Hey San Francisco peeps! If you haven't been into Tantrum in Cole Valley yet then you must go take a peek! One of the most unique and well done kid's shops in the city! They have mid-century modern inspired toys, home goods, & other finds at a price you can't resist. They even feature us and other local letterpress & we couldn't be more proud to be amongst such visual bliss!
Local Love: Tender Loving Empire
In May, we partnered with our friends at Egg Press and moved our printing operations to their studio in Portland, Oregon. Since we now have a Hello!Lucky team up north in addition to our design studio in San Francisco, we thought it was only logical to extend our Local Love series and showcase some of the fantastic shops in Portland! We're starting with Tender Loving Empire, which was founded in 2006 by Portland-based artists and musicians Jared and Brianne Mees. It began as a record label and print shop and a year later expanded to include a consignment retail shop focused on locally produced items. The walls of the shop are covered in illustrations, and a mural above the front door reads "You are part of this place", which captures the spirit of the store and its dedication to community.
Its current location on Southwest 10th and Stark houses a full screen print shop and the Tender Loving Empire offices as well as the retail store front. The store sells exclusively handmade items and strives to represent Pacific Northwest artists. We're proud to see a few of our own on the shelf alongside cards made by so many talented local artists!
The screen printing studio produces T-shirts and prints, album packaging for the TLE label's artists as well as commissions for local businesses.
Tender Loving Empire
412 SW 10th Ave, Portland Oregon (503) 243-5859
Local Love: Little Paper Planes & Owl Cave
For this installment of our Local Love series we headed to Valencia street and visited one of our favorite new stores, Little Paper Planes + Owl Cave books. Little Paper Planes opened earlier this year in May and it's such a great addition to the bustling Mission neighborhood.
Little Paper Planes is owned and operated by Kelly Lynn Jones, who ran LPP as an online shop for years before launching this brick and mortar version of her store. Kelly is joined by Viniita Moran who brought her online bookstore Owl Cave Books into the shop. Owl Cave Books has a wonderfully curated selection of hard to find art books and magazines.
One of our favorite things about the shop is the space, which was transformed with fixtures and hand built pieces created by Kate Pruitt.
The shop also has a print gallery which features a new artist every month and a residency program which can be found in the back of the store. The residency program offers space to artists, makers and curators.
If you're visiting the bay area or if you're a local who hasn't been to LPP + Owl Cave Books yet definitely make a trip there. They have such a great selection of goods and they're so well curated and displayed, you'll definitely leave feeling inspired and hopefully with something fun you didn't have before.
Little Paper Planes + Owl Cave
Local Love: General Store
This weekend we made a trek out to the Outer Sunset in San Francisco and visited one of our favorite shops, General Store.
General Store has a wonderful collection of locally sourced and well designed goods for sale. We love the feel of the shop and the carefully selected items.
How amazing is this wall of cards? We love the simplicity of the wood and rope. Such a great design, there's something about the General Store that makes us feel like we're on a ship, which is pretty fitting given how close it is to the ocean.
Fat bags of local beans.
Terrariums and tea towels.
If you visit the bay area definitely make a trek out to General Store, it's worth the trip! And while you're out there stop next door and grab some cinnamon toast and something hot to drink at Trouble Coffee.
General Store 4035 Judah St, San Francisco, CA 94122415-682-0600
11-7 Monday - Friday
10 - 7 Saturday - Sunday
Shop Feature: Postmark
We are so thrilled to pick up our store features again. This time we're kicking off with a great shop we love in the UK called Postmark. Postmark has two shops, one of which is located in Balham, just a little south of our offices in London Bridge. When Postmark in Balham opened their doors they added greatly to to the the area's increasing reputation for being a shopping destination for those seeking out a more individual retail experience. We chatted a bit with the owners to give you a little more insight into this great independent boutique.
We are a small family run company based in South London. Run by a team of passionate card lovers with over 25 years experience, we pride ourselves on our hand picked selection of cards. We mainly deal with small independent publishers with over 95% of them based, designing and producing in the UK.
Our Balham store first opened it's door in 2004 and soon became a neighbourhood favourite. We won the title of 'Best Independent Card Retailer - London' in 2008 and the buzz and excitement this created was the catalyst for us opening our East Dulwich store in December 2008. In 2009 we then became the first company to retain and win this award twice. This award is the industry 'Oscars' and rewards and recognises excellence in the greeting card industry.
We pride ourselves on customer service and are always looking for new and exciting ways to stand out from the rest. In both our stores, you can use the first of it's kind, in house postal service. Each store has an in store postal service, enabling customers to send their cards and parcels to anywhere in the world without even leaving the shops. Just pop in, pick a card, write it and we will do the rest! We have been finalists in 2007,2010 and 2011 for 'Best Retail Initiative' for our fresh and intuitive retail ideas. From our 'Golden ticket' campaign to our most recent 'Beat the postal price increase' campaign starting in November 2012.
While Hello!Lucky is one of our favourites we also stock cards from Caroline Gardner, Urban Graphic, Simon Drew, Noi Publishing, Almanac Gallery, Rachel Ellen, Pigment Productions, The Art File, ArtPress, Stop The Clock to name just a few as well as numerous small up and coming publishers who we feel could be the next big thing!
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Thanks for taking the time to chat with us Postmark and thanks for being such a supporter of our cards over the years. You can shop Postmark's great inventory of cards online or visit one of their two locations if you are in the UK.
Vera Wang Wedding Gowns
Last night a few of us from Hello!Lucky put on our party dresses and attended the grand opening of the new Vera Wang Bridal Boutique in San Francisco. We sipped champagne and oogled over the pretty dresses on display.
The boutique is in a beautiful location overlooking Union Square and we can only imagine how special it would be for a bride to have her fittings in such a stunning setting.
These photos don't do the gorgeous gowns justice, but we wanted to share our snapshots from the evening. If you're a bride in San Francisco looking for that perfect gown this boutique should be the first place you visit!
180 Geary St, 4th Fl (between Stockton St & Grant Ave) San Francisco, CA 94108
Store Feature: ink & peat
This week we’re continuing with our vendor feature series and highlighting the lovely indie shop ink & peat. ink & peat is both a retail store and a floral design shop based in Portland, Oregon. It opened in 2009 by Pamela Zsori, who spent 15 years as a designer in the fashion industry before deciding to open up shop. As you can see from these photos her thoughtful displays and bright beautiful products make for a stylish and welcoming space. We asked Pamela some questions about how this unique shop got its start and what makes it so special...
How long have you been in business?
We have been open for 3 1/2 years.
Can you tell us a little bit about the neighborhood where ink & peat is located? ink & peat is in an up-an-coming section of the Boise-Eliot neighborhood in North Portland. Many of the shops and restaurants were built in old warehouses.
What inspired you to open ink & peat?
I was a textile designer for many years. My boyfriend and I wanted to move to Portland from San Francisco and I started thinking of ways to re-invent myself. I had an "a-ha moment" at 5 in the morning while I was shopping on the east coast for antiques. I started thinking about what I would be willing to get up early for - I loved antiques, home decor, and flowers. I soon started taking night classes in floral design and thinking of ways to incorporate all the things I love into one career. It ended up being this lifestyle store called ink & peat!
How long have you been carrying H!L cards?
We have been carrying Hello Lucky! cards for 1 1/2 years. I love the sense of whimsy and seeing people smile when they pick them up.
Do you have a favorite or best selling card from us?
The Spring Chicken card sells well - Portland is definitely a chicken town - so many folks raise them in their yard. I always love Julia Rothman's unicorn card - maybe because I grew up in the 70's!
From what's selling in your store right now what do you think is the next big trend?
I'm not sure about the NEXT big paper trend - but right now people can't get enough whales! In home decor, there is definitely inspiration from Native American handcrafts and there is a lot of color coming on strong. I think people are ready to climb out of this tough economy and need some bright inspiration and a return to handmade goods.
Store Feature: Modern Mouse
This week we’re continuing with our vendor feature series and highlighting the lovely indie shop Modern Mouse. Opened in 2009 and tucked away in an open-air shopping center in Alameda, California, this sweet boutique offers loads of handcrafted goods. We asked owner Eleen Hsu some questions about how this unique shop got its start and what makes it so special.
What inspired you to open Modern Mouse? In mid-2009, I heard about a business plan competition offering the grand prize of a 1-year lease on a retail space at a local shopping center. I'd grown up crafting and loved the world of DIY/handmade, was running a tiny little business on Etsy selling handmade bags and dreamed of having my own brick-and-mortar shop, so I entered! I made it to the semi-finalists with a concept pretty close to Modern Mouse's current business model, but in the end I lost out to a learning cafe concept. A few months later, I noticed that CCA (California College of the Arts) had opened a pop-up shop in my neighborhood shopping center. Inspired, I wrote to the property manager and within 6 of the busiest weeks of my life, Modern Mouse opened its doors! We started off as a holiday pop-up shop with goods from about 50 artists, and 2 years later we've tripled our roster and thrive on being able to bring the amazing work of local and indie artists to our community.
What makes Modern Mouse so unique? One of the things that we think makes us unique is that we're such big fans of DIY that we love sharing it as much as we love selling it. Every month we host a Crafty Hour that's led by queen of crafting Polly Conway. We choose a fun craft that teaches a different skill each month, round up supplies (and of course snacks and beverages), and invite the community to join us for an enlightening evening of crafts! We also love putting a name, face, and story to the goods that our customers purchase. We display artist profile cards alongside their work, as well as feature each one on our blog. We've also started a series called "Show Your Studio" to give customers behind-the-scenes looks into where all the magic happens.
How long have you been carrying H!L cards? We started carrying Hello!Lucky cards just a few months after we opened. H!L cards are right up our alley because like most of our products, they're also locally made just across the bay in San Francisco! Not to mention that the H!L team makes it fun and super-easy to order. :]
Do you have a favorite or best selling card from us? Peeps is our best-selling H!L card! Unicorns and Lionheart are tied for second, and the Sock Monkey series are all around faves as well. My fave is the new Greetings from San Francisco card!
Can you tell us a little bit about your staff and what they are loving in the store right now? Fuzzy monster gear by Ghoulie Girls is a perennial favorite, but the plush critters by Phil Barbato have also recently snatched a special place in our hearts, along with 3 Fish Studios' "I Love California" prints. Not to mention, of course, the work of three of our very own talented staffers: Genevieve Santos of Le Petit Elefant, Polly Conway of Pollyannacowgirl and Marguerite Payne of Bella Beads!
Anything else? We're so grateful for the support of our customers, our artists, the handmade community and wonderful vendors like Hello!Lucky for making it a joy to do what we love!
Thanks Modern Mouse! If you live in the Bay Area, go say hello! The shop is located at 2228 S Shore Ctr, Ste A, Alameda, CA 94501.