We are a family-run business founded by childhood best friends, Misty Gerry and Michelle Bosch. Our grown children all work in the shop, either in management, by helping customers, or behind the scenes. They love being an integral part of Cercana and we love having them here with us.
Meet the Cercana Team!
Co-founder, Michelle Bosch, brings 30 years of business management experience from her time at Enterprise-Rent-A-Car as Vice President and General Branch Manager. She was born and raised in Santa Barbara, where she met her life long best friend, Misty Gerry. Michelle lived her entire early life on the West Coast in Santa Barbara and studied Communications at California Polytechnic State University. Shortly after graduating, Michelle’s job with Enterprise-Rent-A-Car brought her to the East Coast where she raised her two kids, Jessica and Ryan. It wasn’t until recently that Michelle returned to the West Coast with Jessica and Ryan to reside in Ojai, where she and Misty reunited and brought to life their dream of opening up a retail store together, which we know today as Cercana.
Cercana’s other co-founder, Misty Gerry, grew up in Santa Barbara where she met her lifelong friend, Michelle. Misty began her education of curating beautiful work by studying Art History at the University of California Berkeley. She then spent much of her career at the Berkeley Museum and the de Young Museum in San Francisco. She has also worked at design firms, ran her own boutique interior design company, and for ten years was the Curator and General Manager of the largest collection of Traditional American Folk Art in the U.S. She now lives in Ojai with her partner and son, as well as the beloved renter of their secondary dwelling unit.
As a gallerist and antiquarian, Fernando Giron, our Facilities Manager and Sales Consultant, loves finding and showcasing beautiful things, whether it is art or architecture. He managed the Santa Monica Antique Market and more recently has bought homes to beautify then sell. Fernando Giron grew up with his family in Guatemala City and traveled to work in California where he met Misty working as a contractor in Summerland. Fernando and Misty started a romance and now he is a part of the Bosch-Gerry chosen family clan. Fernando and Misty live together in Ojai with Misty’s son Matthew, and Fernando makes frequent trips to Guatemala to visit his family. It was on a trip to Guatemala with Misty and Michelle that they were struck with the inspiration to start Cercana.
About Cercana
Our store name, Cercana, means “closeness” in Spanish. We chose this name because we want to bring the world a little bit closer. We seek out tiny villages and towns all over the world to bring beautiful, utilitarian, and unique goods back to Ojai.
We aim to celebrate the artists and artisans we meet on our travels and share their works with our beloved customers. These artists all have a story to tell about their work, their families, and their hometowns. It is these remarkable stories that drove us to bring both their goods and their stories back to share with you.
We carry both ethically produced global goods as well as select products from the U.S. and Ojai that also have a heartfelt story behind them. We are proud to help support these local and global artists and artisans, their families, and wider communities by purchasing their goods.
We have curated our gallery-shop in Ojai’s historic arcade to feel like you are walking through an exhibit of the most beautiful yet functional art and goods from around the world. The shop is light, inviting, and spacious because we want to highlight the beauty of these works while being a welcoming space for our visitors.
With the power of community and togetherness, or even better closeness, Misty and Michelle were able to combine their shared passions of art, storytelling, teaching, and helping others to bring their dream of starting a meaningful business to life.
Meet the Fam
