SALTY, A SAUSALITO CALEDONIA DESTINATION

The minute you walk into Salty you are transported into a designer’s paradise. A large glass door widely propped open welcomes you into this stunning Sausalito Caledonia destination. The owner, Angela Johansen, can be found buzzing about the store or sitting at the desk with the other two employees Axel & Lulu (her two Weims). Soft music is playing in the background and a twenty-foot community wooden table runs down the middle of the room showcasing handcrafted cutting boards, interesting coffee table books, carefully selected jewelry, and much more.

Everything in Salty has a place, an intention, a story, and emulates beauty. You will want to cozy into the Gus furniture and stay for a while. Salty is everything a mass retailer is not.

Angela moved here from Minneapolis where she worked mostly in design and art direction for large retailers and corporations. She became very proficient at large and complex campaigns, brand launches, and became what she calls the “fixer” of the brand. She would get called in when a big project needed to be presented fast.

Angela knew that she had a great eye and talent for design not only by working in corporate, but she also successfully spearheaded two projects of her own without any formal training. She put on her GC/Designer hat and designed and built her first home on ten wooded acres outside Minneapolis. It was an arts and crafts design with extensive millwork, natural stone, and built-in cabinetry. She knew she was embracing country life when she built a hen house on wheels to move around the property.

A few years later she decided to remodel a 1947 ranch house level by level, designing as she went. Even though it was in Minnesota, the style was quite Californian with each space flowing out into the gardens filled with drought-tolerant plants. She staged the property and the buyers bought it including all the furniture. Looking back on the Californian-inspired design, it was quite the indicator of where she really wanted to be. After two decades of demanding deadlines and living an ad agency life, she was ready to do something that was driven by her own passion and set by her own timeline.

Now Angela gets to use all of her talents by offering unique beautiful designs throughout her store. The intention at Salty is to bring the feeling of nature inside the home. Angela excels at this by choosing well-designed and inspired items. It’s not about access or extravagance for everyday living, but about minimalism. Items that are modern, beautiful, and cared for with love. This is how Angela lives in her home and she brings that philosophy into her everyday life. To inspire her clients to live a more minimalist life is highly fulfilling for Angela. It is a beautiful gift that we can all give to the environment. She has no storage, no extra, everything is streamlined.

In Angela’s Sausalito home she uses handmade local pottery from Salty because it feels so much better to use than mass-produced items. KATSU felted stones add an unexpected bit of nature to her living room. The Gus sectional is modular and configured to her space with the added bonus that it holds up even under her dog’s paws. She loves the Guatemalan throw that she features in the store. It smells like untreated wool and has a beautiful weight to it.

Some of her client’s other favorite Salty items include the stunning nature photography of Casey McCallister and the Norden candles in Ojai and Big Sur whose scents transport you to the California wilderness. The huge wooden bowls carved from fallen trees are AWE-inspiring. Clients love what she calls the “wool house shoes” and the dried floral arrangements last and last and act as a beautiful sustainable alternative to living flowers.

When Angela is not in the store, you can find her hiking with Axel and Lulu in the headlands admiring the fog creeping over the water. She loves serendipitous meetings that happen on the trail, in the store, and around town in magical Sausalito.

When choosing the items that she offers at Salty, Angela asks herself, “Would I put this in my house?” She wants to create a fulfilling experience for her clients and for herself. It has to feel good or it’s not worth doing. Angela is the store's own barometer and right now the barometer points to everything feeling just right. If you want to be transported into a peaceful and inspiring environment, go visit Salty with a free hand to carry something out. You and your home will be glad you did.

Salty is located at 42 Caledonia Street Sausalito CA 94965

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