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Buildings A, B, C, Firehouse & Festival Pavilion
Even though the downtown department stores have been decorated
since September, most of us haven’t gotten down to serious
holiday shopping yet. So now is the time to visit Fort Mason
Center (FMC) and see what some of the resident and visiting
groups have to offer in the gift department.
 Kick
off your shopping the first weekend in November with a visit
to Hi Ho Silver San Francisco. Since 1992, owner Victoria
Dunham has been travelling to Taxco, Mexico in search of the
highest quality, most uniquely designed sterling silver jewelry
available. She now works with more than 50 artists, silversmiths,
and vendors to produce a line of jewelry that is, in her words,
"not the run of the mill."
In addition to silver pieces, this holiday Hi Ho also offers
etchings by Nicolas de Jesus and "funky" handwoven
La Divina bags. Hi Ho Silver sells at FMC’s Marina
Room or Firehouse throughout the month of November. See November
4 for more details and visit the newly redesigned www.hihosilver.com.
After purchasing a bit of luxury from Hi Ho Silver in the
Marina Room, walk next door for the Friends of the San
Francisco Library Public Book Sale in the Golden Gate
Room. These quarterly sales feature fantastic bargains in
all categories of used books. Both children and adult books
are available, and all are at the bargain basement price of
$1. For sale at the Book Bay Bookstore are handmade greeting
cards by Friends volunteer Rosemary Mans. The one-of-a-kind
cards are fashioned from worn and discarded books and are
gifts in themselves. See November
5 and www.friendssfpl.org
for details on the book sale.
Mark November
17 as the date for the Golden Gate Mothers Group Holiday
Boutique. On sale are baby items and clothing, jewelry,
hair accessories, and paper goods. Best of all, the sale’s
hours (5—8:30pm) are perfect for quick "after-work"
shopping. See November
17 for details.
 The
following weekend marks the return to FMC of Strini Art
Glass, the Santa Cruz- and Hawaii-based purveyor of hand-blown
glassware products. Rick Strini has been individually producing
his luminously multicolored creations for more than 40 years.
His sales at FMC are eagerly anticipated by collectors, as
Strini fills the Golden Gate Room with a kaleidoscopic array
of brilliantly colored, functional glassware. See November
19 and www.striniartglass.com
for more information.
And for those looking for the unusual, the last weekend in
November sees another return – that of the Great San
Francisco Crystal Fair. Crystals, minerals, beads, jewelry,
and the healing arts are all for sale. See November
26 and www.crystalfair.com
for more information.
FMC’s residents also offer many opportunities for holiday
shopping. Visit the San
Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artists Gallery, the
Museo ItaloAmericano,
and the Museum of Craft
& Folk Art and you just might uncover that
perfect gift. Photography lovers are in for a treat at the
Artists Gallery – the gallery holds its semi-annual survey
of new artists during the months of November and December.
The other two museums feature special holiday items in their
shops during those months as well. And for the theatrically
inclined on your shopping list, how about tickets to productions
at the Magic Theatre,
BATS Improv,
or the Young Performers
Theatre?
Visit FMC in November and you will have no excuse for not
getting your shopping done early. And you can even pick up
your Christmas Tree at the annual Guardsmen Christmas Tree
Lot beginning November
30. Happy shopping!
– Jovanne Reilly
Images: Hi Ho Silver San Francisco, Strini Art Glass
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