The Summer Field Guide
A curated list of the experiences I'm exploring this summer
Welcome to The Summer Field Guide: a curated list of the experiences I’m most curious about and plan to explore — exhibitions, dining & hospitality, wellness, cultural events, and objects. If you’re not local to San Francisco, you’ll still find a handful of things to experience virtually online.
This month’s guide is FREE, but subscribers will get access to a bonus guide for traveling to Ojai, CA (my first trip of the summer) coming soon!
I hope you enjoy exploring. May this guide lead you to a few unexpected doors,
Sarah
P.S. The guide may be cut off in your inbox, click through to read in full.
What it is: An exhibition of Bay Area artist Mildred Howard at the Oakland Museum of California, exploring memory, place, and personal history through mixed media like assemblage, sculpture, and installation.
Design curiosities: As a mixed-media artist, I’m curious to experience how Howard uses materials as containers for story and her spatial choices within the installation work.
If you go: Consider visiting on one of OCMA’s Summer Friday evenings with added activities, live music, and food trucks OR First Sundays when admission to certain galleries is free.
For those not local to California, stephanie from picked from the post-it pile has a great global summer exhibition list from other cities!
[Img Source: OCMA]
What it is: Design Hotels is a curated collection of design-forward hotels across the globe and a great starting point for summer travel planning when you want a stay with a strong point of view.
Design curiosities: Many properties are independently owned and keep their distinct local character, but they’re united by a collective that treats design as central to hospitality (architecture, interiors, and the little details that shape how a place feels). While I’ve stayed at 4 of the 16 California-based hotels in their collection, I am curious to visit their offerings further afield.
If you browse: Start with a region you’re dreaming about, then follow the rabbit holes as each location is a mini moodboard for your next trip including recommended food, culture, and creative callouts.
[Img Source: Design Hotels]
What it is: It’s been years since I visited The Big Four at The Huntington Hotel (because it closed for a long while). Now this 1976 bar & restaurant is back, newly redesigned by local interior artist Ken Fulk.
Design curiosities: I’m curious how Fulk updated the space to evoke classic steakhouse/clubhouse vibes while still feeling unmistakably San Francisco. I’ll be paying attention to how his signature maximalist style connects with other sensory details like lighting, sound, and the cuisine.
If you go: Consider their brunch offering too! Forever and always a pancake girl, I’m looking forward to trying their Meyer Lemon-Ricotta Pancakes.
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What it is: Do you think of your food as part of your wellness routine? My wellness pick for summer is The Backyard Farm Company, which offers a practical, beginner-friendly online course to help you go from “I want a garden” to a real plan, with recommendations on where and how to container garden. Imagine harvesting homegrown vegetables like tomatoes, squash, and cucumbers for your summer salads.
Design curiosities: Created by Bay Area leaders in landscape design and backyard farming, the course treats the garden like a system (light, layout, soil, containers, and timing). I love how it makes the idea of a backyard food forest feel approachable, with tons of printable guides you can take outside with you.
If you participate: You can always start small…one pot of herbs or tomatoes on a patio counts! That’s how I’m growing this summer while I put these learnings in place for a future backyard garden renovation.
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What it is: Tiny Chef, Big Impact appears to be a playful exhibit + film at the California Academy of Sciences that invites us into Chef’s tiny world (and the big ideas behind it).
Design curiosities: I absolutely adore Tiny Chef for his personality, creativity, and cuteness and am excited to get a glimpse into the world-building — how character, sets, props, and storytelling build an entire universe at miniature scale (and how the exhibit translates that craft into a walk-through experience).
If you go: Give yourself extra time to linger as this feels like the kind of experience where tiny details might get overlooked with a quick pass. Plus, you may want time to travel up to the Academy’s living ecosystem rooftop AND checkout the multisensory exhibit Vivid: Immerse Your Senses on view until September!
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What it is: Futurity Library: Disobedient Artists’ Books in the Postbook Age is an exhibition at San Francisco Center for the Book that explores artists’ books as objects of dissent, experimentation, and speculative storytelling. This is work that stretches what a “book” can even be.
Design curiosities: I’m excited to see various material choices, shapes, and binding techniques that push the boundaries on traditional bookmaking.
If you go: Check out the bookshop for artisan books, periodicals, and zines (which you can also browse online) and the myriad of creative workshops that Center for the Book offers.
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What it is: Table Two Studio makes design-forward paper plates and tablewears that look elevated but keep hosting easy. It’s perfect for picnics, patio dinners, and summer soirees!
Design curiosities: I love how the graphic prints are all mix-and-match to build a layered look. I’m curious to find the perfect set for a summer sea themed dinner that I’d like to host this season.
If you try it: Have fun with pattern play and building your tablescape. It’s an effortless way to make a casual meal feel more intentional without committing to owning full sets of seasonal dinnerware!
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🌞 Summer Side Quests
A few smaller things still worth discovering: consider them side trails, pocket finds, or tiny portals:
Creative Quests launches their next quest in July and rumor has it it will be choose your own adventure. Creative Quests are containers with some supportive structure to help you dive into research, creativity, and/or making. What’s so inspiring about the community is that it is truly global. Pals Sam & Sparks at Creative Quests run these!
Worldwide Sidewalk Joy was discovered by Vanessa Li of Tomatokind Magazine. I’ve seen the Inner Sunset Trinket Trade in person but had no idea it was part of this larger map of creative sidewalk joy! Maybe you’ll find one in your neighborhood OR be inspired to create one.
A note from the curator
I’m Sarah Jutras. I study, design, and prototype multisensory experiences, exploring how place, story, materials, and emotion can be choreographed into something that lingers.
Part of my design research practice is observing, documenting, and asking, why did this make me feel something? I explore experiences the way some people read books: slowly, with attention, earmarking, and taking notes in the margins.
If you try any experiences from the Field Guide or if you have others you’d like to recommend, I invite you to share them with us in the comments!
Thank you so much for the mention! Can’t wait to see the Mildred Howard show :)
Sarah! I adore your graphics -- do you collage them yourself???