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As I had mentioned before, I found myself at the Presidio in San Francisco. I was on the Lucasfilm, LTD campus. Sighting a Yoda fountain there was one of the most surreal experiences I’ve had, aside of the swimming pool next to the ski lift at Tahoe … both experiences in California … of course.

I was in San Francisco for one day only - flew in around 9:00 AM and leaving around 7:00 PM. I had a couple of hours to kill while my companion had a meeting with someone on the Lucasfilm campus. I went over to the Starbucks downstairs - it had to be one of the nicest I’ve ever seen. I took a few photos, but could not get a good shot of the ocean without the glare from the windows. You can see Alcatraz island from this Starbucks. (Photos coming shortly)

Unfortunately, this Starbucks did not have wifi, so I had to use my portable Sprint WiFi over GSM USB card. I went online to map out my itinery. I decided to visit a couple of fabric stores that I had not been to before - Discount Fabrics and Fabrix.

Discount Fabrics - 201 11th St, San Francisco, CA‎ - (415) 495-4201

Not unreasonably far from where I was at - I went here first. There are a number of listings for “Discount Fabrics” in San Francisco. I went to this one over on 11th St. I was worried that it may be related to the Discount Fabrics store on Adams Ave in San Diego (they are rude, weird & the selection is poor and dusty).

As it turns out, these two stores could not be more different. The one on 11th St. in San Francisco seems to stock almost entirely apparel fabric that was of good to excellent quality. They have many, many bolts of fine formal fabrics, as well as any color of the rainbow. There were huge racks full of bolts everywhere, with the back wall being the clearance fabrics (and a few silks in bins nearby).

Denim. Jerseys. Lycra. Georgette. Satins. All of it … in one store. I had no problem finding what I was looking for here. And more.

Compared to San Diego, the prices were much less expensive. However, pretty much on par for fabric stores in Los Angeles (excluding the garment district - but the quality here was much higher). The selection could not be better, though. The staff is friendly and informative. Notions were not as complete, but the thread selection was.

Review of Fabrix to come!

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So here I am at the Presido in San Francisco. I’m sitting here mapping out my assault on the beautiful city.

I know it begs the following question sequence,
Q:”Why the Presido?”
A:Because that’s where I landed today (well, technically I landed at Oakland Airport around 9:30 AM) .. but I went to the Presido to drop off my companion at his destination.

Q: “How are you blogging from the Presido?”
A: Well, for one, I’m sitting in a Starbuck’s. But it’s not a WiFi one. Honestly, I can get on the internet anywhere with Sprint service (My phone is NOT on Sprint, no thank you… been there done that) … but Sprint has this nifty little USB stick that you plug in and VIOLA!! Internet …

Q: “Where is the Starbuck’s at the Presido?”
A: At the Lucasfilm LTD campus. 1 Presido Blvd., San Francisco, CA Tell the gateman you’re going to Starbuck’s and he’ll give you a parking pass. This is one of the most beautiful Starbuck’s I’ve been at. I’ll put up some pictures when my gallery is up again. You can see the ocean from here.

So on the list is
Discount Fabrics, San Francisco
Fabrix, San Fransciso
and various other pit stops in the Presido area. Can’t be gone too long. Gotta pick up my charge here later!

Gotta get shopping!!

Updates to follow!!

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I actually did the “tourist” experience of Shanghai near the end.� I sort of dread crowds, and China is crowded!!

First of all, let me give you a recommendation for a reference, if you ever go there … Beijing & Shanghai, by DK Eyewitness Travel was indispendable.� We had others, but didn’t use them.� A map is a must have, too.� You will NOT find one in English within China.� The fold out map Shanghai, China Regional Map, by Periplus TravelMaps is really good.� Make sure to get the newest map you can find.� Shanghai changes very fast.�� Please note that cabbies cannot read English maps.

We started our touristing by heading towards the Yuyuan Gardens and Bazaar.� We were told if there was a place to get ripped off, this was it.� We buried our money in our clothing layers (no, not there), and made a pact to only buy what we had pre-determined to bring home as souvenirs.� The Yuyuan Gardens and Bazaar are on the Puxi side of the Huangpu River, and�are circled on the map of central Shanghai below.

(more…)

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As I had mentioned before, learning to communicate with the cabbies is important.� So I gathered an itinerary of the places I would like to go, and how to say them, as well as their bordering streets.

I really, really wanted to visit the textile mall.� It was rumored to be four floors!!� The great thing about shopping in Shanghai is that you can negotiate the price of (just about) everything!!� It’s basically a back and forth with a caculator, so you don’t really need to know how to say numbers in Chinese, but you should learn.� If you speak Chinese, they are less likely to screw you over in pricing.� Needless to say - I didn’t have to pay more than I thought something was worth, and in many cases, I paid much less than I was willing to pay.� It’s really easy to forget that Chinese Yuan is far less valuable than�a dollar …

Here are some photos from the South Bund Textile Mall. (more…)

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Yawn…� It’s been a long time since anything has happened here, huh?? I’ve received a few notes here and there from some of you expressing concern.� To answer Lucelu - yes, I’ve been very, very busy!!� I have much to write about in the weeks coming, but I will start today with my trip to Shanghai! (Donna H - you know I still haven’t written about my trip to Paris and London this summer!!)

�I have to say, I love, love, love Shanghai!� The people are very friendly (albiet hard to understand), and they really love Western culture.� The city of Shanghai is very modern on the Pudong side, with lots of mish mash on the Puxi side.� The Pudong area is the “downtown” area of Shanghai, and is China’s central banking and financial district.� From what I understand, this area was all farmland about a decade ago… The pictures below are from the hotel window, overlooking Pudong.� You can see all of the construction.� Shanghai is to host the 2010 world fair, and they are working hard to create a modern, beautiful city.� There is poor air quality, but there are aggressive plans in place to clean it up before then.

(more…)

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Oh my, oh my, oh my ….

I went to Mood again this weekend (it’s been a while), and after I was done admiring the new eyelets, I turned the corner to (gasp) find a whole rack of SOFT, SUPPLE, SEWABLE and BEAUTIFUL leather hides!!� The prices were pretty good for such a great selection.� All solid color hides were $4.50/sq-ft and the fancy ones could go up to $12/sq-ft.� They were mostly all full hides, ranging between 7 and 10 square feet each.� There were a few scraps, but not many.�

One of my favorites was an amazing lazer cut hide (below), I wound up purchasing the items on the right … pewter finished lambskin and a pair of brown floral lazer embossed hides.

Additionally, there were furs and sherpa … along with all the other fabulous things Mood has!!

Like …. Belt buckles and buttons, Beautiful eyelets, Sweater Knits, English Suitings, Couture Laces … There are soooo many more pictures, here is the whole Mood Gallery - LINK

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My first reaction was disbelief, but it’s true.� I saw it for myself… Mood has a new location in Los Angeles!

This store is absolutely loaded down with fabulous fabric!!�There were tons of designer fabric, including Pucci Cavalli, Ungaro … you name it!!� I observed approximately 20 different Pucci silk jerseys and�uncountable Cavalli … at reasonable prices.� I picked up a Cavalli cotton knit for $16/yard … while the silk knit could run up to $35 yard.� The Pucci’s were around $50/yard.� What was even MORE impressive, is that virtually every Pucci yardage, that�I’m aware of in the last year, was IN STOCK.� I saw some prints were both avaiable in denim, knits, and silks - as well as different color stories.

I couldn’t even begin to describe the velvets … just overwhelming beautiful.

Mood in LA is near La Cienega and W. Pico.�� They carry almost exclusively fabulous designer fabric (don’t expect any bargians or very many notions - you’ll need to go elsewhere for that).

You can check out this album to view some of my purchases.

Select more for address and phone number . (more…)

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