Doing my usual drive through random streets of San Francisco on thurs night I rumbled down 18th street and spied what looked like an event worth checking out.
There were bunches of people with drinks, two guys behind a card table , uum, doesn’t look like a bar, some sort of demo ?
And just then a parking space opened up, on 18th & Valencia ! !
I took it as a sign from the party gods.
Behold one of the hippest members of the support local movement.
THE MISSION STATEMENT was celebrating their second anniversary. They’re doing very well with their designer co-op.
Many of the co-op designers were in house for the party.
The tiny store is full of funky affordable fashions & products.
Mineral Makeup. Kid’s Ts.
Scarves, hats, vintage jackets, jewelry , art, even jam. All local.
Now ….back to that card table thing that caused me to stop the car.
Adam Bienvenu & Errol Davis of METAPHOR ORGANIC were demonstrating their amazing all natural, all local ingredients filled skin products.
The two are a great team, Adam, the web designer & Errol, the writer, somehow found themselves in the soap biz. You’re sure to find their products soon
in local boutique hotels, but for now it’s available at The Mission Statement.
I bought a small screw-top tin of peppermint lip balm for 4 bucks and i swear it was the equivalent of those tiny tins of shea butter L’Occitane sells for $9.
Being a sufferer of chronic chapped lips i was skeptical, but covered my lips last night in the peppermint concoction and praise the lord, i awoke with new supple, smooth, kissable lips. The stuff works as a cuticle cream as well.
How do these guys do it ?
To quote their website…
“Pour the scary chemicals and stir the bubbling cauldron”.
Actually, it was a crock pot. And all the ingredients were not only all natural but quite tasty. But we’re talking soap here. Really fascinating. And they’re really into
their craft and the locally made movement.
The demo was a soap they make with essential oils and orange peels.
The partners first product was a natural deodorant, but were told by their band of
women advisers that deodorant wasn’t sexy. The key to making marketable, appealing products
is great skin care products. And they went to town with a full line of arty, organic
winners.
I was lucky enough to catch a screening of
“Soundtrack for a Revolution“, an incredible story of the American civil rights movement. This is no dry PBS take, the Executive Producers, including actor Danny Glover, took great pains to make this doc accessable to the younger generation through the use of freedom songs performed by top artists, including The Roots, Joss Stone, John Legend , The Blind Boys of Alabama, & Wyclef Jean.
Somehow they found archival footage never seen before and included interviews with civil rights leaders & protest participants who eventually became well known, including Julian Bond, Ambassador Andrew Young, Congressman John Lewis, and Harry Belafonte.
Soundtract for a Revolution is slowing making it’s way across the country and is available for private viewings. Ideally this doc will be shown in high schools. As Mr Glover stated in a post screening talk, their intention is to pass the torch to the next generation.
The best way to find a screening or contact the producers would be to check their
website: soundtrackforarevolutionfilm.com. The North American distributor is located in Santa Monica Ca, phone 310-399-7937.
This powerful film will hopefully pass on the producer & director’s passion to the younger generation to keep the story alive.
Two quick suggestions for last minute gifts you can order online, send out an email &/or print out a gift certificate to add in a card.
One Mango Tree uses a fair trade model to provide income generating opportunities for women in impoverished and conflict-
ridden areas of the globe. There are several beautiful products for sale on their website as well as gift certificatesavailable.
KIVA.org allows you for as little as $25 to contribute to a pool of
givers whose money is collected and handed out as micro loans to sponsored artisans & shop keepers. Pick anyone you like from any country. When your loan is repaid you can reinvest.
Send a gift certificate tonight or print it out and include in your holiday card.
What isGOOD ? A way for you to feel good about yourself by helping others. Give a gift of GOOD Magazine and 100% of your contribution goes to fund a nonprofit.
Give $20 and get the magazine, Give $50 and get the mag & a GOOD T-shirt.
For no money you can become a member of GOOD and join a caring community.
By joining you’ll be able to stay up to date on GOOD events coming to your area and the general progress of GOOD with their monthly reports.
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GOOD is a collaboration of individuals, businesses, and nonprofits pushing the world forward.Get involved.
Attention web shoppers & San Francisco urbanites. I just found a really cool jewelry/ art shop in the Richmond. That’s right. At 771 Cabrillo off 8th avenue in the middle of a completely residential neighborhood.
ALIX IS OFFERING 10% OFF TO ALL TANGO DIVAs.
Meet Alix Bluh, the owner & designer of some of the most unique, beautifully crafted jewelry found anywhere.
If you’re driving you may have missed this store front.
Jack the friendly guard dog will probably be there.
Everything on the wall screams Modern Relic. Fascinating, thought provoking, urbane, witty, beautiful and above all, fine art.
LOCAL PATRON in partnership with SFGALLERY 143 just opened a holiday store @ 1418 Grant St off Green in San Francisco’s North Beach.
There’s an Opening Party Friday, Nov 20, and a Closing Party on Sunday, Jan 10, 2010.
10% off during both events.
If you can’t visit in person, check out their website.
There are two David Mamet plays running in San Francisco right now. ACT brings us the west coast premiere of November, a political comedy.
This review is about the classic Mamet play Oleanna at a lesser known venue, Royce Gallery.
The BF & I came a bit late having been sidetracked by the bright lights of a theater up the street featuring “An Uncomfortable Dinner Party“.
We’ll never know what that was about.
They pointed us down the block to an unlit large industrial building on the corner of Mariposa and Harrison. The door was open and a modest poster on the door pointed us inside down a large hallway. The open door was Royce Gallery, artfully transformed into a beautiful portable small theater.
The greeter couldn’t have been more pleasant, ushering us in just ten seconds before the curtain opened. The good vibes continued through the intermission where there was an assortment of free snacks and beverages. You could even bring your wine glass back to your seat.
But on to the play itself.
Oleanna is one of Mamet’s classic plays, having been produced country wide since it was written in 1992,
inspired by the Anita Hill vs Clarence Thomas hearings. The subject matter seemed so dated, i was convinced it was written in the 70s.
I thought the acting was excellent, amazing that two people could have a rip roaring argument full of words on stage for the entire play. When the intermission began, the two men behind us said “you mean we have to listen to them argue again for the second half”.
What you’re seeing and hearing is a confrontation between a student trying to change her failing grade and a self-centered professor, obsessed with buying a house and his pending tenure review.
What Mamet wants us to realize is that reality is filtered through our own experience.
Yes, the first half was exhausting, constant yelling and over talking and where was it all going? The power shift in the second half didn’t really affect me until after the play. There really was a lot to think about. Male entitlement. Academic politics. Male/ female politics. Who was the real victim?
There was audible female laughter from the audience when she accused him of rape. This wouldn’t have happened in the 70s. Suddenly we weren’t so sure who the victim was. Is our student really a calculating feminist exploiting legal technicalities to advance her “group’s” agenda? Or was she making him see his failures? Was our professor a sexist pig? Did he step over the line with her physically or psychologically? Not the Mamet I am used to, but controversial none the less.
Easy parking. Casual dress.
Royce Gallery:
2901 Marposa San Francisco, CA 94110. Tickets: 866-811-4111. Info: 415-307-0470
Through Nov. 21
Introducing Rickshaw Bagworks, the new brainchild of the popular messenger bags by Timbuk2 CEO Mark Dwight
THIS JUST IN : Promo code “THRILL30_09″ gets you 30% off through Dec 14th at RickshawBagworks.com
Not only is their factory store in Dogpatch, San Francisco, but you can show up, design your own bag, go down the street for a 20 minute break at Piccino Cafe, and then return to pick up your custom beauty. Not only is your new bag US made, it’s officially SF Made. Rickshaw is part of a band of Dogpatch merchants dedicated to the SF Madecause.
The Rickshaw product line includes messenger bags, notebooks, cute little bags, and hardy all weather backpacks.
As you can see, there’s a strong design link to the bicycle lifestyle. Mark Dwight says the company name refers to the original two-wheeled cart invented by an American missionary in Japan in the 1860’s, which later evolved to a three-wheeled pedal-powered vehicle, the well known human-powered rickshaw.
The above bag is named the “Zero“, meaning zero waste. It’s available in four sizes and an infinite variety of colors and fabrics. In fact you can bring in your own vintage swatch, as long as it’s of sofa weight thickness.
Rickshaw takes the zero waste movement seriously. They have an impressive laser pattern cutter that creates rectangles that require no scraps to produce the bag.
I’ve seen the Rickshaw’s distinctive “r” logo in a couple of shops, but i highly recommend a trip to the mother factory.
Store hours: Monday through Friday, 9-5 pm;
Location:
904 22nd Street @ Minnesota, Dogpatch, SF, CA 94107
