So I had a pretty rough year… well, maybe the past two years. Actually… make it seven. You know what? The past 45 years absolutely sucked. I needed a shopping day with my BFF. We both had recently dealing with hospice care for family members, the deaths and in my case, the estate clean out. I am burnt the fuck out! We needed a girl’s day for sure! If YOU also need a shopping day in San Francisco to decompress, I have some shop recommendations for you!
I made an itinerary around our interests: Fragrance, Stationery and Local Artist Owned SF gift shops. I also have a list on Benable called San Francisco Shopping Scents & Sips! This list of shops could be helpful for those in San Francisco and want to know where the fun shops with beauty, fragrance, cute stationery and non-touristy locally owned SF-themed gifts. Plus themed bars to hang out afterwards!
I also have two videos that I posted on TikTok: 1 minute and 6 minute.
I mapped everything on Google Maps and saw which neighborhoods had the most concentrated amount of stores on the list. Then I asked ChatGPT for a realistic timeline to see if we could realistically visit every place and make our dinner reservation and it turned out that we could! It allowed us to wander into unplanned shops and restaurants with plenty of time to spare! Discovering stuff you didn’t know about is half the fun!
We couldn’t possibly hit every single place on the map, so I rounded up what’s close and then planned to Uber/Lyft to the next neighborhood. So here is where we ended up going:
Inner Sunset
Ambiance
San Franpyscho
Kira Shop
Taidama
Tartine
Sunset Mercantile
My Favorite
Pac Heights
Ministry of Scent
Miette
Credo
Just For Fun
Post.Script
Japantown
3 Pillars
Asakichi
The Face Shop
TokTok
Amiko
Candy Doll
Kinokuniya
Maido
Daiso
The Castro
ZGO Perfumery
Local Take
Tenderloin/Civic Center Corridor
Son & Garden
I had a $400 budget and that included transportation and food. So all of my choices had to be thought out and deliberate. No baller mentality! I left so much behind! I went over budget, but by maybe $50-60. Unfortunately that budget was also supposed to include the Pen Show the next day.
Did I visit every single store that deserved a visit? Absolutely not! I know I am missing Rare Device, On Waverly, Upper Playground and probably more stores. But we did what we could based on the time we had! We decided that we should make this an annual thing! I think The Haight should be next!
My goal: Find Sutro Tower merch. I have collected a lot over the years and it turns out I already own a lot of the stuff I found. But I also discovered merch I had never seen before! I used to have college classes near the touristy areas. So it’s Golden Gate Bridge this, Golden Gate Bridge that. I wanted Bay Bridge and Sutro Tower. The Bay Bridge connects me and my two homes. Sutro Tower hits home for me. For one, it’s close to UCSF, where I was born. And the first boyfriend I had met in college was from SF and he took me up there. So it always reminded me of that time of my life. I feel like it’s a deep cut, ones that SF locals would buy.
Inner Sunset
I used to hang around the Inner Sunset a lot during the early 2000’s. I took the N Judah to visit my dad in the Outer Sunset and to work my assistant teaching job at Lawton. I recently came across old photos I took in 2003, and while I was waiting for my friend to arrive, I re-took the photos to see the difference. It’s not the exact same angles, I got lazy. Despite that, I am surprised at how this slideshow blew up on TikTok! Check it out here!
I used to go to the Ambiance on Haight, but the one in the Inner Sunset seems to be the only one that survived. I visited while my friend was on her way, and sadly I too busy browsing to take any footage of the store!
I should have bought this Xal’atath Fanta! I wasn’t in the market for a soda cause I just chugged down my leaking bottle of water, which soaked my tote bag and followed me with a trail of water. I did not need more hydration.
I forget how I discovered San Franpyscho, but I have been buying their shirts for years. They have a lot of great designs!
The Kira Shop
I wanted to buy so much, but I also couldn’t blow my budget! They have SF-themed Miffy merch, and I even saw Rainbow Brite!
Sunset Mercantile
They carry a lot of local artist-made merch, including one I am already familiar with, Fishbow Designs!
My Favorite
The novelty hair clip photo was taken at My Favorite on Irving. I am obsessed with novelty hair clips! I said if I found a large pizza one, I’d get it. I found it at Post.Script. I also liked the crab hair clip!
It looks like I never took a photo of the front of My Favorite, but it still has the Wishbone sign outside the store. I used to come here after work. I even bought a Sutro Tower onesie that says “Local.” I guess I can put it on my chihuahua.
Never fear, I have my photo I took in 2003:
You can also see way more in my video on TikTok! I didn’t photograph everything because I was focusing on shooting videos.
Pac Heights
Ministry of Scent
I had a good time here after ScentFest, that I had to come back! I got Imaginary Authors A Little Secret then, and picked up In Love With Everything this visit. If you want 2ml samples, you should buy them on their website. They didn’t offer any at the Pac Heights location.
Miette
Peet’s
I appreciated the old-IG style photo wall! Note the Spengers sign!
I didn’t take any photos in Credo, but they had a bunch of brands that I already buy such as Tower 28 and Ilia. And brands I want to check out, like MOB Beauty!
post.script 
I so badly wanted this glass Sutro Tower ornament. They give you a box when you buy it, but I didn’t think it would survive the day. Getting in and out of Ubers, carrying multiple bags, walking through crowds, and not to mention… my tote bag was already soaking fucking wet! I was really put out by that. My backup tote was inside that bag, also completely soaked. How much do you want to bet that ornament wouldn’t get not only wet, but also shattered into a thousand tiny pieces? I cannot be trusted with something so delicate. I can also buy it from Local Elves directly, and I might have to trust the mail carriers to also not drop it. I wouldn’t mind if they just made it plastic. If I bought this, it wouldn’t go near a tree! I would keep it in an acrylic box and glue it down so it won’t shatter during an earthquake. It is The Precious!
Japantown
3 Pillars
Do not skip 3 Pillars! It is not inside the mall, but a short walk across the street. It is artist owned, and we met two of them. I was like, “OMG I have a bunch of your stuff already!” My friend even got a custom drawing from Nate1 of New Skool!
Japantown Mall
(I don’t know which store this is, but it is next to Asakichi.)
Amiko
This store is dangerous for me since I have been a fan of Tokidoki for many, many years! I ended up buying a few birthday gifts for my friend!I told myself, no blind boxes though.
Haw Flakes is one of my favorite Chinese treats! I would have purchased this card if I didn’t see it after I already checked out! I would link the brand if I knew what it was.
Kinokuniya Books
The Sanrio Fisherman/Crab SF line is popular on TikTok!
MEE
Should I have bought this? The Peter Pan collar and tie aren’t my style, but the cutesy metal graphic is!
The Castro
ZGO Perfumery
ZGO and Ministry of Scent carry mostly different brands, with little overlap. It’s worth it to check out both stores if you’re interested in luxury niche perfumes.
I really liked a lot of Lorenzo Pazzaglia perfumes from Scent Fest! Cherry Ink in particular.
Above is d’Annam, a fragrance house from Vietnam that has many asian food and drink inspired fragrances.
I bought what I came for, which was Jusbox Wave of Freedom. (Not pictured.) I had smelled it at ScentFest. I already got Sisters B4 Misters and Nightflow from ScentSplit.
Local Take
I really enjoyed Local Take because it was much larger than the other stores and there was so much to browse! Even my husband’s friends/former co-workers former project was there! We have a few GRQP (Get Rich Quick Project) prints already. But many years ago, I requested The Sunset and I neglected to buy it. Well, I finally got it! The person working there said they bought the license from them. So the GRQP lives on!
Sutro Tower PILLOWS! Imma cry!!!!! One is from New Skool SF and the others are by Katy Kristen.
From the tees pictured, I recognize Amos Goldbaum.
The fog has lifted and Sutro Tower has been spotted! I was finally able to take my pics and shoot videos with my stickers! Do you want one? I didn’t buy much stock so if you want one, please be sure to get one soon!
Dinner!
My friend and I have been trying to come to Son & Garden for YEARS! Probably since they had opened. But there was always something foiling our plans! We finally made it! I want to go back because there are many other dishes I want to try!
Unfortunately for my sanity, I am against all caps and lids. What did I do? I lazily snapped the lid on my Thai leftovers. Not only were my bags soaking wet from my water bottle, but I also had a puddle of green curry in my bag once I got home. I was already annoyed from the stoners bothering me and the BART platform swarming with cops with guns. Apparently there was an armed man on the train I was on and I had a bag full of curry! What a fucking day!
My Haul:
This is a very restrained haul because of the budget. Some of these are gifts from me to other people, so I hope they won’t see this before the package gets to their house!
To my surprise, there was plenty of Sutro Tower merch in the locally owned shops! I already owned a lot of it and as you can see above, I bought 4 I didn’t have. I wasn’t able to collect everything I saw, but that gives me more motivation for next time. Now what is lacking is Bay Bridge merch. I’d think it wouldn’t be as lacking, but here we are.
SF Pen Show
This is the main reason why my friend came to visit!
I don’t have a lot of photos because I focused more on shooting videos. You can see my video here on TikTok.
I came for the stationery and stickers. I don’t journal, and am terrible at calligraphy. So I cannot justify spending $200+ on a pen, no matter how pretty it is. But if I had endless wealth, I know which pens I would have picked!
The SF Pen Show was held at the Westin in Millbrae. It was an absolute clusterfuck! Very difficult to get around with the huge crowds. I highly recommend that you NOT take a big bag, especially not a backpack! I wouldn’t take a stroller or a dog either. It’s just too crowded. But I would 100% go again for the Stationery Show coming up in March. I love checking out other artists!
Rickshaw Bagworks
Rickshaw Bags and Mario Delgado understood the assignment. We have both Sutro Tower and the Bay Bridge here on this sheet!
Fog Cats and Yanchako
They have a physical store in Japantown!
Thousand Skies They have a physical store in San Jose.
From Jean With Love
I immediately went for the Transamerica and GG Bridge postcards! How gorgeous are these?
Curnow Bookbinding & Leatherworks
I first noticed the Maurader’s Map and then squealed in delight once I saw the Ravenclaw one above it! Yes, I wish I could have gotten it. But I had no idea how out of control the budget got at that point. My budget was $60 for that day and the journals were $43. Maybe next time they will be back!
I’ve actually known about Ferris Wheel Press and their Harry Potter Hogwarts House collection for awhile! I badly wanted the Ravenclaw set when it launched, but it’s way out of my price range for someone who does so terribly with calligraphy. Here you can see that they also have a Lord of the Rings set, which is $200. That would look awesome on the dark academia shelf…
There are way more vendors, but I neglected to photograph them all. I was so busy talking to them!
I think my next goal for my business is clear. Show at a fair. I know, my husband learned from his friends that it is a huge financial loss. BUT they are still sold in local stores, despite them actually being out of business. People have actually HEARD of them. No one has heard of me! Showing is a great way to get my name out there. I had never heard of most of these businesses until I looked at the Pen Show vendor lineup, and then I discovered more by meeting them in person! So yeah, I’ll probably lose money by just buying inventory. But getting my name out there and letting people know that I exist may be worth it in the end. Otherwise, people will keep not knowing that I exist and I will never make a profit. My next step is having more rounded out collections, so it makes more sense. I wont even think about becoming a vendor until 2028 and then I will start small.
My SF Pen Show Haul:
Stickers and stationery from: Stationery Universe, Thousand Skies, From Jean With Love, Pineberry Paper, Fog Cats, Maverick Pens, Dana Ate Oatmeal!, Glimmoires/Poli Pens, Unicorn Autopsy/Carolina Pen Works/Fountain Telling, Cosmic Pancake and Rickshaw Bagworks. Some of these were free promotional stickers or free postcards with purchase.
What I want to do is complete my SF line, and do more deep cuts when it comes to San Francisco landmarks.I already have some graphics I made for my wedding in 2009, and some from the Ultra 80’s San Francisco line. I made sure my Sutro Tower stickers arrived in time for the Pen Show and then I completely forgot to give them to people I met! I met someone who went to the Academy of Art like I did! I met someone who plays World of Warcraft! I could have given her one of my bookmarks! I am kicking myself for forgetting!
My stickers arrived in time for me to forget to market myself, but that means there is more inventory for you! I have three different varieties:
Please check out my newest stickers at my shop!
Holographic Sutro Tower, 1.3″ × 4.4″
City Love: San Francisco Sutro Tower Heart Sticker Holographic Glitter, 2″ x 1.7″
City Love: San Francisco Sutro tower Heart Sticker Glow-in-the-Dark, 2″ x 1.7″
I have a design I did years ago called, Sutro Power. If there’s any interest, I can bring that design back or even rework it. I wish I could find this shirt in the sea of black shirts.
Disclaimer: Nothing in this post is sponsored. I paid for everything featured here out of my own little budget! Some promotional stickers in my SF Pen Show haul were provided at no cost. Some of the Benable links in this post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them, at no additional cost to you. I’m also shamelessly promoting my own brand and products in this post because, well… it’s my blog.
