There’s no question the Aether pop up shop, which the L.A.-based outfitter has dubbed the AETHER STREAM, is one of the most awesome moveable retail deployments I’ve ever seen. In concept the formula is simple, take a 34′ Airstream PanAmerica (originally made in Jackson Center, Ohio — what what), hire Paris-based designer Thierry Gaugain to make it look like a bad ass hybrid den / workshop and then attach it to an especially made Armbruster WWII canvas army tent.

I caught the AETHER STREAM while it was in New York during December, but I never got a chance to talk about it here until this past week when I headed out to San Francisco for the third stop on its tour.

53 Comments

While out in San Francisco this past week, I stopped into Unionmade to see what the guys have been up to since I first profiled them on ACL two years ago. First of all, the SF store has grown considerably with a recent addition of the space next door, which in its former life was a dry cleaning shop. The addition more than doubles the selling space and houses a little book area, tons of Alden shoes and the shop’s new Indigo collection. On top of all of the happenings at the original shop, Unionmade is also about to open a new outpost at the Marin Country Mart, which will be the third store for the burgeoning Americana-loving outfitter.

It really is a remarkable thing what Todd Barket and the guys at Unionmade have done. The selection rivals any store in the world, corporately owned or private. In fact, there’s actually a rumor going around that Unionmade is owned by a certain preppy-cum-rugged East Coast retailer. A rumor that Todd says is totally untrue. In my mind that hearsay is easily dismissible because there’s no way a big company like that could actually get out of their own way long enough to make something as good as Unionmade actually see the light of day.

42 Comments

A look inside the San Francisco Fire Department’s ladder factory, the only one of its kind in the United States.

[Thanks to Terry V. for the heads up.]

10 Comments

Launching today — for all you denim loving patriots — at the Levi Strauss & Co. flagship store in San Francisco (Union Square) is the Levi’s Tailor Shop, a one-of-a-kind customization area with special goods and services. The LS&CO folks have outfitted the Tailor Shop with a chain stitch machine, an embroidery machine and a darning machine (for repairs or maybe just to get the repaired look). At the tailor shop you can also make your own buttons, choose vintage patches, screen print to fully customize your jeans.

32 Comments

I don’t want to say that this fell through the cracks, but a few months ago I was in San Francisco for a quick business trip and I took the opportunity to visit Ms. Lynn Downey at the Levi Strauss & Co. archive. You may remember my initial meeting with Lynn when I interviewed her during a research trip to New York. (Read that interview here.) “Next time you are in San Francisco you should come by and see the archive.” Lynn told me casually at the end of our meeting in New York. Little did she know I fully intended on taking her up on that offer.

14 Comments

Let me first say it is good that new shops are opening. There was a point in this whole economic mess that no new brands were launching and no new stores were opening, it was depressing. Now, while just getting a new store is good, getting a new store like UNIONMADE is great. The men’s shop which was founded by Pennsylvania native Todd Barket, opened this past weekend on Sanchez Street in San Francisco and is an exercise in excellence. Barket spent 18 years at GAP working in various capacities including visual merchandising and marketing, and the man clearly understands retail. I think the worst part about this place is that it is so far away from me.

39 Comments

Safe to say that the end of last year was probably not the ideal time to introduce a premium denim collection, but for the guys behind Tellason — a new San Francisco based men’s denim collection — it was “economy be damned” as they set forward on their mission to make their mark on a wardrobe staple, quality jeans.

Established in 2008 and shipping its first product in 2009, Tellason has already gained a loyal following among some of the best specialty shops in America. The  strong stocklist makes sense when you consider the specifics. The first limited run of jeans (some 240 pairs; priced at $198) and made of Cone selvage denim from North Carolina with a leather patch from Portland’s Tanner Goods and all sewn in San Francisco with a strong attention to detail and make. Tellason’s Tony Patella took a few minutes to sit down and chat about the new collection.

27 Comments