521-5204 or meg.mcconahey@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @megmcconahey.