Post from Bay Area Wag

Wag has been going to the Allied Arts Guild since the New Varsity Theater was showing Quadrophenia on Saturday nights — which is to say, a long time. But that was a second ago in the life of this pretty little nook in Menlo Park, which has been around since 1929. A collection of boutiques and artists’ studios set amid beautiful gardens, the guild underwrites local creativity and supports critically ill children at Lucille Packard Children’s hospital. Have tea at Café Wisteria, pick up a blooming arrangement at Menlo Botanica, kids clothes at La Layette, and elegant ceramics by Joy Imai—she’s been the guild’s resident potter since 1986 (75 Arbor Rd, Menlo Park).