San Francisco Shopping Guide - Valencia st

Shopping Guide Map - Valencia st, The Mission (ahhh, feel so much better now I am reunited with my textas!)

The thing with San Francisco, is that everything is quite spread out. It's not as instantly accessible as I expected... you can't just wander around aimlessly and hope to uncover the most gorgeous little coffeeshop or quaint little shopping strip. Instead you have to do a little bit of research... which we kinda learnt the hard way!

San Fran dolls houses! - top and bottom left photos by Joanna Forever on Flickr

No on told us that the best place to hang out in San Francisco is Valencia st. Sure, a few people said we should check out 'The Mission' area... but it took a good frustrating hour or more of traipsing up and down Mission st looking at cowboy boots and dodgy $1 shops to realise that Valencia is where you wanna be!

Street art in The Mission

Anyway, it was so exciting to (finally) discover some of the city’s best loved indie design shops and little creative hubs dotted along this busy main road - including The Curiosity Shoppe, Little Otsu and much more!

...But the absolute highlight of this area was visiting Dave Eggers incredible Pirate Shop at 826 Valencia. If you have no idea what I'm talking about you MUST watch this video. Pleeeaase watch it. 826 Valencia is an absolute inspiration... as is the charming Mr Eggers. It was so so so great to visit this magical little place for ourselves. Photos and other highlights below!

The Curiosity Shoppe - 855 Valencia at

The Curiosity Shoppe - images found on flickr here and here

The Curiosity Shoppe was our first Valencia st discovery... a small but gorgeous little shop filled with all those curious necessities - like stick-on moustaches and knitted apple-jackets. Genius! There's also a cute little exhibition area down the back which showcases the work of local illustrators and artists, and a small but fantastic little library of craft and design books. You can also browse a lot of their current stock on their website.

Little Otsu - 849 Valencia st

The shots above are alas not by me... Little Otsu were re-doing their window display during my visit. Instead these shots of an earlier window display are from a gorgeous set by Sweetiepiepress on Flickr. My shots below.

More gorgeous paper goodies and printed matter from Little Otsu, including the cutest recipe cards (which I couldn't resist!) by Susie Ghahremani.

My heart was all aflutter when I stumbled across Little Otsu on Valencia st... I had heard so much about this fantastic independent publishing house and their collaborations with many talented artists and designers, it was so exciting to visit their store in person! It was also great to see the work of artists and bloggers whose work I've admired for so long but have only ever seen online - stunning screenprinted posters by Claire Nereim (blogged here before), illustrated stationary by Susie Ghahremani and beautiful paper-cut illustrations by Nikki McClure.

It was also lovely to meet Yvonne Chen, founder and co-owner of Little Otsu... she was super lovely and only too happy for me to take some photos to share here! Yay for that. :)

ps) you can also shop online with Little Otsu (gorgeous, unique finds that you won't see anywhere else in Melbourne!)... and they also have a super-cute blog.

826 Valencia Pirate Shop - 826 Valencia st

Pirate Supply Store! So fun!

Pirate necessities - including Peg Leg oil (of course)

Top image - the kids writing workshop at the back of the pirate shop, bottom image - pirate noticeboard - 'have you been impressed against your will??'

Oh my. The excitement. Even my boyfriend had fun at 826 Valencia! And that's saying something. Dave Egger's incredible pirate supply store / kids writing workshop needs to be seen to be believed. You really must check out his TED video to truly understand the magic.

Highlights included witnessing unsuspecting customers being 'mopped' by the cheeky Pirate Store attendant... discovering all kinds of pirate paraphernalia that you never knew existed... and chuckling at all the hilarious instructional notes and signs everywhere. HILARIOUS. You must have a good long browse of the website. Promise?

Paxton Gate - 824 Valencia st

Exterior of 826 Valencia and Paxton Gate next door

One again my fella seems to have made his way into my photo...! This is Paxton Gate - showcasing taxidermied animal heads and strange prehistoric-looking plants!

Right next-door to the fabulous Pirate shop was Paxton Gate - a store which had fortuitously been recommended to me by a reader only a few days before I arrived in San Fran! (Thankyou Melinda!).

Paxton Gate is a unique shopping experience - a very eclectic mix of taxidermy and scientific ephemera such as fossils, crystals, incredible corals and deep sea crustaceans and shells... as well as kooky plant life (think venus flytraps and other almost prehistoric-looking flora). It's all beautifully displayed - you could seriously lose hours just browsing at all the unexpected little details. I don't quite understand their target market, but it seemed pretty popular when we visited!

Regalito Rosticeria - 3481 18th st (just off Valencia)

I try not to include too many random eating-spots in these design/shopping guides... but it just seems so handy to know where to stop for lunch if anyone happens to be re-tracing my steps at some point in the not-too-distant future!

We had such a truly delicious modern Mexican meal at Regalito Rosticiera, I thought it was well worth a mention. The food is surprisingly light and interesting... not your usual heavy Mexican Fare. If you eat meat, I highly recommend the 'Papas con Chorizo' (potatoes with Chorizo). So tasty!

Monument - 572 Valencia st


Monument is a 20th Century furniture store with a fantastic range... kinda pricey but these are quality collectible pieces, beautifully restored and (unfortunately) worth every penny! Well worth a browse... and you can check out their current stock online here thanks to 1st Dibs - an incredible online marketplace which brings together some of the best vintage and collectible design pieces worldwide! It is a truly fabulous website for 20th cemtury interiors especially - if you don't know it, you're missing out!

Clothes Contact - 473 Valencia st

I can't say I usually have the patience for op-shopping (or as they say in the US, thrift-store shopping)... but of the many, many vintage clothing shops along Valencia st - this bustling, colourful little store really caught my eye! The main drawcard seems to be their 'thrift by the pound' policy - ie all sales are charged by weight! They just weigh your items in bulk on scales at the checkout, and charge you accordingly. Awesome! No website I can find... but some more info and customer reviews here.

Farnsworth 20th Century Modernist Design - 393 Valencia st

Another great little 20th Century Furniture store - a little smaller, less showy perhaps than Monument... but no less interesting. Some key collectible pieces (including a wonderfully aged classic Eames leather / rosewood rocker and ottoman - divine!), but also slightly kookier finds including interesting ceramics and other small accessories.

Four Barrell Coffee - 375 Valencia st


OK so San Francisco has this weird thing going on with Coffee. There seem to be a lot of 'high concept' coffee stores around this town... most of which you have to queue up outside for AGES to get a coffee... and also most of which don't really sell many snacks or lunch stuff at all... just coffee!? I found it a bit weird, as I have no patience for the kind of hyped-up, self conscious coffee 'manifesto' thing... but perhaps that's just because we are so spoilt in Melbourne with all the good food and good coffee (which you can surprsingly usually buy in the same place - without even queueing up!!). ANYWAY, it seems San Franciscans are more than happy to wait 15 minutes for a cup of painstakingly produced coffee, so who am I to judge...!

Four Barrell Coffee in Valencia st seemed one of the popular options, and had a shorter queue than most! The space was huge and quite cool and industrial inside - thus even more frustrating when we found out they don't do lunch! :(

more NYC favourites...

Even the 'garbage' in Soho is special.

So sorry for the irregular posting of late... been a a bit all over the place. Left NYC few days ago and spent three blissful days in South Lake Tahoe, on the border of California and Nevada. Such beautiful scenery! All snowcapped mountains, emerald pine forests and glistening water. Only downside was struggling with somewhat unreliable internet reception!

Anyway still trying to catch up on all my NYC posting... so here, in no particular order, are some more of my favourite finds in and around Soho and Nolita...

ps) Thanks so so much for all your lovely comments - and even a few emails with tips and recommendations! I'm really sorry I haven't been able to respond to all... but thankyou so much for making contact :) It is so lovely to hear from you!

Moss - 150 Greene street, Soho

The current exhibition at Moss showcases Bavaria - a range of limited-edition furniture by Dutch duo Studio Job, featuring a a rosewood finish with folk-art inspired decorative inlay. It was totally AMAZING. This range was commissioned exclusively for Moss.

Moss blurs the distinction between retail design store and gallery... no price tags, stunning one-off pieces displayed individually in glass cabinets like works of art or ancient relics. Beautiful space, incredible concept... but... how do they make any money? I guess perhaps at these prices, one sale a month is enough to pay their rent?

Anyway, Moss is absolutely a must-see if you're a design junkie (like me!). Also, here it kind of feels ok to gawk at all the high-end design without any intention of making a purchase - the staff are mildly snooty... but they're clearly more accustomed to browsers than buyers.

Moss shows pieces from the 'Smoke' range of furniture by Dutch designer Maarten Baas.

Paul Smith - Greene st, Soho

Right next door to Moss, Paul Smith is absolutely worth a visit for the interior design and layout alone. I promise! The layout is similar to a residential home - you wander from room to room. greeted by a slightly different feel and aesthetic in each new space.

One room, in particular, was absolutely covered in original artwork and paintings, hung salon-style all over the walls. The effect was amazing! Also in the entrance area, open books were artfully strung on fishing line and hung across the ceiling... I really love Paul Smith's eclectic decor - no two stores are the same, and yet they all share a distinct aesthetic unlike any other retail environment.

Kisan Concept Store - Greene st, Soho

This store is just across the road from Paul Smith and Moss... a French 'concept store' - the shots on their website really don't do it justice - this store is truly beautiful. An artfully curated mix of ultra-feminine clothes and accessories (ridiculously expensive, of course), cuper-cute designer kids stuff, and slightly quirky yet completely gorgeous home accessories. Interesting, carefully considered mix. Very pricey.

Kelley & Ping - 127 Greene st, Soho

Kelley & Ping is in Soho right near Moss, Paul Smith and Kisan... tasty, quick-as-flash Chinese food (noodles and noodle soups mainly). Cheap and cheerful, in a really lovely industrial meets Hong Kong hawker-bar inspired space. Great for a cheap, casual feed (not always easy to find in this area). Also you're unlikely to have to wait for a table, which is also somewhat of a rarity at lunchtime in NYC.

Kelley & Ping

Kate's Paperie - 72 Spring Street, Soho
(between Crosby and Lafayette Streets, also other stores across New York - see website for details)

BEAUTIFUL paper / stationary / gift wrap and gift card shop. Truly beautiful. Eat your heart out Zetta Florence.

Kate's Paperie

The MOMA store - Soho

Definitely worth a visit in Soho, because trust me, the last thing you feel like doing after 5 hours on your feet at MOMA uptown is killing another hour browsing in their store. Another great reason to visit the Soho store BEFORE you head to MOMA itself, is that you get a free pass to the museum if you spend over $50 in store (I think?). Which is pretty easy to do - especially once you head downstairs to the bookstore! It is AMAZING. I could have seriously spent all afternoon in there. Also a great little selection of designer furniture and lighting, all of which appears to be much cheaper than in it in Aus. Go figure.

John Derian Company - 6 East Second Street (Bet. 2nd Avenue and The Bowery), East Village.

John Derian is a quaint little French-inspired vintage, antique and repro furniture, homewares and kitchenware. They specialise in decoupaged things (apparently)... which seems a little strange to me, and these were certainly not my favourite things in store... but there's enough treasure to uncover here to make it worth a visit nonetheless.

John Derian Company

Maryam Nassir Zadeh, 123 Norfolk (at Rivington Street), Lower East Side

FANTASTIC new clothing /accessories / randomly fabulous things, all pulled together like museum artefacts in a stunning minimal white retail space. A truly unique and perfectly curated collection of international pieces. Don't miss it! I mean that.

A great, detailed review with more product info is here.

Maryam Nassir Zadeh - Top and bottom photos by me, other shots found here. The bottom shot is of the bar across the road from Maryam Nassir... unrelated, but so photogenic I had to include it!

Le Labo - 233 Elizabeth st, (between Prince and Housten), Nolita

Le Labo is an NY brand with a French name, and a very French sensibility. No off-the-shelf perfume here... instead you create your own fragrance from scratch, for a truly unique olfactory experience! Cute concept, very cute shop, even cuter website.

On a side note, Nolita was absolutely my favourite window-shopping / people-watching spot in all of Manhattan - quaint little cobbled streets, lovely little boutiques and gorgeous cafes on every corner (including the wonderful Cafe Gitane!).

Le Labo

NYC on Flickr

Chrysler / Taxi - by Spring Globe on Flickr

Guggenheim / Stella - by Spring Globe on Flickr

by Spring Globe on Flickr

Traffic - by Spring Globe on Flickr

Ok so I am mid-way through rounding up day 2 and just haven't had a chance to wade through all my images yet...!

So instead thought I would share a really nice little set of NYC shots I just discovered on Flickr by someone called Spring Globe. Love her(?) flitration of little details from this big city! Also it seems her shots are all super current - all posted in the last couple of weeks...

Promise more of my own shots tomorrow!

ps) Spring Globe also has really great Milan design pics... most definitely worth a little browse...

Dean and Deluca - by Spring Globe on Flickr

knitting grafitti and subway - by Spring Globe on Flickr

by Spring Globe on Flickr

NYC - first impressions

Didn't actually go inside (yet) but MAN I am so excited to visit the New Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by Japanese architects SANAA. It's on Bowery, right near where we're staying. AAgghhh. It is so beautiful. My photos and the dodgy photo-stitch effort just don't do it justice. Better shots here.

dodgy photo-stitch. Sorry.

Just walking around in the sun. The bottom shot is right near where we're staying in the East Village. What is it that makes those NY fire escapes so beautiful to look at? They shouldn't be beautiful but they are.

Oh it appears I have already fallen behind here! Whoops. How neglectful. New York City is a busy and distracting place! However I am making the most of my jetlag... been wide awake since 3.00am, so figured I might as well be blogging :)

We spent day 1 wandering around the East Village and Soho, walking around in a total daze... There is so much of everything. Seriously - you go to buy a bagel and an orange juice and there's, like, 48 different bagel flavours and 18 different orange juices! Not kidding! Decision-making is quite an effort in New York City! Anyway there is too much to filter... but will try to summarise my first impressions -

Jonathan Adler store in Soho - Super-cute, super colourful and super kitsch homewares and furniture. Bit twee and over-decorative for me, but that's their schtick I guess. Still, gorgeous little space with lots of eye candy and pieces ot make you smile! The sales girls were also the friendliest in the whole of Soho!

Droog NYC - High-concept just hit a new level. Amazing space - see shots below. I don't know what was actually for sale, it was more like a museum of kooky pieces... no price tags in sight. Super snobbish staff, so taking photos was pretty terrifying... hence most of the shots here are from the Droog website.



Loved Droog's flat-pack furniture... cute also how they're displayed the pieces alongside the flat-pack sheets.

Crate and Barrel and CB2 (Crate and Barrel's more contemporary offshoot?) - not so inspiring. Kind of Freedom-furniture meets Ikea? I was a bit disappointed. :(

Bloomingdales - Awesomeness. Bought some sunnies. Marc by Marc Jacobs for US$98. !! that seems cheap to me..? Good things on sale - up to 40% off! Great for menswear actually. Makes you realise how lacking good menswear is in Melbourne! Gord had his eye on the Helmut Lang and APC jeans...

Design Within Reach - Eames and lots more licensed twentieth century stuff. Gorgeous showroom, nice staff (there was lots of snobbishness in Soho so anyone who smiled at me gets a mention!). I don't quite get the 'within reach' thing though. Is that supposed to mean it's affordable? It seemed pretty swish to me. Confused.

Taschen bookshop Soho - brillant. SO cheap, so good. How do they do it? Gorgeous design books starting at US$15.00. And that's not even a sale price! I fell in love with New New York Interiors. Why are books so big and heavy?

APC - everyone said to go here, and Gord swear by APC jeans so we had to visit. But... must say... I don't quite get it! Don't get me wrong - it's a gorgeous loft-like space, characterised by wide rustic floorboards... (so rustic and uneven, in fact, that they were quite a tripping hazard!). Amidst all the other Soho retail offerings, APC definitely stood out for its stylish yet restrained feel and classic, super-simple fit-out. But... the clothes.... so young and girly and floral...! I don't know.. they didn't grab me.

APC shop. Love those rustic floorboards! Shots from here.

Does this look like a film-set of what? The sun hitting the cobble stones... the huge floor to ceiling windows in this shopfront. I love New York windows! That truck on the left with the steam coming out it's exhaust looks totally staged. Then on the right some dude is sitting on a chair on the 'sidewalk' just working on his laptop...?


I think this is the sales office for the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) / Rem Koolhaas' ambitious development at 23 East 22nd st. I just liked the Neon signs, really. Also the proposed tower they're designing is pretty cool too... see below. (Shots from ArchDaily, more info there.)

More from Milan! - Felicity Splatt's Design Week Diary

Hey hey! Today the Milan Design Week coverage continues with this fantastic wrap-up by Melbourne ex-pat Felicity Splatt. Felicity is currently living in Austria, but makes the trip to Milan every year for design week... and this year offered to send me her highlights!

Along with her favourite design finds, Felicity shares some shots of the super-trendy Milanese locals, her pick for the best Pizza in town... and she even includes a visit to the Lago apartment (soooo jealous!). I feel so lucky to have so much fantastic first-hand news and photos to share with you all..! It's gotta be the next best thing to being there!


Felicity Splatt's Milan Design Week diary

To Milan for Design Week. In addition to the Salone Internazionale del Mobile (Furniture Fair) out at the showgrounds, the city hosts literally hundreds of events over this week.

One of the first stops was Established & Sons at the wonderful space La Pelota. La Pelota used to be a court for playing Jai alai, but these days is a multipurpose space used for a variety of events. Established and Sons constructed wooden warrens in which their wares were exhibited. I particularly liked the couch and the (somewhat frightening) clown lamps:


Across the road the nice Dutch designer Edwin Vlassenroot was exhibiting the latest iterations of his chandeliers. Constructed from postcard holders, these ones had hand-painted glass postcards forming the shade. Previous versions had wooden or copper cards. Edwin also had some small lamps on display. It’s nice to see his work again, only a pity that this year he isn’t exhibiting in his gorgeous apartment, because it’s great for a sticky-beak (there are some peeks on his website though!)

Chandeliers by Dutch designer Edwin Vlassenroot

At the Seoul Design Festival, some refreshing works... even if their security guard might not have been watching me closely enough (don’t worry, I didn’t touch anything!).

Pieces from the Seoul Design Festival

Then to the M’afrique exhibition with works by Stephen Burks:


In the amazing Palazzo Crivelli an interesting installation on the ground floor (below left), and a retrospective of Ettore Sottsass’s work by the Galleria Clio Calvi Rudi Volpi upstairs (below right).


From left to right: a great lamp, and the roast meat dome for Secondome and Bosa Ceramiche:


Back out onto the busy via Pontacchio, some Milanese youth:


I was exhausted from all the travelling that day, so stopped for some pizza and to try to figure out how I could possibly see so many events on foot in about a day and a half. Amazing pizza (of course) in the tiny Sibilla:

Later that night, wandered into the wonderful Spazio Rossana Orlandi where LOTS was happening. People in the courtyard/garden area enjoying apertivo (drinks + copious delicious snacks for €8 - smelled amazing and everyone was really enjoying their food) and fantastic exhibitions upstairs, downstairs, everywhere! Design Academy Eindhoven, Nacho Carbonell, Baccarat, Designhuis, Weltevree, among others.

Shots from the Spazio Rossana Orlandi garden - top photos by Felicity Splatt, bottom image Megan Morton.

Weltevrees work was really nice, particularly the Floris Schoonderbeek’s Axechair. The legs are made of axe handles, and the body of the chair of a nice solid metal. I liked the quirky work of these young designers, maybe even more so when a handsome and talented trio of them offered me some prosecco...!

Floris Schoonderbeek’s Axechair - top righ image by Felicity Splatt, the others are from the Weltevree website.

The Revolving Chandelier by Bertjan Pot was bigger than I had imagined, and impressive. The heat of the light globes warms the air and causes the transparent and reflective shades to rotate:


Next day, headed down to the crazy Zona Tortona. Always full of people and so much design down here. Hit the Superstudio Piu pretty early, overwhelmed as usual by the masses on display. Gorgeous metallic Tom Dixon lamps:


This very interesting screen made up of lots of little (slide-sized) displays. A small camera mounted in the very centre (invisible from this side) tracks movement and projects the image to the screens, in shades of grey. That’s a person off to the right. When I was there, the other visitors and I were quite bewildered by the whole thing. Very nifty in action!

Down in some basement area, the Cloud Chair by Richard Hutten, and ceramic lamps by Chung Ji Hyun.


Up on the via Tortona, the Design Virus lamps by Pieke Bergemans, draped over tables, chairs and filing cabinets:


I really liked the cup chandelier (I’m sorry, I don’t know who this is by), in one of the Superstudios:


Visited the Lago apartment, intimidating guard at the front of the building, but he encouraged me to go in (other visitors weren’t so brave!). Apparently I was quite early as one poor resident was sitting on her bed putting on some moisturizer, while another started washing a mountain of dishes. The chair on the left pulls apart to become a mattress.


Walking around a city for days is really tough, even in comfy shoes, so I don’t know how these women did it:


I grabbed some snacks in the great Taste Lounge exhibition by Richard Ginora / Paola Navone. Lots of ceramics all around, including a giant wall of plates (left), and a super comfortable leather couch area with lots of reading material (right). Perfect for a nap!

(I had to add these additional shots from the Taste Lounge website! It is too fabulous! - Lucy)

...More from the Taste Lounge website

At Sander Mulder, the Woofers (left) and U-Tube (right):


On Sunday, out to the Salone, specifically to the Satellite where young designers present their work. Great ceramic lamps with golden insides from Apparatu / Mashallah Design.


Liked the Flower Pods by Maruja Fuentes:


Three gorgeous and unusual pieces the Echoes collection of Pour Les Alpes:


Nice, very well produced pieces from Brikolör, especially the pattern-stained storage/cabinet in ash veneer.


Sciocola, a chocolate bar seat (whose tablets depress when you sit down) from Adele Rotella:

And three interesting chairs from trimodestudio:


A door which does much more! The Ping Pong Door from Tobias Fränzel:


And to finish, something I wasn’t expecting, a concrete gravestone! Designed by Ákos Maurer Klimes and Péter Kucsera and produced by Ivanka.


A huge HUGE thankyou to Felicity for all her fantastic news and images from Milan... I am completely convinced I have to be there myself next year!