Meet Sara Bacon | Founder of Opulist and lover of beautiful spaces

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sara Bacon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sara, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
As a little girl, I never aspired to have my own business. I didn’t dream of climbing any corporate ladders and definitely never imagined I would create a company myself.

I tried jobs in multiple different fields throughout my 20s and early 30s, but always held on to a deeper desire to do something with purpose someday, hoping to find a job that would use my unique gifts and give back to the world.

Through much soul-searching and getting clear on what it is I truly love to do, the idea for Opulist finally crystalized into my brain. It was so fun to realize that it combined so many of my favorite things, and felt like this perfectly aligned dream job for me and yet it just hadn’t made sense to embark on this any earlier.

I believe a lot of factors and actions led to the creation of this business, but ultimately it was the combination of believing it was possible to create a life doing what I deeply loved to do, mixed with being honest and clear about what my strengths and desires were that made it possible for this business to come through me.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Opulist is a search site that helps people find the most beautiful restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and hotels everywhere they go. It’s the first of its kind to focus on design and interiors and aesthetics over other elements, and was created out of a true desire for a service like this to exist out in the world.

I think a lot of people are drawn to beauty whether they’re conscious of it or not. People typically enjoy being in and thrive in locations that are aesthetically pleasing, calming, beautifully designed, and overall appealing to all the senses. And current search and travel sites make it tough to get a feeling for the vibe or interior of a place without a lot of digging and research to find the best photos or representations of it online.

We are still very much in the building phase of our company, but the vision has been well-received and I love seeing when others also resonate with the mission of Opulist and are excited to know we exist. We still have so many exciting things to come, and I can’t wait to keep watching it grow.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If someone was visiting me in Newport Beach, I would probably start by taking them down to Laguna Beach because of how inherently vacation-like it feels. Hotel Laguna and its restaurant Larsen are beautiful, with some of the prettiest ocean sunset views in Southern California. Hotel Joaquin in Laguna is also a lovely place to stay as well.

Back in Newport I would take them for margaritas at Javier’s just for the drama ad scene of it all. For dinner we’d go to the original A’s Restaurant, a historic and delicious landmark in Orange County that’s a must, and I’d tell them to order a Salty Pear for their drink.

On a sunny Saturday afternoon we’d head to Lido Marina Village for a coffee at Herst, shopping and strolling the main street, and a late lunch at Zinque looking out over the water. We’d end the day getting rooftop drinks at Lido House for the full vacation effect and to get a bird’s eye view of the city and ocean.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
If I could dedicate this chapter of my life to anyone right now it would be my late Grandad. He has made so much possible for me in my life, and even when he didn’t understand what I did for work, and was old school in certain ways, he always championed me so hard and was forever proud of me and my endeavors. He is the proverbial angel on my shoulder I always feel cheering me on and guiding me, and I’m so very thankful for him and the role he’s played in my life both before and after he passed.

Website: https://opulist.co/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/opulist/

Image Credits
Opulist