Recently I was interviewed for a local magazine that features artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs to share their stories.  I am always happy to share my journey to help inspire other people. Ocean SF has had a slow 2023 due to inflation, the cost of materials, and high labor costs, but we are hopeful that 2024 will be a better year for us as we have worked hard to continue to build our foundation with Tiktok content and our new shop. We have also been applying for grants. We were lucky to have two great summer interns who led these initiatives. Great companies start slowly and build. Everything does not happen at once and it takes patience, time, and diligence to create something meaningful and lasting. Apple was started in 1976 and Amazon was started over thirty years ago to provide a few examples.

When I started Ocean SF officially in 2018 it came with so many opportunities for me to grow as a person both professionally and creatively. I have met so many wonderful people along the way. It is something that I can never give up on. I am looking forward to 2024.

Below is the copy for the Interview. I will send the link along with it is officially published.

An Interview with Ocean SF Founder Sydney Chaney Thomas

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Sydney Chaney-Thomas. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Sydney below.

ALRIGHT, SYDNEY THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO SHARE YOUR STORIES AND INSIGHTS WITH US TODAY. LET’S START WITH THE STORY OF YOUR MISSION. WHAT SHOULD WE KNOW?

Ocean SF began six years ago when the founder Sydney Chaney-Thomas began crafting warm Merino wool clothing for sailing. While doing this, she discovered how harmful polyester is to the ocean and how many mostly women factory workers are treated unethically. Because of these values, Ocean SF was born foremost a sustainable and ethical brand.

While there were many obstacles ahead of our founder the largest happened early on when her husband died of a sudden heart attack leaving her to raise her two young daughters alone. She had a choice to make. Would she let Ocean SF die too? She chose to work 3 part-time jobs to continue to dedicate herself to Ocean SF.

One of those part-time jobs was teaching leadership at UC Berkeley as an adjunct professor. In her Summer Intern Program Sydney uses her teaching skills to turn her interns into future leaders. She teaches her interns how to use their unique talents and step into their power to be the leaders of the future. Sydney’s personal story, passion, and dedication make her a shining example for young leaders.

Ocean SF is a women-owned and operated business. Their products are made of natural fabrics or recycled materials. Production for the signature mid-layer is done in San Francisco on Jessie Street.

Today, Ocean SF has survived the pandemic and the economic downturn and continues working hard to develop environmental awareness, and creating sustainable and ethical products, and women leaders through internship programs.

AWESOME – SO BEFORE WE GET INTO THE REST OF OUR QUESTIONS, CAN YOU BRIEFLY INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO OUR READERS?

I have a marketing background in tech, but I have always loved clothing and fashion. I had also always wanted to learn to sail. At that point in life, I thought if not now then when. I finally learned to sail about eight years ago. I had been a former ski instructor and had worn wool socks and long underwear in temperatures of 17 degrees without being cold. So, I decided to solve the problem of getting wet and staying warm with wool and I wanted to make a wool midlayer that was stylish like Lululemon that would keep me warm. I hired a former Gucci pattern maker in LA and made a prototype that was a huge hit with my friends. I decided to start a company and was luckily funded by two friends and one of my blog post readers. I had been writing for a local column and he invested $50,000.

Our products are made of natural fabrics or recycled materials. Production for our mid-layer is done locally in San Francisco on Jessie Street.

I am most proud of my story coming through the death of my husband and never giving up. I like that I can inspire other people, especially my two daughters and their friends who watched this all unfold, and my many interns who I work very hard to teach how to be strong women and leaders.

 

CAN YOU SHARE A STORY FROM YOUR JOURNEY THAT ILLUSTRATES YOUR RESILIENCE?

When I closed my first angel investment of $50,000 I did it sitting on the bathroom floor of an industrial kitchen in Oakland. I was wearing a rubber apron and peeled off my rubber gloves to answer my 11:00 a.m. call. The floor was cold, but it was quiet and private. I was able to sell my vision in 25 minutes in what was possibly the worst set of circumstances possible.

I put that money in the bank and worked the next fourteen days straight washing dishes, serving at wedding receptions, and bottling Gold Bar Whiskey on Treasure Island. The fact that I did this is something I am proud of. My husband had died unexpectedly a year and a half before. His dying in the middle of raising our children provided more challenges than I could have ever imagined but I did not want to let my company die as well so I took everything head on and worked incredibly hard. I still do.

 

WHAT’S A LESSON YOU HAD TO UNLEARN AND WHAT’S THE BACKSTORY?

The biggest lesson was the limitations for women especially women who gave up their careers to be mothers and then want to start a company or have a second chapter in their career. There are many stereotypes surrounding this even among my family and friends. A close friend of mine told me that NO ONE would want to fund a 50-year-old woman’s company! She discouraged me from doing fashion week and made me feel like I could NEVER succeed. Well, she was wrong and she wasn’t alone. After my husband died close family friends told me to move to a cheap apartment, sell my car, and get a job with the State of California! They advised me to give up on my dreams and play it safe.

I refused all of it choosing to believe that I could do it and I did, but there were many nights of soul-searching because on some level I believed what they were saying as well. Being too old is ingrained in our culture. Only young people can start things and succeed. I was considered washed up. The thinking is that older women don’t start sportswear companies. In the end, I learned and proved to myself that you can and should follow your dreams and that you are NEVER too old or too anything to do what your heart is calling you to do.

 Contact Info:

• Ocean SF Website: oceansf.co
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oceansf.co
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydney-chaney-thomas-1218b469/
• Website: sydneychaneythomas.com

As the founder of Ocean SF I moved to San Francisco a year ago to dedicate myself to my business. Ocean SF has been a passion project of mine for the past seven years. I fell in love with the sport of sailing and began making clothes to make myself more comfortable on the water. I finally make the decision to move personally to San Francisco last summer. But after one year I did not like what I was seeing here. So, I have had the most stressful six weeks trying to decide if I should stay in San Francisco or leave for good. My lease was up on July 25th and I had already given my notice to vacate. I moved there a year ago with the hope that the city would return to its former vibrant pre-covid state.

Last summer San Francisco was a hopeful place to be. Workers were returning and businesses were opening and things were heading in the right direction. However, by the second quarter of 2023, flagship stores like Nordstrom closed their doors and the Hilton Hotels had gone into foreclosure reinforcing the fear of a doom loop. In May a shoplifter was killed on Market Street a few blocks from where I live and earlier in the year Bob Lee was murdered under the Bay Bridge in a bizarre drug-induced scenario between friends. The Whole Foods closure due to the safety of their customers and employees really sent an alarm through the city and more importantly City Hall.

Ever since the pandemic, the city has become the scary poster child for the Death of American Downtowns. Liberal newspapers and conservative pundits alike love to point to San Francisco as a cautionary tale of how not to run a city, a post-COVID apocalypse. Commercial real estate is a garbage fire; owners of several major hotels have given the keys back to the bank and split. Nobody’s really sure how bad crime is, but it feels worse, and the police may have quiet-quit. It’s not uncommon to see unhoused folks having mental breakdowns amid the outside-dining parklets of ritzy restaurants. I’ve lived in the Bay Area for going on two decades now. It’s not Mad-Max-meets-Omega-Man out here, but it’s bleaker than I’ve ever seen.— Adam Rogers, Insider

Initially, my first reaction was to run when my lease was up. Then, I decided to move to a different neighborhood. I scoured the internet and looked at rentals from Pacific Heights down to the Marina. This at first appeared the best option. I was set on a flat built in 1929 on Jefferson Street one block up from the St Francis Yacht Club where I spend a good deal of my time. This was three days before I was due to move, but right before signing the lease I changed my mind and decided to stay where I was. It was a head-spinning reversal of my thoughts from previous months when I felt anywhere was better than here.

When I contemplated actually moving I had second thoughts because I am really happy here. I have friends here and my business is here. There is something to be said for being happy and having people you enjoy around you. I love my building and all of my neighbors. I have made many friends here. I feel safe and secure here because I have a sense of community.

It is also good for the business that I founded seven years ago appropriately named Ocean SF after this city that I love. I have spaces to work here with my interns. I am across the street from my factory on Jessie Street. I have been working on Ocean SF for seven years and I want to stay and continue the work to make it the successful business I know it can be.

There has been some improvement to the city since it became the poster child of the Doom Loop in the U.S. In recent months London Breed and Gavin Newsom have been working to curtail the problems here and have announced plans to improve the city. It remains to be seen if these plans will make a difference, but I feel the mood of the city has changed for the better. I have noticed there are fewer people sleeping on the streets recently and there are more police present and things have quieted down.

It feels like the progressive agenda is no longer tolerated here because it simply didn’t work.

The former politics around trying to help the homeless created a humanitarian disaster. It seems the city is taking a more conservative approach and making the city viable for businesses to thrive. Reducing crime by enforcing existing laws is a good start.

“There are plenty of laws on the books, and it’d be nice to see some of these damn laws enforced for a change,” said Gavin Newsom in early July according to the Chronicle. It has been rumored that he can’t make a run for the White House unless he cleans up San Francisco. Many believe he will run for President in 2024 or 2028 (Forbes).

Comments From a 20-year Resident

San Francisco has always been a city that the right has distorted for propaganda reasons. They go to the worse neighborhoods and say the whole city is like that. Violent crime is much lower than red state cities, Average salary in San Francisco is $167,663. The city continues to grow.

That being said these last 3 years I am starting to see things I have never seen in my 20 years as a resident. As a property owner I have personally kicked many homeless off my property in the past. People now refuse to leave. There is a sense of aggressiveness and boldness by homeless now. I see tents going up in nice neighborhoods where it was not tolerated.

Now that Chesa Boudin the crazy DA has been recalled and mayor is on board with more prosecution of crimes I hope we can bring SF back.

Otherwise the citizens have had enough and people are starting to take the law in their own hands.

The writer references Bernhard Goetz — who was dubbed the “Subway Vigilante” by New York City’s press who came to symbolize New Yorkers’ frustrations with the high crime rates of the 1980s. The incident has also been cited as a contributing factor to the movement against urban crime and disorder. We are seeing similar crime and drug problems in most urban U.S. cities now and people are demanding change.

When I was 25 years old I moved to San Francisco and worked for Bank of America in their corporate offices. It was here that I learned the skills and made the connections that would make me successful. I believe the youth of today deserve the same and that we should take our cities back and not leave them to decay as we all flee to the suburbs. Then later when I started sailing I joined the Race Committee at the Saint Francis Yacht Club a place that feels like a second home to me. I am taking a stand and staying in the city that I have always loved.

There are some decisions that are extremely impactful to our lives and as I enter this next chapter I hope I have made the right choice. It was not easy, but I am doubling down and staying. Please send me good wishes for a safe and happy year.

Paris and I will both be at the pop-up at Wish in Walnut Creek today from 11-5. We will be there with our favorite Ocean SF gear. Come say hello! We would love to see you ♥️♥️♥️♥️

Ocean SF Inc. is seeking introductions to investors for A-round investments. We have raised over $100,000 in angel funds and have been profitable even through Covid-19. Investments will be used for advertising, product development, and staff. This is a ground-floor opportunity to be part of a local environmental and social impact brand and make a difference in the future of the clothing industry. We can no longer wait for corporate brands to make the changes they should, we need to start our own movement to make ethical clothing. Our future depends on it. Please help.

Please message me for more information.