The Bold Italic is your launch pad
for local exploration.
We equip you with the rare intel and unique experiences that define San Francisco. Follow passionate locals as they uncover what makes this city great.
Enthusiastic Storytelling
Our writers, the Bold Locals, are a cast of salient San Franciscans who are enthusiastic about their discoveries. They immerse with the city’s makers, merchants, foodies, techies, and characters to unearth intriguing local info. We hope you’ll be inspired by their experiences and follow in their footsteps.
Unique Events
Our events get you behind-the-scenes with some of the boldest purveyors and merchants in the city. We curate these social gatherings to bring people together who share the same interests — or in many cases, obsessions.
Helping You Remember
The Clipbook is a tool to help you remember your favorite finds on the site. See the plus sign next to the places we mention? Just click it to add them to your Clipbook. Later, you can access them by clicking on the tab on the left of your screen.
THE TEAM
Our staff has been immersed in San Francisco culture for years, and our experience in the local arts, design, and writing communities motivates The Bold Italic’s content and events.
To keep up with all we’re up to, subscribe to our
blog
or weekly email
newsletter.
Nicole Grant
Producer
Nicole Grant joined up with The Bold Italic as its founding employee during its inception at IDEO in 2009. She considers herself to be a curator – collecting, preserving, and championing the stories of locals through many channels. One of the original Bold Locals, she was previously the SF Community Manager at Yelp and cut her chops hosting salons, panel discussions, and celebrity speakers at The Commonwealth Club. She can often be found with a Nikon 'round her neck.
Sarah Han
Producer
Sarah Han first became involved with The Bold Italic in October 2009 as a Bold Local. She's written stories about finding zen in flotation tanks, eating bugs, spending time at the oldest mochi store in the city, and several other adventures in the city. In March 2010, Sarah joined The Bold Italic staff as a producer. She also co-runs Pawesome.net, a website for pet-obsessed people.
Jennifer Maerz
Producer
Jennifer Maerz worked as SF Weekly 's music editor for four years before she joined The Bold Italic team. Before that she covered San Francisco pop culture for various publications: as an editor at Speak and Soma magazines, and as a freelance writer whose work has appeared in Spin, Rolling Stone, New York Times, Vice, and Salon, among other outlets. She's worked at media outlets in other cities — as the editor of Dr. Drew's now defunct website, and as the music editor of the alt weekly The Stranger in Seattle — but prefers living in and covering her favorite city, San Francisco.
Christopher Appelgren
Merchant Relations
Christopher Appelgren joined The Bold Italic in May 2010 and is responsible for developing partnerships and collaborations with the San Francisco businesses featured on the site. Before becoming a part of the team, Christopher was the marketing director for Noise Pop Industries, producer of the Noise Pop and Treasure Island Music Festivals, and also operated the seminal independent label, Lookout Records, where he worked with artists including Ted Leo, Green Day, The Donnas, Pretty Girls Make Graves and others.
Mat Rick
Business Development Lead
Mat was born and raised in the Bay Area and loves San Francisco to its gritty core. He has worked at several tech and publishing startups, spent some time as a ski bum in Colorado and Tahoe, and earned his MBA from Presidio Graduate School here in SF. Mat has a background in graphic design but dabbles in a little bit of everything, enjoying photography, playing music, building bicycles, escaping to the mountains to snowboard, and whatever else happens to strike his ADD mind that week. Although his primary haunt is the Mission, he's up to explore all areas of the city that he loves so much. Buy him a coffee and he’ll be your best friend.
Taylor Reid
Office Coordinator
Taylor couldn’t sit still in any city until she moved to San Francisco. Lured in by the coffee, delicious food, pool tables, and the creative friends and inspirations, she plans to stay for a while. She fell in love with letterpress printing while living in New York, and these days, she co-runs Western Editions with her roommate and friend, Erin. Totally obsessed with office supplies, old books, and tying up notes with string, Taylor is excited to be The Bold Italic’s Office Coordinator.
Erin Browner
Editorial Intern
Erin is currently studying journalism and gender studies at San Francisco State University. In her free time you'll find her sipping horchata, puppy-watching on 24th Street, and combing through racks of vintage clothing.
She has worked at SF Weekly and San Francisco's Sex With Emily podcast. She is also currently a contributor to Stylequake, a San Francisco based style blog collaborating with the local fashion community.
Emily Turner
Editorial Intern
I am currently studying journalism and gender studies at the University of San Francisco, and I am an aspiring writer, blogger, and activist in the worlds of feminism and veganism. I can often be found reading Kerouac, watching movies in Spanish, pulling all-nighters, doing yoga, throwing dinner parties, and perusing vegan blogs (avid Vegansaurus and QuarryGirl fan over here). My favorite people include Conor Oberst and Harvey Milk, and I am in perpetual search of the perfect vintage band t-shirt.
Tamar Pacheco-Theard
Design Intern
Tamar is a designer and illustrator who grew up in the woods of Northern Idaho. She replanted herself in New York and then California, enjoyed a stint in the Netherlands, and then finally headed back to the comforting hustle and bustle of the Bay Area. Tamar enjoys donning fancy threads and heading out for fine eats, or felicitous evenings being casually seduced by the symphony. Always looking for inspiration and in awe of nature, Tamar is a perpetual people-watcher, and shoot, just plain ol' happy to be alive.
CELEBRATING LOCAL
At The Bold Italic we like to celebrate adventurous minds.
Jessica Saia
Design Intern
Jessica grew up in Michigan and studied Art & Design in Chicago, with an intermission to study landscape architecture in Budapest, Hungary. After graduating, she bought a one-way ticket to Berlin and charmed her way (so she thinks) into a set of apprenticeships with some really refreshing designers. When her visa expired she deliberated for 3 or 4 minutes before migrating to San Francisco, where she settled into the cozy hub of The Duboce Triangle. Her likes include free samples, turbulence, and infomercials about cleaning supplies. Dislikes include the current postage stamp options, newscaster voice, and being peer pressured into a standing ovation.
Bold Locals
The Bold Locals are storytellers selected by The Bold Italic team for their authenticity, dynamic personalities, and unique take on the city. They’re not just great wordsmiths, they’re locals with real experiences to share. Some are steady contributors, and others drop by occasionally.
Found Locals
The Found Locals are our friends and neighbors who love the city (almost) as much as we do and have made a pact to explore it top to bottom. We spotlight their favorite San Francisco haunts and standbys in hopes that some of their finds become your finds too.
Designers
We collaborate with the most talented local designers and photographers to bring our stories to life. Check out their work here.
BETA
The Bold Italic is an experiment in local discovery. It was originally conceived by Gannett's Design and Innovation team with IDEO. This is not a finished product – not by a long shot. In fact, we’re trying new things all the time. Please visit our feedback forums and give us your honest take. And we hope you’ll check back often to see The Bold Italic grow.
Are you a local merchant interested in partnering with The Bold Italic?
Get in touch at info@thebolditalic.com
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