About Bay-Made

Bay-Made is a retail gift shop in the Grand Lake District in Oakland, CA. Owned and operated by a Lake Merritt couple that live in the neighborhood, it was founded in 2017 with the help and blessings of their community and just celebrated the 9 year anniversary of opening!

Seeking to connect the many talented artists and makers of the Bay Area to the people that wish to support them in their community, Bay-Made's goal is to act as a permanent local art and crafts fair curated with the best of the best. Currently in addition to our local best sellers, we host ten local makers with a booth of their own so folks can buy from them directly.

About the founders: Together since 2010, Sarahjane Bernhisel (she/her), a painter and illustrator, and Schuyler McAlister (he/him), a fabricator and engineer, saw the need of an accessible local art space in their neighborhood. Sarahjane managed a toy store in Bay-Made’s shared building with a vacancy and was asked frequently by customers if there was anywhere they could get something gift-y that was made locally, and a shop idea was born. They happened to be in the right place at the right time and are very grateful. They married shortly after opening the store because they figured after this, marriage would be simple! That is a joke. They are both huge nerds, love living in Oakland, and have a dog named Ginger and two cats named Cricket and Sundae. More about Sundae below:

Sundae the cat (Title: Gift-wrap specialist) lived at Bay-Made from February of 2022 to April of 2025. Due to our new restructure and some health issues, Sundae has moved in with Sarahjane and Schuyler permanently and has retired from her job as shop cat, and in turn rules their home with an iron paw. She has been a deeply beloved member of the Lakeshore Ave community of cat-lovers and people under 3 feet tall. Sometimes sweet, sometimes spicy, she fits the classic calico archetype easily. She enjoys chasing toy mice, antagonizing dogs, ripping tissue, and snoozing in sunbeams. Sundae was found by friends under a deck in Petaluma, but was originally chipped with a rescue organization that brings dogs from Mexico to Southern California. We have no idea how she ended up in Sonoma. She has a crook at the end of her tail from possible inbreeding, but we love her anyway.