My name is Kerri Johnson, I currently live and work in Oakland, CA. I made my way out west from Massachusetts almost 20 years ago to go to school and I found my dream place here in the city of Oakland. During my time here I have owned an art gallery with my husband, played an instrumental role in facilitating the growth of Art Murmur, the City’s monthly art walk, and started a public online registry of over 150 local artists. One of my biggest accomplishments is creating Plaid Friday, the shop-local alternative to the big box “Black Friday” shopping event. Plaid Friday is now a nationally recognized event. Today, I can be found at Marion and Rose’s Workshop in downtown Oakland, a small shop selling products made in the USA. The shop opened in 2011 and is named after my grandmother. We stock high quality, well-crafted items by a select group of innovative American designers, artisans, and craftspeople. My dream is to grow the shop so I can continue to support local artisans and small manufacturers across the USA.