Thursday, April 5, 2012

Clement Street- not just for Tupperware

If Alissa Anderson has her way, Clement Street won’t be known mainly for cheap toilet brushes, and someone hoisting a dead hog on his shoulder, because her delightfully curated pop-up store, Foggy Notion, just around the corner from Green Apple, displays a unique selection of handmade and organic decorative appointments, potent potions, and hefty accessoires, bringing a bit of Hayes Valley chic to our sometimes too-sensible street.

Here’s some of the locally crafted luxurious goods found here:

  • Anderson’s own necklaces with chandelier crystals and old-fashioned keys ($30-$75), thin, multi-pocket wallets with heavy-duty snaps redeemed from vintage pleather tennis racket covers ($20-$40), pencil and cosmetic pouches made from soft leather Venezuelan Pampero rum-bottle bags ($36), that Anderson, (granddaughter of seamstress Concetta Longo) sews herself in the shop/studio on an industrial Juki sewing machine, under the brand “mittenmaker.”
  • Sturdy Job + Boss clutches and bucket totes by Oakland’s Brook Lane and Kirby McKenzie using the hand-dipped Shibori dye-bath technique ($130 to $310).
  • Plush “Lay Swing” pillows by Grass Valley partners Carabeth Rowley and Tahiti Pehrson, with intricate papercut stencil work, hand silkscreened on vintage seersucker.
  • Berkeley’s Juniper Ridge room sprays ($20) like “Steep Ravine” and “Cascade Glacier” from sustainably wildcrafted aromatics like spicy laurel, woodsy cedar, sweet desert piñon, citrusy Douglas Fir, and pungent sage. Ten percent of their profits go to defending western Wilderness causes such as Desert Survivors and the California Wilderness Coalition.
  • Bernal Heights-dweller, and CCA Wattis Institute Curator Jana Blankenship’s “Captain Blankenship” brand “Russalka” palmarosa bath salts ($20) and perfumes ($20) like “meteor” with ylang ylang.
  • 26th and Balboa Jonathan Anzalone and Joseph Ferriso's Anzfer Farms Driftwood Bud vases ($15) and lamps ($75).
  • Portland, Oregon Matt Pierce’s water-repellant, canvas Wood & Faulk bags ($170-$250).
“If I can do as well as December from word-of-mouth and street traffic, then I can do better this year,” said Anderson, 33, an eight-year 6th and Clement Street resident.

Foggy Notion (inspired by the song from Velvet Underground’s 1969 “VU” album, and the Avenues’ familiar vapor, of course), is throwing an Earth Day party April 22, featuring Dogpatch dweller, sculptor and jewelry designer Robyn Miller’s vintage fashions and accessories, and used records from Andy Cabic of neo-folk band, Vetiver (whose thoughtful new Richmond District-inspired LP, Errant Charm,” (Sub Pop, $22), by Cabic and Thom Monahan, is on sale.

Treasure Island Woodworker Drew Bennett used reclaimed Douglas Fir and Redwood to construct the store’s handsome counter.

Store owner Anderson, a Wakefield Memorial High School (Buffy Sainte Marie, class of 1958) and Smith College grad, is also a former Vetiver cellist.

275 6th Avenue 415-683-5654
foggy-notion.com

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