Marilyn’s Journey to Hearth
Marilyn grew up in the suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles among asphalt and concrete. She discovered the magic of creativity early, sewing stuffed animals by hand and then learning to use a sewing machine at the age of nine. College brought her to the Rhode Island School of Design where she studied sculpture and learned that she preferred not to live in the snow. Back in San Francisco after graduating, she immersed herself in the local art and social justice cultures that were under threat during the first Dot-com boom. She made art and clothes and worked in arts non-profits. She was a pioneer in introducing sustainability to high fashion with her award winning, hemp-based clothing line Plutonium Clothing. Eventually transitioning from ready-to-wear to custom bridal, which made for a more predictable work schedule, enabled her to pursue an education in the policies that shaped the world around her, through a Masters in Urban Planning at the University of California at Berkeley.
After graduating she continued streamlining nonprofits by day, made award-winning art books at night, and planned her next venture in between. Applying her creativity to finance and operations she found a niche for herself in helping nonprofits in transition grow and thrive. In creating the legend of Eva which encompasses two books, photographs, illustrations, costumes, dolls, and art installations, Marilyn made an example of how creativity can be applied to spirituality. She also led groups through exercises to create their own religions, called the Religion Kitchen. In 2013 she opened an innovative shared workspace for small businesses named SHARED. Located in the heart of San Francisco’s SoMa district, SHARED had office space, fabrication space, shared tools and equipment, meeting rooms, kitchen, classes, and events. SHARED hosted nearly 400 individuals/companies, numerous classes and workshops, and arts events. It was consistently listed as one of the best coworking spaces in San Francisco.
Marilyn started riding motorcycles in 2012 and discovered a new way of experiencing the world. Every weekend she would ride Highway One along California’s stunning coast, north through Marin and Sonoma counties. Chasing twisty roads would take her into the mountains where she would camp with her motorcycle at least every other month. In 2017 she decided to venture into the unpaved world with dirt bikes. This is when she realized that most of the world is not accessible by paved roads and that she really enjoyed the part of the world that was lightly-touched by humans. Her moto-packing trips initially explored the remote parts of California. Then she moved onto Nevada, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Arizona, going to the mountains in the summer and the deserts in the winter. Her clothing design also turned towards motorcycles, making bespoke motorcycle gear for women that is both stylish and safe – www.PlutoniumClothing.com.
As she approached fifty, she wanted to slow down a little. Riding off-road was hard on the body of a small person like Marilyn. She dampened her aggressive off-road activities and came back to art-making. Instead of looking for dry creek beds to challenge herself, which often entailed throwing herself and her bike on the ground, she rode her dirt bike to find rocks in remote places to make petroglyphs. Instead of traveling by motorcycle, she built herself a motorcycle-camping van, so she could travel more comfortably with her dirt bikes.
Hearth was initially envisioned as a sister business to SHARED, focusing more on art, recreation, and sustainability, that would be located in a rural area within a three hour drive from SHARED. However as various factors shifted, such as the increase of forest fires, which also impacted the already high cost of land in California, Marilyn’s search for a location broadened. Seeking a way to apply her creativity to the natural world that she had grown to love, led her to permaculture and regenerative agriculture. She looked for a location with a favorable climate for agriculture, had a culture amenable to creative people, and was affordable. Galicia, Spain fit. In July 2025 Marilyn went on a scouting trip and fortuitously saw a suitable property that is now the home to Hearth.