Fort Mason Center - Just In Time For The Holidays


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Hi Ho Silver San Francisco NOVEMBER 2004

Just In Time For The Holidays

November is the month for shopping at Fort Mason Center (FMC). The Herbst and Festival Pavilions host the Clay & Glass Festival one weekend (November 13 & 14) and the Celebration of Craftswomen on two more (November 20 & 21 and 27&28). Two of FMC’s resident museums, the Museum of Craft & Folk Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery, are staging art sales through December. And many smaller organizations are showing unique, exciting wares all through the month. So avoid the holiday rush and the mobs at the mall and enjoy leisurely shopping on the Bay.

Hi Ho Silver San Francisco
A familiar sight at FMC is this purveyor of beautiful handcrafted sterling silver jewelry from Taxco, Mexico. Company founder Victoria Dunham has a discerning eye for the very best designs and is always adding to and changing the collection. She works directly with more than 50 artists, silversmiths, and vendors to guarantee a look that is diverse, yet of consistently high quality. The latest collection includes not only the signature sterling silver ware, but also etchings by artist Nicolas de Jesus and a new collection of the popular La Divina bags.

See the November 5 calendar listing and www.hihosilver.com for more details.

Stark Carpet
While Hi Ho Silver San Francisco is a familiar sight at FMC, Stark Carpet is a new one. For the first time in the Bay Area, this to-the-trade retailer opens its doors to the public in a gigantic warehouse sale in FMC’s huge Festival Pavilion. Discounts up to 75 percent can be had on a vast array of carpets, including needlepoints, Orientals, antiques, Tibetans, Savonneries, sisals, broadlooms, Wiltons, Axminsters, Berbers, Aubussons, Persians, kilims, and dhurries. Textiles, wallcoverings, pillows, and accessories are also for sale. The sale continues for four days and new shipments arrive daily.

See the November 11 calendar listing and www.starksale.com for more details.

Texuba
The third weekend in November sees the return of another old friend to FMC: Texuba, the source for vintage kimonos and Japanese textiles. This year Texuba offers its wares in FMC’s Firehouse, and as in the past, as items are sold they are replaced with more. Thousands of antique Japanese kimonos and other textiles are for sale. Both men’s and women’s garments are presented. Fabrics include silk, cotton, rayon, and linen.

For more details, see the November 20 listing and www.texuba.com.

Friends Of The San Francisco Public Library
The same weekend that Texuba fills the Firehouse with antique Japanese textiles, the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library fill the Conference Center with “antique” books, or at least old ones. Books, books, and more books of every category and distinction are available at this quarterly fund-raising event for this organization that supports public programs in San Francisco’s Public Libraries. Books are only $1 each. At that price, shoppers can afford to stock up on the latest best sellers or a rare gem.

For more details, see the November 20 calendar listing or www.friendssfpl.org.

Great San Francisco Crystal Fair
The last weekend in November sees two more returnees to the Firehouse and the Conference Center. The former venue hosts San Francisco Women Artists’ Holiday Art Fair, and the latter, the Great San Francisco Crystal Fair. The Crystal Fair offers visitors a dazzling array of minerals, beads, jewelry, and, of course, crystals, all at very reasonable prices. The show features more than 40 exhibitors, including JM Imports, Richard Henry Minerals & Fossils, Crystal Miracles, Freedom Valley Gems, and many, many more.

For more details, see the November 27 calendar listing or www.crystalfair.com.

San Francisco Women Artists
And finally, the Firehouse is the scene of the annual holiday sale of one of California’s oldest nonprofit visual arts organizations, San Francisco Women Artists (SFWA). Founded in 1880 as the “Sketch Club,” SFWA fosters, promotes, and encourages visual arts by Bay Area women. The art covers a wide spectrum and includes oil paintings, acrylics, watercolors, mixed media works, photographs, sculpture, jewelry, prints, cards, and more. Artists are present to discuss their work with shoppers.