SANTA BARBARA MAGAZINE: Family Ties

Keeping Traditions in Old California | Written by Elizabeth Varnell for Santa Barbara Magazine

Milton Menasco founder Alli Addison and MM mascot eternal 'Louie the Mare' was featured as the cover story in the latest fall issue of Santa Barbara Magazine. "Never in a million years did we expect to be featured on the cover of this fantastic publication, it was a complete dream," explains Alli. With a fantastic story penned by Elizabeth Varnell, photography by the unparalleled fashion photographer Dewey Nicks and creative direction by Gina Tolleson the feature came together with the Nipomo, California historical Dana Adobe as the backdrop. "It all felt very full circle to tell our story right here in this place that has been a part of me for generations," she continues.

"I have this lifestyle, and this is my passion. Horses are my passion."

If you grow up on a ranch, “it’s almost required that you have braids and braces and draw horses all day,” says Alli Addison. The founder of the equine-inspired Milton Menasco lifestyle line (shopmiltonmenasco.com) was raised on generational property in Nipomo that once stretched from the foothills of the Santa Lucia Mountains west to the Pacific Ocean. Her great-great-great-grandfather William Goodwin Dana married Maria Josefa Carrillo—the daughter of Alta California’s provisional governor—and became a Mexican citizen to get the land grant. He built the Dana Adobe (danaadobe.org), now a landmark run by a nonprofit, where members of Addison’s extended family lived from 1839 to the 1990s. 

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