Artisans in Monterey County are combining their shops to save on rent and fuel creative energy.

Rent is high in Monterey County for both residents and for businesses. Some artisans are dealing with that fact by combining their shops into one storefront.

The Underground Forrest opened its doors in Seaside on Oct. 1, 2025, while S.A.G.E. Collective and Harmonie Vibes opened in a storefront on Del Monte Avenue in Marina last May. S.A.G.E. Collective and Harmonie Vibes sell vinyl records, and locally made crafts – and offer e-bike rentals for visitors, respectively. Delic Tillman opened Harmonie Vibes with S.A.G.E. Collective owner Eric Huerta after both had sold vinyl at pop-ups, transitioning to brick-and-mortar.

The Underground Forrest – named for the late Forrest Eggleston who operated an art studio out of The Barnyard in Carmel of the same name – houses several specialty artisan businesses for screenprinting, embroidery, podcasting, social media services and a skate and surf shop. The ethos of the creative community exists in both places.

“Forrest lived his life in a way that created situations for people to make art,” says Chris Powers of The Underground Forrest. “You would always meet new people that normally you wouldn’t without him.”

Powers says the shared space fuels additional creativity: “It’s always been wanting to be surrounded by my friends doing stuff that they like to do.”

Powers isn’t a stranger to collective spaces. Before opening The Underground Forrest, he operated his screenprinting business out of The Shop on 10th Avenue in Monterey, an ad-hoc collective of artisans sharing space. The Underground Forrest in Seaside is similar, with craftspersons and artists working in real time.

Its business model works as an umbrella LLC. Each artisan pays a share to the LLC, which enables it to pay rent and utilities. According to Powers, the collaborative nature is important not just financially.

“It’s more about the blend of ideas and creations, surrounded by people that are trying to be the best at things parallel to you,” he explains.

Both S.A.G.E. Collective and The Underground Forrest also feature stages for musicians to perform, and both regularly hold pop-up events. S.A.G.E. holds open mics and has a DJ turntable, plus other musical equipment.

For Powers, such events are a way to welcome the community to check out the space. “Groups of like-minded people bouncing ideas off of each other – there’s a magic in that,” he says.