Coral, Rayna, Calla, and Shumai
Coral Wang, founder of Maison des Plaisances, and Rayna Basta, founder of Born to Roam Vintage and co-founder of Trove, share how friendship, co-housing, and chosen family have helped them build stability in Sonoma.
Living together with Rayna's daughter Calla and Coral's dog Shumai, they have created a supportive household, where chosen family plays a central role in daily life as they navigate the challenges of living and working in Sonoma as single and entrepreneurial women.
For the past year and a half, Coral, Rayna, Calla, and Shumai have shared a home. Their paths to Sonoma, and to this household, were very different, but both women arrived here looking for greater stability without dislocating from their communities, in a place where housing and stability can be difficult to find and afford, especially as a single person, parent, or entrepreneur.
When Coral moved to Sonoma Valley in 2021, she made a deliberate decision to build her life close to where she worked. Inspired by her experience living and working in France, she wanted a life where work, farming, community, and home were all connected. Today, nearly every part of her life is rooted in Sonoma Valley. She lives in Sonoma, farms a vineyard in Carneros, and operates her wine brand, Maison des Plaisances, within the Valley.
“I don't present as someone who's at the AMI for poverty, but I am. I am not unique or rare, my situation is exactly the same as almost everybody that you know, or see every day anywhere in town. Yes, we get a million tourists every year, but the agricultural workforce, our labor force in hospitality and wineries—we're here all year round.”
— Coral Wang
Rayna had been living in her current home in Sonoma for the last 7 years. When her daughter was born, they were living on a remote mountain ranch and she decided to move back to Sonoma to raise her. As a single parent, having the family and community support in town has been invaluable. Having grown up in Sonoma, her childhood was idyllic, and she wanted to give that same gift to her daughter. While there are things she doesn't love about living in a small town, the safety net and community that is here for Calla is what keeps them.
“The familiarity of the neighborhood and seeing friendly faces has already created a strong sense of belonging for her. I own a shop in town, and on any given day my preschool teacher or my childhood best friend's mom will come in. It's very sweet to see people who have known you your whole life on a random Wednesday. Sonoma has such a strong sense of community, and I feel grateful to be part of it.”
— Rayna Basta
Despite being highly educated, trilingual, and running her own business while always holding a part-time day job, like many winemakers do, Coral says maintaining stability in Sonoma remains difficult. She falls into what is commonly called the "missing middle", earning too much to qualify for many forms of assistance while still struggling to afford necessities like housing and healthcare. At times, the financial strain has left her making difficult choices about basic needs.
“People assume that because I own a wine brand I’m doing well financially, but the reality is, some weeks I struggle to cover basic expenses like groceries and dog food.”
— Coral Wang
When Coral and Rayna connected, Rayna was looking for someone to move in with her and her daughter Calla who would feel comfortable in a household often full of family, friends, and kids. Knowing of each other through friends of friends, they ran into each other and started talking about their housing situations. Before committing to anything, Rayna invited Coral to come over on a typical day, with her brother, friends, and their kids gathered in the backyard doing natural dyeing. Coral came and just slid right in, got her hands in the indigo, and hung out with the kids. It immediately felt like a really good fit.
“Before we started living together, we'd never really spent time together one-on one, but knew each other peripherally. I think that's how it works when you're part of a community like this. We had mutual friends and would run into each other at the same places. We knew enough people in common that we could background check, but far enough that we weren't friends yet.”
— Rayna Basta
Once Coral moved in with Rayna and Calla, housing became more manageable for everyone. Over the past year and a half, their co-habitation has evolved into what they describe as its own kind of marriage. Coral helps care for the home, garden, and Calla, while Rayna and Calla help take care of her dog Shumai. Together, they created a supportive arrangement that neither could have built alone in Sonoma's housing market.
“Being an entrepreneur or a single woman, it's always better to do living situations together. You need that support of knowing you're not alone, but also being able to create a stable foundation at home together. You can't do it alone when women like us are doing as much as we do.”
— Coral Wang
After a year and a half of living together, their household has become the nucleus for weekly Family Dinners, bringing together Rayna's mom, Sam Coturri, his wife Alice Pennes with their daughter Althea, and friends who gather in the spirit of chosen family.
“I grew up in a big Jewish-Italian family. There was always someone at my house. There was always food around. As an adult, I miss that and want that all the time.”
— Rayna Basta
Curated by The Future Collective, photos by Kayla Schmah