San Francisco’s Mission District is known for its deep Spanish-Mexican roots, and although our afternoon had to begin with an authentic, totally decadent veggie burrito at Cancun, it continued along Valencia Street with lots of quirky, eclectic outposts being manned by the neighborhood’s most innovative young shop-keepers.
1. House of Hengst, 924 Valencia Street; www.houseofhengst.com
Susan Hengst has a real knack with the understated avant garde, and this minimal but elegantly personal space is the perfect place to try out her high-waisted silk pajama pants and long dramatic ruched dresses.
2. Paxton Gate, 824 Valencia Street; www.paxtongate.com
There’s an exotic, almost spooky vibe at this shop specializing in uncommon Science oddities and strange but beautiful garden accessories. From little bowls of Raccoon claws to fossilized bugs, this is the place to go when you don’t want your wedding gift to fall through the cracks.
3. 826 Valencia, 826 Valencia Street; www.826valencia.org
Part pirate shop, part intellectual outlaw, this kooky Mission shop not only specializes in pirate patches and messages in bottles but also in supporting young students in their creative writing pursuits. All we can say is we wish there was a shop like this around when we were taking 9th grade English. 4. Self Edge, 714 Valencia Street; www.selfedge.com
A vintage motorbike sets the stage for this tough but pristine raw denim shop, but the handsome storefront also offers lots of Japanese-designed collectibles like handcrafted leather bracelets and cuffs accented with sculpted sterling clasps that we wanted to snap up immediately.
5. The Curiosity Shop, 855 Valencia Street; www.curiosityshoppeonline.com
Porcelain peanuts, Decomposition books, laser-cut bamboo earrings, and a plethora of cool DIY books made this slip of a shop a great place to stock up on out-there birthday gifts.
6. Little Otsu Publishing, 849 Valencia Street; www.littleotsu.com
Eye-catching graphic cards and magical little tomes like Nine Ways to Disappear and Everybody’s Book of Kittens made us want to spend the whole afternoon here stocking up on pretty little Otsu keepsakes.
