{"id":249996,"date":"2016-03-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-25T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/going-for-the-gold-leaf\/"},"modified":"2016-03-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-03-25T07:00:00","slug":"going-for-the-gold-leaf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/going-for-the-gold-leaf\/","title":{"rendered":"Going for the Gold (Leaf)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Home d\u00e9cor shop prepares for grand opening<\/strong><\/p>\n

Por Ken Williams | Editor<\/p>\n

Looking for a blown-glass lamp from France? A goat-milk caramel from Vermont? Some other hard-to-find gift for the home?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the idea behind Gold Leaf<\/a>, a new home d\u00e9cor shop in South Park.<\/p>\n

Owned and operated by the husband-and-wife team of Sonya and Kevin Kemp, Gold Leaf is currently going through its \u201csoft opening\u201d at 2225 30th St.<\/p>\n

The grand opening will be on Saturday, April 2, and the Kemps are inviting the neighborhood to drop by and say hello. Snacks and a signature beverage will be offered to visitors, along with live music for entertainment.<\/p>\n

Gold Leaf was also open during the quarterly South Park Walkabout on Saturday, March 19, when San Diego Uptown News dropped by for a visit.<\/p>\n

\"Kevin<\/a>
Kevin and Sonya Kemp operate Gold Leaf, a home decor shop in South Park. (Photo by Ken Williams)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe are happy to be here on 30th in South Park,\u201d Sonya said. \u201cA dream come true!\u201d<\/p>\n

Gold Leaf shares space in a historical building located in the heart of the shopping district.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe loved going to Progress, the home and gift shop that was in the space previously, and when it became available it felt like something we just had to do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy longtime dream has been to open a shop, and this 1914 auto body shop nestled in this great area just seemed too perfect to pass up. I love the exposed beams, brick walls, windows, skylights and concrete floor.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the Walkabout, the Kemps served samples of local craft beer from Modern Times along with flavored popcorn. Dozens of people milled through the shop, looking at a cornucopia of gift items.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like the mix of vintage and new,\u201d Sonya said. \u201cOld things make the new things more interesting, and the new brings life to the old. Gold Leaf offers something fresh, natural and bright to the neighborhood. I want people to feel welcomed and at home in this place.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Kemps, who reside in the Oak Park neighborhood, said they feel at home in South Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe lived in South Park several years ago and loved it,\u201d Sonya said. \u201cSouth Park has such a welcoming feel. Charming Craftsman homes, beautiful trees, and wonderful eateries and shops. It is just a great neighborhood; my favorite in San Diego. It has a small town feel in a big city.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community of South Park is so welcoming! They have a strong dedication to small business and buying local. We love being the place they can come for a birthday card, hostess gift, or something special for the home,\u201d Sonya said.<\/p>\n

Sonya formerly worked for 14 years at SoLo, a home and design collective in Solana Beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the children\u2019s space,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was a perfect thing for me to do when my kids were really little. I could be home with my kids part-time but could also be creative when I went to work. I love merchandising, moving things around always. Drives my husband crazy; the living room is always changing!\u201d<\/p>\n

But now husband and wife are running their own business.<\/p>\n

\u201cKevin and I have always wanted to work together,\u201d Sonya said. \u201cI have a background in art and design, and my husband in business. He\u2019s great behind the scenes, with numbers, the POS system and website, but just as good with customers. He loves to talk! He\u2019s also a great photographer. I\u2019m inspired by his work and love the way he captures life and the shop!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a>During the Walkabout event, visitors checked out jams from Ayako and Family from Seattle, chocolate by Cacoa Preito from Brooklyn, artwork by Eric Bonnin Ceramics in New York, and handmade purses by Buluchu from San Francisco. Local artisan Dovetails and Darts were showcased with handmade homewares and furniture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a cool place,\u201d one visitor told the Kemps. \u201cI\u2019ll be back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Ken Williams is editor of Uptown News and Mission Valley News and can be reached at <\/em>ken@sdcnn.com<\/em><\/a> or at 619-961-1952. Follow him on Twitter at @KenSanDiego, Instagram at @KenSD or Facebook at KenWilliamsSanDiego.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Home d\u00e9cor shop prepares for grand opening By Ken Williams | Editor Looking for a blown-glass lamp from France? A goat-milk caramel from Vermont? Some other hard-to-find gift for the home? That\u2019s the idea behind Gold Leaf, a new home d\u00e9cor shop in South Park.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":249997,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Going for the Gold (Leaf)","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-249996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}