Social media is a growing multi-use tool for everyone. Surfers and skaters have been able to capitalize on social media as a way to grow their audience and earn money by promoting brands. It can be tough, for local surfers especially, to get good quality clips showcasing their skills. This is where False Front Media can help. False Front Media records clips of surfers, skaters, and more on a high quality camera and creates video edits for their social media feeds.
Here’s a YouTube video that takes a behind the scenes dive into False Front Media.:
Filmed and edited By Schuyler Arevalo
False Front Media was created by Noah Gilbert, an Oxnard local. Him and his team help create and promote high quality videos on social media, they primarily operate on Instagram and YouTube. My experiences working with False Front Media have been positive. The process no matter the project has always been quick, enjoyable, and productive. Noah Gilbert has great ideas for video creation, once his vision is set and the video starts coming together I’m always able to appreciate the art of putting clips together to make a video a little bit more.
My interview with game designer, Sekoya, at Two Trees Escape.
Two Trees Escape is a Ventura-based, family owned business that describes themselves as “a unique venue for playing, exploring, and bonding. Our escape rooms are designed for players of all kinds: young, old, brave, curious, friendly, and eager to learn something new about themselves and their team”.
Use code “VCSOCIAL” when you book an escape room for 10% off!
The art shown above is the work of Sunimari Madrigal, a student at Ventura College. The art was made for her small business called The Moon’s Canvas. The art was made on a canvas about 13×9, made up of different art mediums such as paint, gouache, paint markers, and acrylic paint as well. The inspiration for this piece came from the beauty of the land we are lucky to have on Earth and also the beauty of the stars in the Universe.
Below is a video of her showing us how she created their piece.
Get ready to be inspired by this exclusive interview where the student Ana Zanin had the opportunity to have an insightful conversation with Andria, owner of Andria’s Seafood Restaurant. In this discussion, she reveals the remarkable story of this hidden gem. From its humble beginnings to its success, as voted #1 seafood market in Ventura.
Andria shares the struggles, secrets, and family traditions that have shaped the restaurant’s legacy. With a careful selection of fresh fish, secret recipes passed down through generations, and a consistent commitment to great quality food. This undeniable passion is what makes Andria’s Seafood Restaurant so loved by its’ community for almost 41 years.
L->R: Lexi Quolas (VCS), Sarah Fox (VCS), Jennifer Smith (co-owner), Sophia Smith-Grunder (co-owner), Kelyla Nelson (VCS)
A Family That Creates Together, Stays Together.
Ventura, California is home to many local small businesses, but there are none like Ex-Voto Chocolates and Confections. Offering handcrafted chocolates, organic based ice cream, toffee, house made nut butters, fresh caramel, espresso drinks and much more. This gem has captured the hearts of their patrons using gourmet chocolate that is fair trade and is of single origin.
Owned and operated by the mother daughter duo, Jennifer Smith and Sophia Smith-Grunder, it took time for them to come up with a name that would fit their passion for confections; that is when they settled upon Ex-Voto. The term “ex-voto” is Latin for “milagro” and by definition, it means an offering given in gratitude for an answered prayer.
This small but mighty business started in 2015 with Jennifer selling her decadent chocolates at the local farmers market in Ojai, California. Two years later, they opened their storefront and flagship business in Midtown, Ventura. Initially, Jennifer encouraged her daughter to focus on a cooking and baking career of her own. It just so happens that Sophia makes a phenomenal caramel, amongst other things, better than Jennifer could of dreamed. Thus, Ex-Voto grew into a run and operated family business. The business has boomed since the duo settled in Ventura and have been making history ever since.
VC Social got the chance to sit down with Jennifer and get to know the history behind the business and what ignited their future. First things first, a bit about Jennifer: she began cooking when she was just 5-years old and is completely self taught. Her passion led her to culinary school in San Francisco studying pastry and bread making. Although, she continued to educate herself, take specialty classes online and certifications courses in hopes to figure out what avenue truly felt right to her. Jennifer’s intuitive spirit led her to chocolate as she started to see the word popping up in more ways than one. It was enough to spark her interest to teach herself the craft.
Hand painted and crafted chocolate truffles.
Chocolate, Chocolate And More Chocolate!
Jennifer fell in love with how complex, scientific, challenging, and creative chocolate can be. In turn, she draws inspiration from culture, food and nature resulting in truly complex flavor profiles that otherwise wouldn’t be found elsewhere. Her creations take form of one item and converging it with another. This can be seen in Ex-Voto chocolates, like the Sweet Pecan & Chili Gianduja (in dark chocolate) or the Key Lime (paired with white chocolate ganache).
Jennifer has developed close relationships with her patrons; she pays close attention to what customers are asking for and most importantly when they want it. This has played an important role in their business model and identifying their target market. Ex-Voto began focusing on seasonal items to pay homage to the time of year and most importantly what the seasons represent. Almost all year around you can find your favorites like their Turtles (salted caramel with slow roasted almonds) or the house-made peanut butter buddhas in milk or vegan dark chocolate.
Salted Caramel & Roasted Almond Turtles
Seasonal Easter themed chocolates
Sophia airbrushes flower mold for truffles
It’s Springtime here in Ventura and the Ex-Voto team has been working hard on their seasonal selection; it comes in different shapes, colors and textures including: eggs, bunnies and flower molds. A few of their Spring seasonal items include the Baklava Caramel eggs (using honey cinnamon caramel and pistachios), Pomegranate Rose in dark chocolate, Orange Blossom in white/dark chocolate, and Bananas Foster in milk chocolate, just to name a few.
Is your mouth watering yet?
Featured Ice Cream menu and additions.
The Unique Ice Cream Flavors
Both Jennifer and Sophia come up with recipes by combining different notes, textures and complementary flavors that are well balanced to make heavenly combinations.
Ice cream is a childhood favorite for Jennifer and she has created each one offered at Ex-Voto to perfection. We asked her how she comes up with the recipes for her batches and she shared that most is trial and error. Like her banana honeycomb recipe, Jennifer explained that she had to experiment to find the best way to bring out the banana flavor considering its rather starchy. Her first initial idea was to do banana and peanut butter but she realized that both flavors were too flat. She tasted, processed and talked with Sophia and other employees, bringing up potential matches until they came up with honeycomb. It gives the banana a complementary sweetness, crunch and bitterness.
One of the flavors VC Social favored was her in-house made Queso Fresco y Miel ice cream. Jennifer explained that it took her over 15 tries to find the perfect balance between the Mexican based salty soft cheese and sweet notes of honey. The flavor has become one of their best sellers and permanently remains on their ice cream selection. The combination is almost cheesecake-like and pairs well with house-made marshmallow creme that is lightly toasted with a torch in front of you.
Honey Lavender ice cream with marshmallow creme and rainbow sprinkles in a scratch-made waffle cone.
By keeping up with customer demand their business has created a sufficient following. Most importantly, Ex-Voto takes pride in the relationships that they form with each and every customer that walks through their door. We spoke briefly to a customer, Arlene, who told us that Ex-Voto is one of her favorite places to frequent. She loves the quality of their products and whenever her grand-daughter is back in town from college, they make it a point to stop in and grab a scoop of ice cream. Their patrons genuinely feel like they are part of the family and their support in the business continues to other generations.
Supporting Our Community
It was an absolute pleasure chatting with Jennifer and getting to know the ins and outs of her and Sophia’s daily routine and life at Ex-Voto. As we continued to chat after the interview, Jennifer shared another reason why she works as hard as she does. Her son Seth, 21, a student and surfer, has an extremely rare form of cancer called Synovial Sarcoma, one that has very little research on. If you’ve ever wondered why it’s important to support our community and small local businesses, this is why.
Seth during his new test trial.Seth’s fundraising surfboard sticker. Artwork by Christine May Brand.
Please visit Seth’s website for more information about his journey, treatment and the cancer research fundraiser his family has set up. If you would like to help contribute to their cause for a cure, you can donate directly or find Seth’s custom sticker at Ex-Voto’s storefront location or online here.
Thank you again Jennifer, Sophia and Ex-Voto team for giving VC Social the opportunity to get to know you and discover some new favorite sweet treats!
Walking into Throwback Junction I was met by co-owner Colette Prokopow sitting behind the counter made of reclaimed wood and metal with a countertop embellished with beer caps encased in epoxy. Perfect for her and partner Randy Lewis’ vintage shop with that seemingly has something for everyone. “Our merchandise pulls from the 60s,70s,80s,90s and Y2K.” says Prokopow,
“I personally like to be able to readily see things and not dig through racks,” she said. Apparent from the organized neat garment racks whose clothes were so pristine they belied their age.
And, not all the products are vintage actually. Some are carefully crafted and “picked with intention” from garage sales and then there are new items, such as the very popular band tees.
They have games, cassettes, vinyls, stickers, patches, sunglasses, jewelry and shoes.
There is a men’s section which isn’t seen in many vintage shops and children’s items such as a very cool toddler Grateful Dead sweatshirt. Another thing that sets the shop apart is their dressing rooms—a wonderful addition that takes the guesswork out of sizing.
“We want a fun and funky vibe,” says Prokopow, as sounds from Nirvana play throughout the store. “We’ve held some events in the store—live music and comedy so far.”
They will celebrate their first year of business on July first and it has gone better than expected.
She and business partner Lewis’ met through an acquaintance. Lewis had owned a different Throwback Junction in the Valley and closed shop due to the Covid crisis. Prokopow knew she wanted a vintage store—had been a thrifter since she was a teenager—and had just resigned from a 20 plus year career. It was an uncanny meeting for the both of them. Lewis is still working as a teacher but spends time in the shop as well as bringing his knowledge of the business. I asked Prokopow what advise she would give to Ventura College students who have a passion to start their own. “Do your research,” she quickly replies. She did hers online and followed other vintage shops that she liked to see what they were up to. “Also, know your product and pricing is key.”
They both knew they wanted a Main Street downtown Ventura location and looked at several vacant stores before just the right one opened up. Main Street rents can be pricey, but they found a building that was owned by the church next door and landed a reasonable deal.
Prior to opening the shop, Prokopow had been doing pop up events like fairs and craft shows and had developed a following. On May 6, they have reserved a booth at the Oxnard Spring Vintage Craft Fair at the Oxnard Historic Farm Park. She posts on social media twice a week and uses every opportunity to make their presence known. “Oh yes, and we’re dog friendly,” she says with a smile. Throwback Junction offers a 15 percent discount to VC students when they show their student ID.
They are open seven days a week 11-7 Monday through Friday and Saturday and Sunday 10-7.
Rabalais’ is a New Orleans style rasurant in the heart of the historic downtown Santa Paula. It is a family owned resurant that has been opened since 2011. I go to Rabalais’ at a few times a month and every time, the food has been amazing. What I have always known Rabalais’ for their amazing beignets.They have so many amazing desserts and pastries. They also have amazing food, my favorite things to get there are their gumbo, their French toast, and their Louisiana Po’ Boys. Every time I go they have nice staff and a beautiful restaurant.
When sitting down at the restaurant, you can be sat either inside where you can seeing many unique things like pictures of Santa Paula’s history, theirs a couch area where you can go and lounge and maybe get some work done, but one thing that I find cool is that they have a piano by the entrance where anyone can go and play any song they know. When you are stilling outside, it a nice area where you can enjoy the nice air and see people walk by, maybe take a look at the local shops that are near there. It is also a great place to sit because it is located on Main Street, which is where Santa Paula host most of their fun events.
Açaí (ah-sigh-EE) bowls are a delicious and healthy snack or meal option for busy students on the go. These berries are considered “superfruit” due to their nutritional value. The fruit is rich in healthy fats, and fiber, and it contains more antioxidants than other common berries. Besides these incredible properties, studies have shown that the consumption of it boosts brain function and it’s a great source of energy. This is exactly what we need to maintain a busy student lifestyle.
These berries come from a species of palm tree grown in the Amazon – Brazil. The fruit looks like a dark purple grape and it’s consumed as a smoothie, topped with fruits, nut butter, and seeds. Acai bowls are known for their vibrant color, creamy texture, and how easy it is to prepare. It can be customized to suit your taste and nutritional needs, and gives you a variety of health benefits.
Here is my recommendation, my favorite bowl: Acai, honey almond granola, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, peanut butter, coconut shavings, chia seeds, and a drizzle of condensed milk. Trust me on this one.
Now that you learned about this, next time you need a quick and healthy meal or snack, consider getting an acai bowl. There is a store right in front of Ventura College. And by doing so, you will also support a local business owned by a Brazilian family. Hope you enjoy your acai bowl!
bb Açaí and Juice Store 5100 Telegraph Rd D, Ventura, CA 93003 Open every day from 9am to 5:30pm https://bbacai.com/
THE FAMOUS HORCHATA CHURRO SHAKE, SUPER DELICIOUS!
I love horchata and churros so I had to get myself this drink. First sip I was in heaven, this horchata churro shake is 100/10. The churro is nice and warm with cajeta/caramel inside.
MICKEY SHAPED CONCHAS AND MINI CONCHAS SUPER CUTE!
Growing up I always had conches at my house so I had to get my hands on this. Are you a Disney lover? Well panaderia Vanessa has them here in our 805 area including mini conches and many more options. You can also try there conchita dippings (Lechera, Cajeta, Chocolate) dipping sauce.
Story Time:
Panaderia Vanessa #5 is a Mexican Bakery located in Oxnard California and has been baking since 1990. This was my very first visit and overall I had the best experience. My order was 100/10 I’ll definitely visit this spot more often. This place defiantly gave me satisfaction I felt welcome, can’t wait to try everything else.
Have you ever been at the beach and craved a bite of pizza? Well lucky for you, a couple steps over is Tony’s Pizzaria. It’s known as a local family owned pizza shop, they have been around for 64 years passing their recipes from generation to generation.
Now let’s cut to the cheese! Straight from the oven their crispy, golden and savory pizza comes in many options to their customers, for the meat lovers they have a sausage and pepperoni pizza, to our Hawaiian lovers they have Hawaiian, and even for their vegetarian customers they offer a slice of veggie pizza. If you crave something a little more adventurous ask the chef for the daily special slice.
However, if you still desire something sweet after your delicious slice of pizza they offer desserts such as, but not limited to Hawaiian shaved ice, chocolate brownie, pahoehoe cookie, and sundaes. They offer combos like the C Street, Endless Summer, and Hang Ten (My favorite is the Hang Ten combo that I split with my sister which includes two slices of any pizza, a salad and a 24oz drink). Their salads are mind-blowing with their homemade dressing, if you love salad you can order in a family sized.
The ambience is very welcoming, you can eat a slice of pizza outside in their seating area with the sun hitting you and the sea breeze blowing you away just like their pizza does. If you would like a slice in the evening the atmosphere is still very warm with the string lights lit and the heater next to you. To end your visit you can play a little game of bean bag toss.
Tony’s Pizzaria is the best place to grab a slice and hit the waves or just to enjoy a bite. If you don’t want to eat there, you can also take it to go and minutes away is the cross an iconic sight seeing spot you can enjoy a beautiful sunset with your meal. If you want to show your support they also sell apparel such as hats and shirts.
“Every pizza is a master pizza” just like Tony says.
Check them out below:
Visit Tony’s Pizzaria Located: 186 E Thompson Blvd, Ventura,CA 93001.
VC Social 