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Carmel Valley Mercantile Gets a Makeover B Y R E N E E B R I N C K S T his summer, on the eve of Carmel Valley Mercantile's fifth anniversary, owner Emily Frew quietly closed her shop for renovations. It will reopen as Forage & Soul in early November, with a more focused collection of home and gift items made by local women, plus new events and expanded gallery and studio space. Frew calls it the grown-up version of her original concept. "We're keeping the elements that people loved before, including the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, while offering a more curated retail selec- tion and more pop-ups, trunk shows and fea- tured artists," she says. Forage & Soul's new painting, sketching and craft workshops will build on sessions that Frew and her business par tner, creative director Megan Norris, have led in recent months. "We're sharing the idea of creativity as a lifestyle," says Norris. "You don't have to be an artist to do something creative, stress-relieving, uplifting and fulfilling." In the process, the pair hopes to build com- munity. "With so much online shopping and social media interaction in our daily lives, there's real value in putting women around a table, freeing that side of the brain, and giving them opportu- nities to laugh and converse," says Frew. "That's the kind of engagement that I'm really excited to continue." For more information, please visit www.forage- andsoul.com. SHORTCUTS BUSINESS Emily Frew, owner of Carmel Valley Mercantile, has reopened as Forage & Soul, and leads community building art workshops with partner/Creative Director Megan Norris. 66 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 8 Photo: Kelli Uldall