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.
Heath Kessler
Art Director
Heath Kessler's love of punk fanzines as a teen led to a BFA in graphic design from California College of the Arts and Crafts. He's since honed his approach to design through projects with clients like Apple Computers, The National Geographic Channel, and Electronic Arts. Heath believes that the best work comes from asking the right questions and perfecting the answers through collaboration and critique. He had been a longtime fan of The Bold Italic, finding inspiration in the creative community and experimental spirit of the site, but didn't officially join the team until June 2011, when he came on board as The Bold Italic's Art Director. Heath is also the co-founder of Kidnapped! Magazine, a national arts and culture collective and online publication based in San Francisco.
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.
Nikki Rad
Design Intern
They call me Nikki Rad! I realized I wanted to be a designer in grade school, where notetaking was an excuse to invent new typefaces. On weekends you can find me in my office in the Mission, where I just crafted a pretty bad-ass drafting table from saw horses and a door. After a brief stint living in London, I plan to return to the UK (next time as an expatriate). I'm a collector of many things, including vinyl, cameras, bikes, and honey. I have a thing for birds, books, and thinking large. I also have a dog named Scout, and she is also large.
Marion Anthonisen
Editorial Intern
I'm a California native who took a four-year break from West Coast glory to study English and Studio Art in a 300-resident town in central Ohio. After leaving the Midwest, I worked for three years as a counselor and blogger at California College of the Arts, and now, among other things, I write about people and art. Someday, I'd like to make a sound-only website. Curating great dinner parties is one of my small joys, and someday I just might get an edgy haircut.
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.
CELEBRATING LOCAL
At The Bold Italic we like to celebrate adventurous minds.
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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