Gift shopping in San Francisco
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Little Otsu
Finally, organizational tools for the artistically inclined: a ‘Film Diary’ so you can keep track of your SF Film Festival favorites, Keri Smith’s free-form ‘Daily Non-Planner’ so you can make dates and capture ideas when so moved, and a Simon Evans airplane bookmark that ominously declares its destination as ‘TERMINAL EXCESSIVE SENSIBILITIES.’ Stationery with jellyfish printed in vegetable inks on 100% post-consumer recycled paper makes an eco-smart gift, and everyone deserves a wombat button.
reviewed
-
B
Suey Chong Co
Retail the old-fashioned way, with superior gifts and collectible memorabilia stacked on wooden shelves and monitored by a watchful grandmother. All babies should come equipped with adorable slippers shaped like tigers, and onesies with a pudgy anime version of their Chinese Zodiac symbol (even the snake is cute). Peek into the old wooden counter to see enamel hair pins shaped like flying bats and three-inch silk shoes for 'golden lotuses'.
reviewed
-
C
Paxton Gate
Salvador Dali probably would’ve shopped here for all his taxidermy and gardening needs. What with puppets made with animal skulls, a stuffed mouse dressed like the Pope, a vast selection of pruning shears and lollipops with actual worms in them, this place is beyond surreal. The new kids shop down the street is worthy of Lemony Snickett, with volcano-making kits, sea-monster mobiles and solar-powered dollhouses.
reviewed
-
D
Studio
Maybe shopping is a substitute for Prozac after all – especially that silver necklace in the shape of a serotonin molecule. Spiff up your pad with locally made arts and crafts at bargain prices, such as Mike Farruggia’s altered street sign that cautions ‘Beware the Pompitous, ’ Chiami Sekine’s collages of birds tweeting instead of bloggers, and Monique Tse’s fat-free cupcakes made of blown glass.
reviewed
-
E
Kohshi
Let’s be honest: San Francisco fog smells better when gently scented by Japanese incense. Here you’ll find fragrant sticks for every purpose, from long-burning sandalwood for meditation to cinnamon-tinged Gentle Smile to atone for laundry left too long, plus lovely gift ideas: gentle charcoal soap, cups that look like crumpled paper, and purple Daruma figurines for making wishes.
reviewed
-
F
Under One Roof
All the fabulous gift ideas under this roof are donated by local designers and businesses, so AIDS service organizations get 100% of the proceeds from your indispensable elephant tape dispenser, etched San Francisco skyline martini glasses and adorable Jonathan Adler vase. Those sweet sales clerks are volunteers, so show them some love for raising – get this – $11 million to date.
reviewed
-
G
Far East Flea Market
The shopping equivalent of crack, this bottomless store is dangerously cheap and certain to make you giddy and delusional. Of course you can get that sale samurai sword through airport security! There’s no such thing as too many bath toys, paper lanterns and bobble-headed Edgar Allen Poe action figures! Step away from the dollar Golden Gate snow globes while there’s still time…
reviewed
-
H
Chinatown Kite Shop
Be the star of Crissy Field and wow any kids in your life with a fierce 6ft-long flying shark, a flying panda bear that looks understandably stunned, or ‘Pink Floyd, ’ the goofy pink flamingo (shouldn’t that be a pig, really?). Pick up a papier-mâché two-person lion dance costume, and invite a date to bust some ferocious moves with you next lunar new year.
reviewed
-
I
Global Exchange Fair Trade Craft Center
Consumerism with a heart of gold: wild splurges on splashy Rwandan laptop bags, fair-trade chocolate, sweatshop-free sneakers from Pakistan and crates of smiling, organic-Egyptian-cotton carrots seem somehow noble, since the proceeds go right back to the community cooperatives that made them via nonprofit Global Exchange.
reviewed
-
J
Human Rights Campaign Action Center & Store
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) keeps the Civil Rights movement charging gaily forward, lobbying for GLBT causes and candidates and protecting hard-won freedoms. Stop by to see what’s next on the agenda, or pick up signature condoms and a limited-edition designer HRC tee. Great spot to get the latest on Prop 8.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Claudia Kussano
Meteorites, dewdrops, eucalyptus buds and other natural wonders inspire delicate, fascinating jewelry by San Francisco designer Kussano. Fiddlehead fern earrings evoke the California Academy of Science’s rainforest dome, and pod necklaces look like rare specimens from Crissy Field’s marshlands.
reviewed
-
L
Wishbone
Certain gifts never fail to please: explode-in-your-mouth Pop Rocks candy, smiling toast coin purses, candy-colored jewelry, and a stuffed toy called ‘Yes, a Cat Named Marty Cohen.’ Baby gear here is bound to please hipster parents, from baby Ramones T-shirts to Tiny Tyrant striped ensembles.
reviewed
-
M
Mabel Chong
Sparkling wit is the specialty of local jewelry designer Mabel Chong, who combines painstaking craft with a touch of San Francisco whimsy: ‘Pinot Gris’ earrings are clusters of tiny seed pearls, while an asymmetrical chalcedony drop necklace is dubbed ‘Formula for the Hypotenuse.’
reviewed
-
N
China Bazaar
Wire racks are perilously overloaded with bargain novelty items in no discernible order, except for the tiki section, which will add some aloha to your home bar. Just when you thought home decor couldn’t get any cheaper, check out the ceramics sale section downstairs.
reviewed
-
O
Ichiban Kan
Really, it’s a wonder you got this far in life without penguin soy-sauce dispensers, chocolate-covered pretzelS ‘Men’s Pocky, ’ extra-spiky Japanese hair wax, soap dishes with feet, and the ultimate in gay gag gifts, the handy ‘Closet Case’ – all for under $5.
reviewed
-
P
Lola of North Beach
Answers to all your SF gifting quandries, from creative souvenirs (ticket stub album for all those cool-looking SF museum tickets) to Silicon Valley baby showers (‘my dad’s a geek’ onesies), plus California-made soy candles that smell like sunshine.
reviewed
-
Q
Given
Have no fear of birthdays: it’s a Given that you’ll find worthy gifts for all ages in this emporium of offbeat design, from Kimochi the cuddly cloud to a wallet disguised as a memo-pad. If this storefront seems familiar, you’re right: this was once Harvey Milk’s camera shop, and the shop closed for six weeks so that the Academy Award–winning Milk could be filmed here.
reviewed
