2025 Spirit of Marin – The Store

The blocks of boutiques in downtown Mill Valley span a stretch of pure creative energy, covering a deep history from the likes of the longstanding Margaret O’Leary, Mill Valley Mercantile and Sofia Jewelry to newer names like TYSA, Fennell and much more.

Ronnie Unger and Evan Woolf are longtime owners of The Store women’s clothing shop at 68 Throckmorton Ave., and found a nearby shop on the same block a few doors down at 84 Throckmorton, formerly home to the EO Exchange retail shop.

Dubbed The Local, the shop is quite distinct, offering up a beach-centric product line that seeks to serve both locals and visitors readying a jaunt to Stinson or Muir beaches or those farther afield. Woolf and Unger both grew up here and have an affinity for the beach.

“It didn’t make sense for us to go outside of right here – this is our people,” Unger says. Note that turn of phrase: “this is our people.” “It’s all about relationships,” Woolf says. They’re also the go-to information source for just about every boutique business downtown.

When a new business comes to town for the first time, or when a longstanding business looks to identify the right path for their latest idea, they go to the Store, both for the immense amount of historical knowledge and care, but also by how they lead with kindness, spirit, support and thought.

For this reason, we’re thrilled to choose The Store as one of Mill Valley’s Spirit of Marin recipients for 2025! MORE INFO ON THE STORE!

Proof Lab, ever-evolving, ever creative!

2025 Spirit of Marin – Proof Lab

Proof Lab, the surf & skate ship that’s grown into the multi-faceted community epicenter of Tam Junction, has made a massive imprint that extends well beyond its immediate surrounding. Mill Valley native Nate McCarthy and San Anselmo Will Hutchinson, friends who’d met while working at the Marin Surf Sports in Tam Junction years ago, opened their own surf shop in 2004 in a tiny 600-square-foot space in the small Poplar Plaza shopping center near the 7-Eleven on Shoreline Hwy.

They drove a truck to southern California, bought all of the surfing gear and apparel they could afford and filled the tiny shop to the brim. Fast forward, and the voluminous impact of what they have created and nurtured is simply remarkable, expanding well beyond the confines of a surf shop.

In the years since, Proof Lab spans beyond, inclusive , inclusive of the always-delicious Hook Fish Co., the adjacent Equator Coffees, CNL Native Plant Nursery, Mill Valley Potters’ Studio, Big Dog Surf Camp, Magic West Music School and a legion of ancillary businesses on the site at 244 Shoreline Hwy.

“There was a lot of motivation to make something good and different (in 2004), but the definition has changed over time. “Our intentions and understanding of the world has changed, “Hutchinson says. “It’s great retail, building community and connecting people with the arts and outdoors. That’s gone in a lot of different directions.”

The Spirit of Marin honors people and the businesses that make Marin such an indelible place to live, play, gather and support one another. The Mill Valley Chamber is thrilled to honor the amazing melange that is Proof Lab! MORE INFO ABOUT PROOF LAB!