#gettinglow

Upon first glance, there's something we have in common with Christy Osorio of La Sombra: our shared love of oilcloth, the bright, fruit patterned tablecloths we both use for our pop-ups.

We first came across Christy -- and her iconic oilcloths -- at Mojo Bicycle Cafe, where La Sombra popped up in the mornings. Now we're both sharing a kitchen space inside Fine & Rare, at 555 Golden Gate Avenue, where she sells her yummy and nourishing smoothies in the morning.

Her goal is to serve juice to people who wouldn't normally get it (and that includes us - the Mango Lassi is our favorite.)

What we like about Christy is how she transforms passions into projects -- whether its starting a juice pop-up, building bikes or organizing group art shows. More info on where to find her below!

Tell us about La Sombra.

La Sombra means "the shade" in Spanish. Our logo is a guy leaning up against a tree drinking juice. It's a shout out to farm workers and people who working hard under the sun; people who are outside all the time.

Also in Latino culture, we make juices.

What's one question you get asked often?

People often ask me what would be great for a cleanse. I don't cleanse; I've never been on a diet. If people want a drink that would help them cleanse, I will make that for them, but that's not my aim.

It's interesting to see the difference in clientele: When I'm in the Mission, people just want a juice with their full dinner. If I do an event at a health event, it's all about cleansing.

It's just juice, it doesn't have to have all these crazy different benefits.

One of our interview questions for our profile series is "Who do you think is a badass bitch?" Someone turned the question on us recently, and our answer: Mandy Harper of Wholesome Bakery.

Mandy founded Wholesome Bakery, a vegan bakeshop, during the heyday of Twitter-powered street food in 2009, where many of us were setting up folding tables at parks, nightclubs and markets to hustle our wares.

Her hustle: vegan baked goods that were also soy, yeast, dairy, egg and wheat-free. We first met Mandy at our first legit kitchen at La Victoria and would snack on her cookies throughout the day.

We caught up over spiced lemonade in the backyard behind her current commissary kitchen on 18th and York Street. Even though we’ve known her for years, we finally got her backstory: born and raised in Scottsdale, Arizona she moved to San Francisco in 2005 to study fashion and graphic design.

Our interview covers how she went from pattern making to owning her own business and running a cyclo-cross (CX) team.

What was working in the fashion industry like?

I hated the fashion industry. I didn't go to design school because I liked fashion. I went to design school because I like making things. I never bought a fashion magazine in my life. Growing up, my family didn't really help direct me in any way, so I didn't know of any other schools to do design. So I came across FIDM and I was like "Okay!"

What's Wholesome Bakery about?

Natural ingredients. I want people to eat my product and not feel like crap after they eat it.

Who inspires you?

People who have started with nothing really inspire me -- growing companies like Alite Designs, Benny Gold and Social Imprints. They all worked really hard and grew their companies to be amazing things.

When I'm having difficulties with my company, I think about how it's really hard and that it takes time. I'm not alone in that. I think about Tom's of Maine too, and how it took them 30 years to become household name.

What's one of your favorite stores that carry your goods?

Berkeley Bowl. Their produce section blows me away. They're hands-on, they're into my product. It does really well there. I've had nothing but really great experiences with them. Rainbow was one of the first grocery stores that picked me up. They were the only grocery that had any ingredients that I could use to try out all my new recipes - I couldn't find them anywhere else.

What are people surprised about when it comes to your business?

My friends think I'm really confident and that not afraid of things, but I'm scared just like everyone else is scared. My fear is that my dream will not work out.

What's your dream?

To have Wholesome Bakeries in a few cities: a storefront in SF as well as Austin, Portland and L.A.

We've both been in business for about five years and are still working on finding a permanent storefront. What's your search been like?

I'm looking around the Tenderloin, Market Street and the Richmond. The challenge is finding a place that’s small enough and that isn't a craphole.

What does the future look like?

Right now I'm trying to expand our wholesale business to the wider Bay Area, then open a storefront. Once I have a storefront open here I want to do the same model in Austin.

Tell us about how you got into biking.

When I moved here, I started as just a commuter. One time I was riding up 7th street, near the Forest Hill Muni station -- it's this little scary area where cars fly by you. I was on the sidewalk because I was so scared. One car went by so fast I got scared and literally rode into the wall. I completely skidded my whole body.

I got my first track bike built up in 2007. It was a Bareknuckle, custom powder-coated orange. Then my stupid boyfriend got it stolen. We were all the movies with a huge group and he did not lock it up.

That bike meant the world to me. It was the bike I used to train to ride track and start my company. When I used to do street food, I used to ride around with a trailer and a bike basket and go to and from all my different events.

How'd you get into CX?

I've had hip issues 15 years of my life. My hip was joint was too big for my body, so I needed to have reconstructive hip surgery. As I was slowly trying to regain strength, I wasn't allowed to ride my track bike. My doctors told me I needed to be riding with gears. One day I was riding with my friend Andres, who suggested we take this gravely trail. It was really fun so I started to find more trails on my road bike.

Why cross?

Cross is a lot more lighthearted. There’s more of a "let's be silly" mentality.

I was the little kid that liked being dirty. Something about riding in dirt is so much fun.

You started Moth Attack CX, an all-women team. Why was it important to you to start it?

I honest to God didn't want to start a team. My friend Jon, who owns City + County, wanted to sponsor us and then Alite wanted to sponsor us and then it turned into a team.

What was a highlight from the season?

The fundraisers were awesome. The one at Alite Outpost. I did not realize how good I am at auctioning off my friends for dates. The highest person went for $125.

Why is it important to have women visible in cycling?

There are no teams of women really, especially in cross. There's all these boys clubs. There should be a girls club. We should be proud and be helping and promoting each other.

I knew I wasn't good at cross. I wanted to ride with women because it's intimidating riding with boys because they can be jerks if you're not be as strong or fast as them.

Also, women aren't really viewed the same as men in cycling. We're not viewed as equal. Perfect example: when you podium [place in top three for a race] the podium payouts are not equal. Say the payout for men is $100 for 1st. The women in the same category would get only $50. There should always be equal payout. The women's are working just as hard as men. They're putting in just as many hours.

Who's a bad bitch?

Christina Peck, my teammate.

She's very humble -- that's a great value. She's a three-time world champ cyclist. She doesn't talk about, she doesn't act like she's better than anybody else. She's strong as fuck. I'm just chasing her the entire time.

What are you excited about?

I'm excited that my dog Mogwhai is twelve years old and that he still acts like a puppy. I'm thankful everyday to have him.

How's he after the eye surgery?