SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — Today, I'm taking you to one of my favorite San Diego neighborhoods -- North Park! This spot has a special place in my heart, because it's where I lived when I first moved to California!
The Gold Dust Collective is a collective of local San Diego artists and brands, specializing in high quality (and unique!) items.
Kate & Damian of Flight of Fancy and Santiago & Jamie of El Gato Montes say they've been friends for years. They all met working and selling at musical festivals across the country. In 2019 they decided to join forces to create a unique local retail store front. So now, all there traveling has a permanent location in North Park.
At Gato Montes, inside The Gold Dust Collective, they create handcrafted wearable art using mostly leather, with some metal and stone work.
Santiago has been leather-working for more than 10 years and learned his craft in Latin America. He started his business in 2014. He says the brand quickly grew, selling at music festivals and events all over the world.
In 2019, his fiancé Jamie joined forces with the El Gato Montes business and together they helped create The Gold Dust Collective.
Flight of Fancy is a design collective born from the desire to consciously craft. Each piece is handmade in San Diego using sustainable materials. Gems are hand selected from sustainable mines, metal is discarded scrap, leather is reclaimed and animal producers are collected or cruelty-free.