Monthly Archives: May 2012

A Little Guitar Shop With A Big Heart At The Center

24 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in Featured Store, San Francisco

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It would be easy to say that the first thing I notice when I walk into the relatively dimly lit Real Guitars, tucked away on a tree-lined Lafayette Street just off of Mission Street, is, the guitars. Rare beauties, unusual axes, and historic relics. Yes and no. I’ve made many trips to bigger, seemingly more advanced music centers to pick up the kind of modern gear you’re not likely to find at Real Guitars. In those experiences, the sheer number of marketing schemes and sale posters and tickets, the aggressive nature of the salespeople, was simply overwhelming. Making a good choice suddenly felt riddled with anxiety, the value and story of the guitars lost in all the marketing and displays. The feeling of anticipation I’d left the house with, about adding something beautiful to my arsenal to create a more distinct sound, to find a voice, ended up somewhat suffocated within the muddy mechanism of high powered retail muscle. Initially inspired visits to places like these often deteriorate into a hustled moment to do some quick business – do some research about what you need before you go, and when you get there, locate the item and get out with quiet speed. This isn’t at all the case at Real Guitars. There, it really is all about the sound and beauty of the instruments, and the right amps to help you find each guitar’s sweet spot.

Owner Chris Cobb opened Real Guitars back in 1986 with partner Ben Levin, making it San Francisco’s oldest vintage guitar store. And, unlike some shops, another thing that impressed me was that is was relatively quiet. No “Stairway To Heaven”solos blasting across the room here. When I popped in most recently, a client was quietly plucking away on Chris’s newest, most prized acquisition – a pristine, cream-colored 1961 Gibson Les Paul with an ebony fretboard and the body of an SG. Chris softly explained a little of the guitar’s history, which has an asking price of $17,000. The piece is truly a work of art. But this is certainly at the very high end of their stock list, and not even a true reflection of its value. The owners have had to take into consideration the sputtering economy, and this has dropped the cost of their merchandise considerably. “In terms of us buying things to sell for resale, things have really changed because the economy’s really collapsed. This Les Paul, for example, would have probably, in 2006, been worth like up close to $40,000,” Chris said. For a business owner, this translates into being quite a bit more conservative when buying for the store. “That’s how were keeping our doors open, too. We’ve been here in the same location for 26 years now. You see how incredibly packed we are right now. I do the best I can to not buy pieces of crap. We definitely have a few guitars that are icons of the era.” Indeed. As I scanned the walls and floors, I was the veritable kid in a candy shop – mandolins, a beautiful Fender amp, a custom-made 5-string bass by Ransom, hollow body electrics, slide guitars, old school bass amplifiers, acoustics from the 1930′s. All beautifully restored, and allowed to speak for themselves among the drab walls free of decorations and sales lingo. And you won’t find Chris hovering over you pushing you to buy anything, so you can really sit with the guitar to see if it feels right for you. As Chris put it, “Nah, I just like to let people come in and do their thing.” Nice.

Another beautiful aspect of Real Guitars is that the back half of the store is a repair shop owned by local cult favorite Gary Brawer. You can spend the time waiting for your guitar to be tuned up checking out some of the beauties just behind you, and maybe even fall in love with your next 6-string. “We’re a separate business than the repair shop. People going there for repairs see everything that’s for sale, and that’s really helpful,” Chris told  me. I, for one, hope to see the economy give back to places like Real Guitars. My experiences there have always been authentic and inspiring. Because, while the place may not light up on the outside like blowout sale fireworks, it has a humble, knowing heart at the center, quietly throbbing… but just loud enough that you can hear it beneath the vintage amps buzzing with the crisp sounds of calloused fingers sliding down silky, steel strings.

Visit Real Guitars at 15 Lafayette Street and be sure to download StoreSnaps onto your iPhone so you can keep up to date with their info and products.

A Breath Of Fresh Urban Air

14 Monday May 2012

Posted by in San Francisco

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Strolling through Hayes Valley toward Octavia Boulevard this past Sunday, I savored the soft heat of the sun on my skin and the cooling of the ocean breeze. I had sunglasses on, sleeves rolled up, the air was languid, the natural world penetrating the concrete with sublime affection. It was the kind of day discovery was best left outside of the heavy door and glass window, to stand in the grass and be treated to a stunning array of art and commerce. How fitting, then, that Urban Air Market chooses a park as its theater, especially when you consider the consider the cornerstone behind event director Danielle Cohen’s vision. Along with creatively unique design and marketability, of the three criteria needed to qualify for entry into Urban Air Market the one Danielle points to as most critical is its sustainability. To be sure, emphasizing sustainability has become something of a religion in San Francisco. In order to be considered sustainable, a good must possess the quality of not being harmful to the environment or depleting natural resources, and thereby supporting long-term ecological balance. Surveying the many vendors and their work with a backdrop of a bold, blue sky and lilting trees, the harmony between commerce and nature was apparent.

Urban Air Market is an 8-year-old outdoor fashion festival held twice a year in Hayes Valley. Originally called Capsule, the event was renamed Urban Air Market when Danielle took over at the end of 2010. While the festival has remained largely the same on the surface, her decision to go greener is a fresh and vital change. “We’re trying to change the focus…toward people that are working in the direction of doing something environmentally sound with their business,” Danielle says. “People apply, and then there’s a curation process. They have to submit their website, some images of their work and a sustainability statement. It could be as simple as they do all their deliveries on a bicycle, or that they only use organic dyes and fabrics. If it comes down to two equally awesome designers, but one of them is working toward sustainability and and one isn’t, then that’s the one that’s going to get in. And that’s new.” Also new this year, Danielle commissioned artists from southern California to do a 20-foot live mural and brought in a photo booth sponsored by online marketplace Storenvy. Most fascinating to me was something called TopShelf, a mobile boutique housed in San Francisco’s first-ever fashion truck that parks at various locations in San Francisco on selected dates. “They’re like a food truck but its a fashion boutique on wheels and they just drive around,” Danielle told me. Nice.

With 130 vendors this year, including neo-couture upcycler Miss Velvet Cream, Polka Queen Hats, awesome belt buckles by Booty Boutique and Vein Jewelry, it was easy to feel like a kid in a candy shop. I only needed an ice cream cone to complete the picture. I was, however, able to concentrate long enough to have a few favorites. Like Tooth N Nail by local designer Adrienne Moore, who uses hand antiqued metals, vintage 60′s pendants and hand carved bone to create tribal jewelry that feels like its leaping off the pages of of a children’s storybook. Or Thorn + Wood by Kelsey Nichols. She makes beautifully simple custom woodworks by hand with salvaged woods and recycled nails. I was also drawn to the Sheila B Jewelry stand, by Sheila Brogle. Her pieces were ornate and had a mysterious, modern, high fashion edge about them that was quite sexy. But the greatest thing about this type of an event is that the designers themselves work their own stands so you can meet with them and talk about their work. That sort of intimacy and storytelling while shopping is huge to us at StoreSnaps. As the afternoon hours weaned, it was difficult to walk away from the sun and the wind and the green. The clock was approaching five and I was expected at my night job, enclosed by man-made materials and dimly lit. But the afternoon had left me with a shimmer, wanting to make things of my own, and longing for the next Urban Air Market in the fall.

Visit Urban Air Market online for more information including instructions if you’d like to apply for your own booth, and be sure to download StoreSnaps onto your iPhone so you can keep up to date with info and products.

Taylor Stitch Puts The Edge In Prep

03 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in Featured Store, San Francisco

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One of the great things about living in a diverse city is people watching. There is such an array of styles and individuality you begin to wonder where each person came from and what particular set of stories were packed away in the bags they brought with them from however many miles or continents away. And sometimes these styles begin to coalesce and homogenize in such a way that it’s clearly been taken and tempered by the local waters. It came from somewhere else, and was reborn by the culture apparent. It could be punk, bohemian, rocker, mod, or, in the case of Taylor Stitch, it could even be preppy. With three owners all hailing from the East Coast, and with backgrounds in preparatory schools, the clothing at Taylor reflects a particular set of ideals and history yet imbibes it with a twist that is unique to the edgy spirit of San Francisco. Think tattoo sleeved arms silhouetted by classic, dapper, almost academic prints and cuts. Even better, much of what you’ll find inside the clean, rustic interior is handmade here in California. So something so purely inspired by East Coast culture has found its own little home on the other side of the country. But, best of all, as opposed to merely adopting Taylor Stitch’s specific aesthetic, you can make it entirely your own by choosing your own fabrics and patterns only to have your shirt custom-made all the way back again on the East Coast. Fascinating.

Owners Michael Maher, Michael Armenta and Barrett Purdum moved to San Francisco with just such a vision, according to wholesale manager Juan Perez. It started as a door-to-door custom shirt business about three and a half years ago. Soon after, they opened their first brick and mortar along the spotty avenues of 6th and Mission, a location that never quite took hold in that financially adrift neck of the woods. Valencia Street, however, with a burgeoning pulse of commerce, was waiting. Several doors down from a new array of thriving boutiques and Four Barrel, Taylor Stitch finds itself thriving and making its rogue, preppy impression on the community. The first thing you will notice on the left as you enter the shop is an array of fabrics and prints beautifully organized on wooden shelves. Patrons can pick from these, have themselves measured and wait just a few weeks while their own custom made shirt is being tailored in Newark, New Jersey at an old school manufacture named Gambert. So old school it’s the second oldest manufacturer in the country, Perez told me. The same process can be applied to footwear, with an emphasis on moccasins. In this case, Taylor Stitch’s shoe line is facilitated by a unique relationship with shoemakers Rancourt & Co. out of Maine. Apparently, third generation owner Kyle Rancourt played hockey at an opposing school against creative director Michael Maher. This time, however, the arena was a win-win of exposure and productivity. Like the custom-made shirts, shoppers can be fitted and choose their favorite leathers, colors and makes for handmade shoes crafted in Lewiston.

If, however, you prefer to pick from the shelves or the rack, Taylor Stitch has finely stocked their shop with a handsome array of their own neckwear, jackets from Aether, their own locally handmade belts, handwoven panama hats from Ecuador, canvas bags as well as leather bags. The leather bags are gorgeous, and are designed by a friend of the company who works under the business name of Joshu + Vela. Yet, as proud of they are of the company they keep, however, Juan emphasized that the true goal of Taylor Stitch is to grow their own brand, with their own merchandise gradually filling every last shelf in the space. For, while they may hail from the East Coast, and while they may have landed here in the west, Taylor Stitch is its own thing. It’s so very San Francisco, sure, but only because they brought it here.

Visit Taylor Stitch at 383 Valencia Street and be sure to download StoreSnaps onto your iPhone so you can keep up to date with their info and products.

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