Adobe Books & Backroom Gallery
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Wall-to-wall inspiration – just-released fiction, limited-edition art books, rare cookbooks, well-thumbed poetry – plus zine-launch parties, comedy nights…
Must-see shopping in California
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Star chocolatier Michael Recchiuti sells confections at the Ferry Building but invents them in Dogpatch – taste his latest concoctions here first. Go for…
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San Francisco
What's that alluring frosted-glass emporium – the lovechild of an Apple Store and Victorian lingerie boutique? Just as you suspected: it's America's best…
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Bound Together Anarchist Book Collective
The Haight & Hayes Valley
Since 1976 this volunteer-run, nonprofit anarchist bookstore has kept free thinkers supplied with organic-permaculture manuals, prison literature, and…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Enticements are hardly necessary to lure the masses to the West Coast's most eclectic collection of new and used music and video, but Amoeba offers…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
When local collectors and retailers have too much of a good thing, they donate it to nonprofit Community Thrift, where proceeds go to 200-plus local…
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San Francisco
The Swiss Army knife of hip SF emporiums, Park Life is design store, indie publisher and art gallery rolled into one. Browse among presents too clever to…
The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
This scrappy zine shop/how-to source/art gallery/publisher delivers inspiration to create your own artworks, zines and repurposed fashion statements. Nab…
San Francisco
The geodesic-dome tugboat marks the spot where ocean meets art in this surf gallery. Legendary shapers (surfboard makers) create limited-edition boards…
San Francisco
Psst…keep this SF style secret under your hat: there is no Paul. Started in 1918 by a Peruvian hatmaker named Napoleon, Paul's has been maintained by…
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San Francisco
'Wait, I'm supposed to put that where?' The understanding salespeople in this worker-owned cooperative are used to giving rather explicit instructions, so…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Diamond counters can't compare to the foodie dazzle of Bi-Rite's sublime wall of local artisan chocolates, treasure boxes of organic fruit and California…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Heads will roll, fists will fly and furious vengeance will be wreaked inside this mild-mannered shop stocking big-name and indie comics. Staff picks range…
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San Francisco
SF-born chocolatier Mindy Fong hits the sweet spot between East and West with only-in-SF treats like passion-fruit caramels, Thai-curry hot chocolate and…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
Plastic bags are banned in San Francisco, which is a perfect excuse to stock up on SF designer Baggu's reusable Ripstop nylon totes in bright colors and…
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San Francisco
Salivate over signed cookbooks by chef-legend Alice Waters and signed first editions of Berkeley chef Samin Nosrat's Salt Fat Acid Heat, and stay for…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Looking smart comes easily with effortless wardrobe essentials that casually blend style, comfort, and sustainability. Wear your heart on your sleeve with…
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San Francisco
'More style, less waste' is the credo here, and this dream walk-in-closet of vintage and indie fashion delivers – recent scores include handwoven…
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San Francisco
Dashingly handsome decor from indie design boutique Stag & Manor lets you take the Castro home. Macrame wall hangings give your pad California creds,…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Like ransacking a poet's attic, this SF maker collective yields evocative, imaginative handmade finds. You might discover hand-patched indigo scarves,…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
'Modern Appealing Clothing' is what this store promises – and it delivers for men and women alike, with streamlined chic from Engineered Garments, graphic…
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The Mission, Dogpatch & Potrero Hill
If you want to bottle San Francisco and take it home with you, you've come to the right place. Tigerlily stocks an intoxicating variety of local perfumers…
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Oakland
The Zenter has been called the Bay Area's 'other Asian art museum,' and while that designation is tongue in cheek, it's not entirely inaccurate either…
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North Beach & Chinatown
Find your fortune at this bakery, where cookies are stamped from vintage presses – just as they were in 1909, when fortune cookies were invented for SF's…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Overbooked kids and overworked adults deserve a time-out for Tantrum, delightfully stocked with musical otters, wooden ducks on wheels, and a mechanical…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Sly San Francisco wit is the rare device that makes this well-curated selection of gifts for all ages so irresistible. Block kits help kids build their…
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San Francisco Rock Posters & Collectibles
North Beach & Chinatown
Are you ready to rock?! Enter this trippy temple to classic rock gods – but leave your lighters at home because these concert posters are valuable. Expect…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
Toilet seats signed by famous cartoonists over the front counter show just how seriously Isotope takes comics. Newbies tentatively flip through superhero…
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San Francisco
None of the hardware maestros at Cliff's will raise an eyebrow if you express a dire need for a jar of rubber nuns, some silver body paint, and a case of…
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The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Sui generis is Latin for 'one of a kind' – which is what you'll find at this high-end designer consignment shop that features recent seasons' looks, one…
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San Francisco
For Castro kids, the biggest neighborhood attraction is over the hill at Charlie's Corner, a storybook world where kids are invited to read, draw and sing…
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The Haight & Hayes Valley
All you closet pomaders and after-sun balmers: wear those potions with pride, without feeling like the dupe of some cosmetics conglomerate. Clever Nancy…
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Los Angeles
Nirvana for fans of mid-century-modern design, Sunbean Vintage stocks an utterly fabulous collection of retro furniture and homewares. Dive in for…
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San Francisco
Take in the local scenery at Local Take, a gallery of original SF souvenirs made and designed by locals. Bring home your very own Castro landmark – like a…
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Berkeley
Rumor has it this is the oldest science-fiction, fantasy and horror bookstore in the country. Whether true or not, those who love this sort of genre of…
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The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers
Tucked in a courtyard, this design showcase is like a museum store for exceptional, artistic household items – to wit, a mirrored coat rack, a…
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Los Angeles
It would be hard to find a better collection of antiques, masks, clothes and jewelry outside of West Africa than those found in this owner-operated…
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North Coast & Redwoods
The renowned hometown jeweler, famed for its nature-inspired Niobium metalwork, has its headquarters in Arcata's up-and-coming Creamery District. You get…
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North Coast & Redwoods
You'll find the non-GMO cheeses made by this 100-year-old company on the menus of high-end restaurants up and down the California coast. Be sure to stop…
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Malibu & Pacific Palisades
This one-of-a-kind store pops from the Topanga Canyon roadside, thanks to skeletons and mannequins dressed like Egyptian eunuchs and Viking warriors,…
