The Joy of Handwriting | Main | The Canadian Letters & Images Project
October 23, 2007
Talking Letters with Rena Tom, Owner of Rare Device
Bi-coastal store-owner, jewelry-designer, and notecard connoisseur Rena Tom talks about her new San Francisco shop, Rare Device, stationery trends, and her holiday gift picks for your letter-writing friends.
MLP: Welcome, Rena! Can you tell us a little about yourself?
RT: I am a native Californian, back out west after three exciting years in New York. When I was in New York, I opened a small shop in Brooklyn called Rare Device and have developed a passion for finding fresh modern design and working with independent designers. I used to design wedding invitations and print them on my Gocco, and I used to have a Kelsey 3x5” tabletop letterpress.
MLP: You are opening a new shop on Market Street in San Francisco on October 25th in partnership with San Francisco artist Lisa Congdon. Tell us a little about the new shop.
RT: The second Rare Device location is four times as big as the first! This means we have the opportunity to offer more categories like furniture and lighting, and to host monthly art shows as well in a dedicated gallery space. We will still stock many handcrafted items but the main mission is to bring design-led products (many by NYC designers) that are not seen in every shop in town to the west coast.
MLP: How exciting! How do you select the cards and journals you’ll stock in your store? What do you look for?
RT: Well, we look for many things: humor, great graphic design, nice packaging, or some special feature that makes the product stand out from the crowd. For example, a greeting card is good, but one that is die-cut to convert to an ornament, or can be planted to grow flowers, or has a matching printed envelope is even better.
MLP: Who are some of your favorite card-makers and stationery suppliers?
RT: Oh boy, there are so many! Mateo Ilasco offers printed wood veneer stationery, Studio Olivine has a beautiful sense of line and color, millimeter/milligram makes a range of planners and journals that are filled with optimism and whimsy.
MLP: What are the most popular cards in your store? What goes flying off the shelf?
RT: Apak Studio cards have cute hand-drawn characters and always do well. And the Jill Bliss Native Flowers journal is gorgeous and we always have them in stock. Recently, the 5 Year Diary by Tamara Shopsin is a super gift item, it’s conceptual and aesthetically pleasing at the same time.
MLP: Do you see any trends in cards and stationery for 2008? What’s popular now?
RT: The popularity of illustration and hand-lettering is carrying over into paper goods. There were a lot of hard-edged silhouettes previously but people want something a bit rougher around the edges now. Letterpress is still strong but doing it on colored paper makes the cards stand out even more.
MLP: Your new store is partially an art gallery. Who is curating?
RT: Lisa will be curating the gallery. She’s already booked us through January 2009! We have the same taste so I trust her completely. We’ll alternate between drawing and painting, installations, photography and some group shows with The Beholder and Poketo.
MLP: Any holiday gift suggestions for our letter-writing friends?
RT: Elum is making a gorgeous boxed set of stationery that will inspire you to write. I also think it would be great to get this mini-tote from Good on Paper and fill it up with a selection of cards and paper!
MLP: And, because we have to ask: are you a letter-writer?
RT: Lately it’s been all e-mail, which is so sad, but I used to write long letters to various crushes when I was in college. I still have their letters to me! I think there are certain people in our lives who inspire a handwritten letter, it’s a very lovely and intimate activity.
The BRAND NEW Rare Device will open on October 25th, 6-10 p.m. with an exhibition by Los Angeles-based artist, Kelly Lynn Jones. 1845 Market Street (between Guerrero and Valencia) in San Francisco. 415.863.3969.
Visit Rare Device (NYC) at 453 7th Avenue (between 15th and 16th Street), Brooklyn. 718.301.6375.
