kati here.

it’s been a whirlwind of a summer! more on that later, but here’s a bit of what we were up to early on…

(thanks to kate mosey for this blog!)

anyone who follows the doe blog knows the doe girls are crazy about day trips and photo shoots. so, on a foggy sf summer day, we were looking for any excuse to get out of the city.

our destination of choice: the ever-sunny oakland.

our line-up included a stop at children’s fairyland, a whimsical theme park open since 1950. with well-groomed flower gardens, rides, mazes, and animals, it’s a special place with a super-retro vibe.

at fairyland, mariele and i both wore gauzy pieces by pi organics – mariele’s pictured in thecap shirred gauze dress and me in the braided gauze dress and prairie underground pointelle henley.

59-year-old mushroom

mariele

pinocchio’s whale

fantastical creatures dot the landscape…

blowing bubbles

mama hedgehog

princess sabine

a mini train runs through the park, looping twice before coming to a slow stop back at the station.

hopping a train to the 50’s

fairyland is located on the shore of lake merritt @ grand avenue and bellevue in oakland, california.

stay tuned for part 2 of our oakland adventure: house of chicken and waffles!

hey there!

kati here.

kate and i took a little break from our normal grind this week to meet my yoga teacher, caroline, in alamo square, where she modeled organic clothing from our shop.

we’d originally intended to take some shots out by chrissy field, but it was too foggy to see the golden gate bridge, so we settled for painted ladies:

stewart + brown laurel sundress & wave legging in natural

stewart + brown uma sundress, wave legging in black & prairie hoodie in silverleaf

stewart + brown tulip dress

prairie underground tank dress in black & wave legging in brown

stewart + brown tulip camisole & prairie underground denim girdle cropped pant

stewart + brown burst tee & wave legging in black

kate embellished the above shots with patterns from these roost wood blocks, available at merch boutique:

all the styles pictures on this site are also available at merch boutique, located at 629a haight street at steiner, location of our former brick & mortar.

next: a day in oakland!!!

kati here.

first, what’s up with these late spring storms? don’t remember may weather like this in the whole 12 years i’ve been living in the bay area. hope everyone’s staying dry!

if we’re friends on facebook or twitter, you probably know that i’m currently enrolled in a 200 hour ashtanga teacher training program at yoga garden sf, just up the street from 629a haight street, location of our former brick & mortar and current home of our partner store, merch boutique.

offering our customers the beautiful and functional clary sage organics line may have had just a tiny bit to do with my decision to enroll in the teacher training program. it’s been years since i’ve practiced yoga regularly, so of course it was time for some new outfits!

three of the students in our training program graciously agreed to model the styles carried on our website.

the clothing in action:

clary sage corseted tank
in paschimattanasana

clary sage corseted tank & miracle crop capri
baddha padmasana (left) urdhva padmasana (right)

clary sage essential cami & miracle crop capri
paschimattanasana (left) urdhva padmasana (right)

clary sage corseted tank & miracle crop capri
baddha padmasana (left) supta kurmasana (right)

ardha baddha padmotanasana

urdhva padmasana

finishing pose in the ashtanga primary series:

utpluthih

thanks to my amazing classmates for modeling the clothes!

next: waiting for the skies to clear so we can head to crissy field and the legion of honor, where our teacher, caroline, has promised to model poses from the intermediate and advanced series. hoping she’ll show us nakrasana, aka “crocodile” pose!

hello friends -

we have good news this week!

doe-sf is now carrying activewear by san francisco-based designers clary sage organics.

every single piece – from the flattering and practical miracle crop capri to the corseted yoga tank is designed and produced here in san francisco.

the gorgeous clary sage store front, located at 2241 fillmore street, is nestled amongst the charming boutiques, cafes, and theatres of pacific heights. their m.o. is simple: to provide customers with sustainable clothing and wellness products, with minimal impact to our planet.

when the doe girls take a trip to clary sage’s upper fillmore headquarters (our goods are cut to order & we pick them up in person), we have a very difficult time leaving with only the wholesale goods for our shop.

artistic window displays beg entrance

dress forms

although their namesake line steals the spotlight, the clary sage boutique is also stocked with other organic, west coast labels like prairie underground and stewart+ brown.

scarves & tees

neatly folded graphic tees

stuffed animal mobile & patterned dresses

briolette necklaces & ribbon cinched dresses

clary sage offers much more than stunning organic clothing. the retail boutique also features a wellness center, where clary sage co-founder and resident doctor – dr. daniel kalish – offers nutrition counseling and wellness coaching.

the wellness center stocks a full line of house-formulated health & wellness solutions:

herbal remedies

for more information on clary sage organics wellness formulas, wellness education, or to contact an advisor, be sure to check out the company website.

a peek into the wellness center

clary sage activewear can be purchased in-person at yoga garden sf, located at 286 divisadero at haight, just a couple blocks from our former haight street shop, and, of course, right here on our website!

next: the clothes in action – ashtanga students model the goods.

hello there.

this is the final entry in our 5-part photo essay about the doe girls’ spring break trip to japan. we saved the best for last!

below are images from our day excursion to the temple town of nara.

from kyoto, nara is about 45 minutes away by train. nara was the capital of japan from 710-784, and deer were considered the ancient city’s protectors.

this year would be the 1300th anniversary of nara as the capital city. we saw this buddah with deer horns everywhere on commemorative posters and all sorts of adorable merchandise:

evidence of the city’s love of deer is everywhere…

best part of visiting nara?

tame deer!

street vendors sell deer biscuits to visitors:

of course, every tourist shop in nara was dedicated to the city’s animal protector…

thanks for following along on our adventures. til next time!

xo,
ktk & the doe girls

p.s. we’ve got new goods! if you share our love of all things japanese, you’ll adore the decole and other japanese housewares just added to the shop.

kati here.

the first time i traveled to japan was with penelope, when she was three years old. one of the things i remember most from that trip is taking her shopping for toys, especially at kiddy land – tokyo’s 6-storey toy store in the harajuku district:

visiting japan with sabine as a three-year-old was serious deja vu. taking the girls toy shopping was top priority, and, once again, kiddy land was a highlight of the trip:

for doe girl kate and i, adventures in kiddy land were a trip down memory lane – we stumbled across many characters from our childhoods:

penelope was intrigued by the number of japanese people wearing medical masks on the streets – they’re available in an endless array of colors, patterns, and materials. here’s one for baby dolls:

the first time we visited japan, grow-it-yourself plants in adorable packaging were all the rage. this time, the most popular toys were diy kits – make your own stickers, bath bombs, make-up, hair ties….here’s a diy sushi kit:

anpanman sushi

i’ll confess to being even more excited about the doll selection than the little girls were, especially these fancy blythe dolls:

blythe

dal doll

we found so many treasures, we had to find a chest to cart them home:

treasure trove of toys

next: a day trip to nara

we were lucky that our spring trip to japan (has it been a month already?!) coincided with cherry blossom season.

cherry blossom viewing is a national past time in japan, and parks and temples become crowded with people picnicking under the sakura trees and photographing their blossoms.

next: japanese toys!

part research mission, part vacation – the doe girls’ trip to japan was mainly about two things: shopping and food!

we sampled local delicacies from tokyo to kyoto – pictured here are some of our findings.

a local favorite in the temple town of nara, this udon-filled tofu pouch is tied with seaweed and served in a steaming bowl of broth:

among the many delicious things we found to eat, there were also some pretty strange ones. the following oddities were found in convenience stores:

amazed though were were by unrecognizable processed foods, we mostly stuck with more traditional fare:

kate samples late-night street food in kyoto:

of course, japan is famous for having perfected the art of fake foods, and nearly every restaurant offered its own version. below, spanish tapas, japanese style:

we tried many things we never thought we’d love – chicken gizzards, ox tails, fried chicken in a can (okay, maybe we didn’t _love_ chicken in a can!). below, pig knuckles, eaten at a korean restaurant near shinjuku station:

traveling with two little girls, we received many requests for the “d word.” some of our sweeter findings:

visiting japan during the cherry blossom season, we found many sakura-themed products, as well as these beautifully packaged sakurambo (actually from a different tree than the blossoming cherry) flavored green teas:

true to our name, the doe girls were thrilled to find many deer-themed foods and drinks on our adventure. especially in the temple town of nara, where wild deer roam freely and are fed by temple-goers, we found plenty of foods and beverages adorned with the local mascot:

even little popo, sabine’s new japanese baby doll, got in on the daily feasting. here, sabine feeds her at the same korean restaurant where we sampled the pig knuckles:

next: cherry blossom season!

hello!

if you follow us on twitter, or caught our postcard from kyoto a couple weeks ago, you probably figured out that the doe girls spent spring break in japan!

our adventures were happy ones, and we love sharing pictures from our travels:

you probably also know that the doe girls love to go shopping! we spent hours exploring multi-level department stores surrounding the various train stations in tokyo – shibuya, shinjuku, harajuku….

one of our favorite stores was the muji. we stumbled upon this one in the shopping plaza above the shinjuku train station:

our tiniest traveler, toddler sabine, was on a mission for new shoes. we found rows and rows of adorable shoes for baby:

the little girls tired of shopping more easily than the ladies, so we stopped for a break at a high-rise playground, where the kids played and our photographer, kate, snapped some playful scenes:

many japanese department stores also house pet shops, and we spent some time hanging out with this little guy:

one thing that didn’t impress kate and i? the swimwear selections! the styles we found confused our west-coast sensibilities:

all the swimsuits looked like this!

something we found in common with fashions found in the states? a mutual love of rose gold! every department store we visited housed cases of dainty rose gold jewelry:

we like!

carefully packaging a pair of rose gold hoops. check out those nails!

next: doe girls love to eat! delicacies sampled on our journey to japan.

the artist community in san francisco is a tight-knit one, and fabric8 gallery owners olivia and anthony are huge supporters.

fabric8 gallery and boutique, located at 22nd and valencia, in san francisco’s mission district, has a constantly rotating series of local artwork, clothing, and books. last summer they expanded to include a more traditional gallery space, with art shows that run 4-6 weeks.

established in 1995 as a web-based boutique, they recently celebrated 14 years in business, and the 4-year anniversary of their brick and mortar.

the sandwich board says it all

hand-painted entryway

fabric8 carries goods by sf-based clothing companies strangeco, the loin, and new skool, illustrations and paintings by johnny siu, ursula young, nome edonna, geoff campen’s “surreal architecture”, erik otto, ganyan, and sirron norris.

whimsical paintings by ursula young

“artemis” painted by nome

i heart t.l. tee by the loin, the city pendant by gabriel urist,
and local pride onesies by new skool & animal instincts

fabric8 hosts a bathtub full of colorful koi fish in the loo. you can’t help admire the audacity!

olivia helps sabine feed the koi

the back garden space hosts a mural by brian barneclo (see the mural as a work in progress here). barneclo’s murals can be seen around town at restaurants and bars like nopa or rye, or you can see his current exhibit, entitled “systemic” at the gallery.

brian barneclo’s exhibit “systemic”, now open at fabric8

a second showroom currently houses “my favorite things“, a group exhibit including artists phokos, scuba, andy stattmiller, alice koswara, and tiffany star, among others.

alice koswara’s “summer swimmer”

on the way to helping local artists and companies become significant, and to help create a sense of community, fabric8 hosts a series of monthly events.

bring your kids to rated g, where you’ll be treated to g-rated hip hop, indulge in barbecue, art and coloring with new skool and toy giveaways by local design house strangeco.

mission vinyl, a summertime event held at the fabric8 galleries, is a record sale & barbecue where old school sf dj’s come out to sell and play their records.

street food fridays, held from 6 to 8 pm most fridays, brings out the best of sf’s street eats – from the creme brulee cart, good foods caters, the magic curry cart to gabba gabba hey and pizza hacker. enjoy your treats in the hidden fairy garden out back:

to stay abreast of all exhibits and events, browse the fabric8 blog @ www.fabric8.blogspot.com

or, pop your head into the brick and mortar @3318 22nd street, and be sure to say “hey” to owners olivia & anthony.