I am so thrilled to kick off our best of the bricks series with Rare Device in San Francisco, CA. Since 2007 Rena Tom and Lisa Congdon have been filling their space with the best of all things modern, quirky, well-designed and handmade. They are the true triple threat with a beautiful retail space, gallery, and online presence.
Care is taken to ensure the stories behind the pieces are celebrated, and that’s something that is well…rare! They’ve taken a moment to share with us their vision for the space and why they love having a brick and mortar shop.
When people walk into Rare Device, we want them to think, “Wow, what a cool store with interesting and beautiful stuff in it!” Having a brick and mortar shop is really a wonderful experience. Shoppers can touch and feel and smell. We want to give people the experience and opportunity to purchase unique and one of a kind local handmade items or items from Europe or Japan that are hard to find elsewhere. Our aesthetic is very simple and modern, which is really appealing in such an intense, stimulating and crowded city like San Francisco. We love things with clean lines and really excellent design qualities. Whether it’s a necklace or a piece of ceramics or a book, we select things that appeal to our idea about simple beauty.
We carry all kinds of goods, and the most important thing to us is that they are beautiful, somewhat rare, and always interesting. Handmade is a really important part of our aesthetic and vision, and it’s also really important to us to support makers. We love handmade!
featured brands:
pigeon toe ceramics
BROOKLYNrehab ceramics
fluffyco
Rare Device
1845 Market Street,
San Francisco, CA 94103
415.863.3969
I am a licensed artist who creates modern surface patterns, lives to travel, and eats lots of olives. Yep, it’s kinda that simple. You can find my work on fabric, tableware, lamps, wallcoverings, etc. Are you ready to transform your art business by doing a trade show? Then you are ready to be a 
Whenever I see something about or from Rare Device I am always drawn in… There’s such a lovely constancy to the vision of the store, its owners and its content over all that I really, really admire!
What a great article on a really great looking shop. I love how modern and bright it is. I think it so important for these shops to get the credit they deserve for promoting and so beautifully displaying artisan work. It makes the difference for that work being taken seriously and building up a strong market in order to sell the work. I look forward to future posts on these gems.
[...] best of the bricks – rare device [...]
[...] best of the bricks – rare device [...]
I love that you’re doing this series. One of my favorite things to do before I visit a city is to find out where all the cool boutiques and stores are so I don’t miss seeing them! This will definitely help me. I love how they spoke about customers being able to touch and feel the items…it’s what makes finding these hidden gems so fun!
I am so thrilled you are all loving this series! It’s so important for us to celebrate and support our shops so that ALL experiences do become virtual!! ;0) Many more great finds to come!! Cheers!