The Door Stays Open: Recent Episodes
Annie Wilson
The Door Stays Open is a podcast about San Francisco's retail past, present, and future. Join host Annie Wilson as she talks about local retail history, and has conversations with retailers, entrepreneurs, and visionaries about San Francisco's storied retail past, the state of it's pandemic present, and how it may navigate into the future.
How did San Francisco come to be a hub of retail and commerce? It's in our history.
Sources:
Frank Soulé, John H. Gihon, James Nisbet, "The Annals of San Francisco", 1855
Robert O'Brien, "This is San Francisco - A Classic Portrait of the City", 1948
Louis J. Stellman, "Port O'Gold", 1922
William Martin Camp, "San Francisco Port of Gold", 1947
Stewart Edward White, "Old California in Picture and Story", 1939
Maggie Chafen of Dottie Doolittle - famous San Francisco childrens' store since the 1970s.
Stylist and wardrobe consultant (in other words: professional shopper) Paul Julch talks about what he's seeing in retail and how he works with clients through Urbanite Suburbanite.
Sean Quigley of the fascinating and unforgettable Mission District museum/cabinet of curiosities/and shop, Paxton Gate.
Amanda Weld of the Richmond District mainstay for children's toys, games, gifts and apparel: Tantrum
Part two of our episodes about Shreve & Co, featuring and interview with the current owner, Lane Schiffman.
The first of two episodes about Shreve & Co Jewelers. This brief history comes in advance of an interview in part 2 with the brand's current owner, Lane Schiffman.
Adrienne Wiley of the jewelry and accessories brand Covet, found in multiple neighborhoods throughout San Francisco.
Carrie Caillouette of Half Hitch Goods - an e-commerce shop with a rolling store front!
Paxton Gate founder Sean Quigley joins the podcast to talk about his store's unique offering of curiously mind-expanding oddities inspired by the natural sciences. Paxton Gate is a mainstay of the Valencia corridor in the Mission District with a huge following for its taxidermy, minerals, and overall quirky surprises for the home.
Lucky 13 is a San Francisco Icon! Sue Fisher King started her eponymous brand in Presidio Heights in 1978 and it has been the go-to for elegant home tabletop, bedding, bath, and accessories ever since. Sue is a dynamic, fun retailer whose legendary taste and discernment have developed one of the city's time-honored retail stores.
Tantrum is a toy store that's more like a treasure trove of timeless toys that appeal to kids and kids at heart. Amanda talks about how she and her husband Richard founded Tantrum, where they find their unique style of toys, and some of the struggles they've overcome as a small business in San Francisco. Find Tantrum in the inner Richmond at 248 Clement St, or online at www.shoptantrum.com, and on Instagram at @tantrumsf.
In part two of our look at Shreve & Co - a chat with Lane Schiffman - managing partner and co-owner of The Schiffman Group, the current owners of Shreve & Co. We talk about how and why Shreve & Co is in its new location at 150 Post Street, how the brand has tightened its focus on watches and jewelry, and how the luxury market requires a level of old-world service that is difficult to come by in other retail sectors.
A brief history of Shreve & Co from its founding in San Francisco in 1852, up until its acquisition by The Schiffman Group in 1992. Episode features archival articles from the San Francisco Chronicle, talking about the Shreve store from the 1890s in detail. There is also the first-hand account of a Shreve employee in the immediate aftermath of the 1906 earthquake and fire. Next week's episode will feature an interview with Lane Schiffman, Managing Partner of The Schiffman Group, who will join me to talk about Shreve & Co, and how its a robust business perfectly poised to serve San Francisco's luxury market.
Resources:
Shreve & Co:
http://www.shreve.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shreve_%26_Co.
https://www2.northwestmuseum.org/museum/participant-shreve-company-3474.htm
Arthur C. Poore’s account of the 1906 Earthquake:
https://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=An_Eyewitness_Recounts_the_Quake_of_1906
Henry Birks Bankruptcy: (https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2681668308)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birks_Group
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_Corporation
William Curlett & Willis Polk:
https://noehill.com/architects/curlett.aspx
http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/firm/532/
http://pcad.lib.washington.edu/person/153/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willis_Polk
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_and_Alexander_Curlett
San Francisco Chronicle:
December 6, 1889, no author citation, “Holiday Trade: Seasonable Gifts in the City’s Stores; Treasure House of Art - George C. Shreve & Co’s Magnificent Holiday Display”
July 18, 1903, no author citation, mention of William Curlett building at Post and Grant
March 17, 1906, no author citation, - “Shreve & Company Enter Their New Store - A Magnificent Interior Appointed with Rare Taste”
April 27, 1992 - Herb Caen, San Francisco Chronicle “Monday Go-Round”
December 3, 1992 - Gavin Power, San Francisco Chronicle “Shreve & Co. Changes Hands Again”
Jewelry designer Adrienne Wiley talks about her store Covet and how it has grown over the last 13 years in the Inner Richmond of San Francisco. Adrienne is a master at opening stores and growing her business by trusting her instincts and taking very well-calculated and creative risks.
Today I chat with the effervescent and charming Kate Fulford, who founded Ooma "Objects of My Affection" in North Beach in the mid-aughts, to almost overnight success. A vibrant, unique boutique targeting all things fun, feminine, colorful, Ooma focused on pieces for going out on the town, elevating the style of women in-the-know in San Francisco. While Ooma is now closed, Kate's story of entrepreneurial learning and focus is something all of us can learn from. Kate now works in real estate in Portland, OR, both as a house flipper and as a realtor - leveraging her keen sense of style and self-startedness in both efforts.
Find Kate online at Think Real Estate.
Since 1973, Dottie Doolittle has been a mainstay of San Francisco parents who love dressing their children in Dottie Doolittle's signature aesthetic of "classics with flair". Maggie Chafen is the owner of this wonderful store and at 76, she has no plans to retire.
Visit Dottie Doolittle at 3680 Sacramento Street at Spruce, or find the brand online at dottiedoolittle.com, and on Instagram @dottiedoolittle.
This week I talk with Paul Julch of Urbanite Suburbanite. Paul is a personal wardrobe consultant who has leveraged his background in retail to develop a business that brings out the best in his clients, giving them confidence in their fit and style. As someone who works closely with retail, but isn't a retailer, Paul's insights into the retail business are direct and honest. He shares what he loves and hates about both online and brick-and-mortar shopping, with an eye to new developments and old-world service.
A chat with former LIFE magazine photographer and San Francisco treasure, Fred Lyon. Fred is 96 years old, and began photographing San Francisco for LIFE magazine in the late 1940s, His romantic, foggy, atmospheric images of the city helped to draw national and international visitors to our little western outpost during the post-war years. Fred talks about the changes he's seen as well as his encounters with some of the 20th Century's greatest artists.
Visit www.fredlyon.com to learn how you can purchase a print of Fred's work, or purchase one of his four photography monographs - he even has another one coming next year!
An interview with Emily Holt, founder of Hero Shop. Emily and I talk about her background in fashion media at Women's Wear Daily and Vogue, and how she leveraged that experience into opening her San Francisco boutique, Hero Shop. We also talk about the problems faced by the business in its original location in the Tenderloin of SF, and how those concerns were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Emily talks about pivoting into her current location in Marin Country Mart, and her outlook on the future of retail.
Find Hero Shop at www.heroshopsf.com and on Instagram @heroshopsf.
A chat with Carrie Caillouette of Half Hitch Goods, who founded her store online, but quickly opened a mobile "brick and mortar" in a vintage VW truck that became her brand's distinctive hallmark.
This episode serves to frame the series with a look back at how San Francisco and its long line of successful merchants got their start from the early California days through the Gold Rush.
Sources for this episode include:
The Annals of San Francisco - Frank Soulé, John H. Gihon, James Nisbet (1855, 1999) Berkeley Hills Books
French San Francisco - Claudine Chalmers, PhD. (2007) Arcadia Publishing, San Francisco,
National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/people/dona-juana-briones.htm
This is San Francisco, A Classic Portrait of the City - Robert O'Brien (1948, 1994) Chronicle Books, San Francisco
San Francisco A Pageant- Charles Caldwell Dobie (1934) D. Appleton-Century Company, NYC
San Francisco Port Of Gold -William Martin Camp (1947)The Country Life Press, Garden City, NY
PBS - The West: https://www.pbs.org/weta/thewest/people/s_z/sutter.htm
California A History, Kevin Starr (2005) Modern Library, Random House Inc, NYC
Old California in Picture and Story, Stewart Edward White (1937) Doubleday, Doran & Co., Inc, Garden City, NY
An interview with Meg Shackleton of Margaret Elizabeth Jewelry, based in San Francisco.
An interview with Amy Guittard of Guittard Chocolate - one of the oldest businesses in San Francisco, creating chocolate since 1868.