gather up clothes - etc.

It is time for Homeygrown’s Biannual Clothing Exchange in Oakland. Rather than buying new things you can refresh your wardrobe with free reusable clothes. Show up at Soundwave Studios with $5 and a bag of clean gently used clothing, shoes, and household items that can be exchanged for new-to-you goods. All leftovers will be donated to charity.

Saturday April 24
from 3 to 9 PM
$5 donation + a bag of goods.

All Ages Welcome ~ Free snacks ~ $1 drinks for those who are 21 with ID.

Soundwave Studios
2200 Wood Street
Oakland, CA 94607-1713
(510) 763-2201
Bus: Peralta St. 24th St

twitter ~ swapnotshop

Finding that one of a kind fashion piece which makes a statement can be a challenge. The Vintage Fashion Expo offers vintage clothing, textiles, and accessories for women and men. Styles are available from Haute Couture to Hot Couture, and from Edwardian to Mod.

Vintage Fashion Expo

March 20th and 21st at the Concourse Exhibition Center
635 8th Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 490-5800

Show Hours:
Saturday March 20th Early Buy: 9am – 10:30am ($20)
Regular Admission 10:30am-6pm ($10).

Sunday Regular Admission 11am-5pm ($10)
Sunday admission FREE with Saturday ticket purchase.
Students FREE on Sunday with ID

$2.00 off Coupon

Concourse Exhibition Center

This post on Mission Loc@l deserves to be read at the site and in its entirety: Open the Garage Door, It’s a Store.

Not only is the whole concept of garage stores cool, but the guy featured does it very much as a service to the nabe, selling brand-name soccer equipment to kids near cost. Totally the opposite of the globalized brand-filled big-box neighborhood-killing stores.

A friend visited the Emeryville branch of Borders Books and found it half-empty. Must be a little rough in Emeryville these days, considering that the big Circuit City there closed when that chain went down.

Also today, I was in Noe Valley and saw employees of the AAA storefront there literally carrying equipment out the door. A sign posted in the window said the branch was closing that day.

Meanwhile, the Chronicle carried an unintentionally funny story about how something called the Bay Area Council Economic Institute is meeting to split up funds from federal stimulus bills. Great quote:

“If we all work together in the next 66 days and get a great plan, we win,” said John Grubb, spokesman…

Yeah, that’ll definitely happen.

I was perusing the latest @sfmetblogs followers on Twitter and found some really interesting businesses and news sources that are active and interesting. Consider checking them out!

@abc7newsBayArea
News and notes directly from the ABC7 newsroom in San Francisco.

@BayAreaCheap
Twittering great stuff to see and do “on the cheap” in the (not so cheap) San Francisco Bay Area.

@bunsandchou
Buns and Chou Chou are rabbits who host their own TV show: Rabbit Bites.

@CheapandEasySF
Because San Francisco’s Not Just for Rich People

@CityofSF
CityofSF is a Twitter service to update people on current events and happenings in San Francisco

@CurbedSF
Curbed SF, the San Francisco nabe and real estate blog. We like architecture and planning, too.

@GhirardelliSQ
More than just the best chocolate! Wine tasting, great food and fun shopping

@INGB2Breakers
I’m Amy @ ING Bay to Breakers in San Francisco. Sharing race updates, costume ideas, fun giveaways, etc.

@munidiaries
Muni Diaries – a place to share and read rider tales

@NinersNation
49ers Blogger for SB Nation

@odcsf
ODC is a groundbreaking contemporary arts institution with longstanding roots in SF and home to our Dance Company, ODC School/Rhythm & Motion & ODC Theater

@sanfranfeed
San Francisco – News Feed

@SFBRAVOCLUB
San Francisco Opera’s BRAVO! CLUB is a group of young adults, aged 21-40, dedicated to building a new audience for San Francisco Opera.

@SFBusinessTimes
Covering businesses headquartered in San Francisco, Oakland, East Bay and Marin

@SFChron_alert
Get breaking news alerts on the Bay Area’s biggest stories from the San Francisco Chronicle.

@SFstandup
Guide to comedy in the San Francisco Bay Area

@Shopping_SF
Follow me for all the freebies, cheap events, and funtastic events..from SF’s hit Shopping! The Musical..Now in its fourth hit year!

@SJMetblogs
San José Metblogs is part of a worldwide network of city-specific blogs, where authors write stories about life in their city from a personal, local perspective

@tskifeed
Tahoe Ski Feed

The obscurity never really dawned on me until now, but you can buy a saddle for a horse at OK Corral Western & Work Wear right smack in the middle of the Mission. Is there a stable nearby that I don’t know about?

Don’t get me wrong, I like fun surprises like this. I am genuinely curious as to how many saddles they sell, who buys them, and where the horses are that wear them.

A story in yesterday’s Times of India profiles Rubin Moses, a famous Jewish cobbler who moved from San Francisco to Bangalore following the 1906 earthquake, married an Indian woman, and established a shop on Bangalore’s Commercial Street — the city’s main shopping street — that lasted until 1985.

Made me think — how many people who fled San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake spread something of San Francisco’s cosmopolitan culture elsewhere?

This is my small world: kind of oddly upset that Gap gave me clothes in a plastic bag, and that none of the retail workers knew what the f** I was talking about- SF’s plastic bag ban. Heck, even Walgreens is giving me stuff in a paper bag (when I can’t cram it in my purse). This was Gap Kids in Union Square.

Being one of those crazy bike riders (of the fixed gear variety) I was pretty damn psyched to hear about the new Chrome store in SoMa. (yes I know you If you used to be able to swing by their warehouse and buy stuff before but this is like a store store for real and shit) If haven’t heard about it yet that’s because when I say new, I mean BRAND NEW – as in the grand opening is next week! We stopped by yesterday but unfortunately too late and they were already closed, hopefully today we’ll be more lucky. I’m only in town for a few days so I’m going to miss it, but for people who live here and ride bikes, or who live here and enjoy awesomely designed bags I highly recommend blocking off some time next Thursday (July 31) and swinging by the new store at 4th and Brannan and partaking in the festivities.

I always get a little nervous when I see San Francisco listed on the front page of the Sunday New York Times travel section. A haute restaurant here, a travel deal there: frequently their writing about places outside of the greater New York area seems to have an air of superiority. When I was in Chicago they ran a piece about Wicker Park that seemed condescending (to the effect of “Look at these funky people who live here! How quaint.”)

Yesterday’s piece on Valencia Street, “Hipster Hunting Ground,” wasn’t quite as offensive, but it still seemed to view the Corridor through a Brooklyn lens. The Curiosity Shoppe, Paxton Gate, Spork, and Ritual Roasters were all featured, and fairly. I was surprised, however, that Dosa was featured while Range didn’t get a mention; the same for Little Star (maybe I’m just a sucker for the jukebox and heirloom tomatoes). The piece, while limited in length, doesn’t capture the neighborhood’s character and even gets lazy toward the end: “Like the street itself, [Amnesia’s] lineup is full of surprises.”