A group of elementary school children and their parents gathered around Komal Singh as she read aloud from her new children’s book at Linden Tree Books. Visiting Los Altos on her fall book tour, she shared several passages from “Ara the Star Engineer” before pulling out a virtual-reality headset for the kids to experience.
A visit to Global Rug Specialist in Mountain View is a respite from the busyness of El Camino Real.
There are rugs on the walls, rugs on the floor, rugs hanging from the ceiling – each created from thousands of individual knots, each a work of art. A small loom in the showroom displays the highly detailed work involved in the creation of a handmade rug. With a comfortable patio in back, complete with gas fireplace, one would never guess the store’s location.
Two area natives recently launched GoodSocial, a free online platform that connects people who want to volunteer with nonprofit organizations in need of help, making it easier for the service-minded to engage philanthropically.
GoodSocial aims to fill the gap between the professional, resume-flashing option of LinkedIn and the personal, interest-based options of accepted social media such as Twitter.
The Peninsula Center of Cosmetic Dentistry hosted its sixth annual “Smiles for Troops” event in honor of Veterans Day. Across its three locations – one in Los Altos and two in Mountain View – staff provided free dental services to 35 veterans Nov. 12.
Dentists and hygienists not only offered cleanings, fillings, crowns and root canals to the vets, but also focused on prevention of major problems related to oral health – and helped veterans regain their “confidence with a smile,” said office manager Janna York.
A well-loved auto shop that services cars for customers all over the South Bay, including residents of Los Altos and Mountain View, hosted a celebration Nov. 8 for the man behind the muscle, Jim Davis.
Jim Davis Automotive at 3972 El Camino Real in Palo Alto boasts a 4.5-star rating on Yelp, with his perfect rating broken by a single one-star review from a Seattle woman who had a poor experience with one of the mechanics. The owner apologized personally in a response to her post.
Belle de Jour, the boutique that replaced the designer shop Shunzi on Main Street in Los Altos, is open and ready for customers to browse, acquaint themselves with the space and offer feedback on what kind of pieces they would like to see.
Owner Tammy Tao, a friend of previous proprietor Shunzi Che, had recently retired from her job as a developer at San- Disk when she was approached by Che, whose chain boasts the motto “Unique fashion for unique women.” Che, the store manager and Tao had discussed how Tao wanted to own a boutique someday, so when Che decided to close her Los Altos location and move closer to her East Bay home, Tao came to mind as her successor.
