The Union and Hayes Valley Street Beat

Get your fill of fresh, unique design from these sartorial start-ups

By LEXIE QUIRING

Updated 1:45 PM PST, Thu, Oct 29, 2009

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www.ragsf.com

Union Street Beat:
Bryan Johnson, owner/operator of the Love Projects t-shirt company, was just your average pay-the-bills computer programmer when he embarked on his path to entrepreneurship in '05. Love Projects blossomed and sales flourished on the corner of Stockton & O’Farrell where Bryan initially set up shop or, lets say, set up table. He is one of a handful of street merchants who perk up the street real estate of Union Square. An incredibly talented young man, Bryan credits his father for teaching him the silk screening process. He now designs, markets, manufacturers, retails, wholesales and sells his wares online. The very visual Tee’s are literally ‘hot off the press’. He now sells to several stores in the city, including RAG CO-OP SF in Hayes Valley. You’ll still find Bryan at his first location, the corner, most days from noon-ish to 6-ish. Bryan’s graphic t-shirt life on the streets of San Francisco reinforce his dba: the company is truly a Love Project.

www.loveprojects.org

Hayes Valley Beat:
Side step off Hayes Street in San Francisco to discover an oasis of fashion culture at its finest, RAG CO-OP SF. This hip shop is another prime example of entrepreneurship gone right. Curator/owner Blakely Bass set the perfect system in place for her chic-fashion-retail-urban farm to thrive. The cast of designers are SF based and rotate working at the store, forming a personal connection with their loyal customers. The atmosphere is the zeitgeist in perpetual motion. The focus is fashion for living life in the City, serious clothes with an avant garde attitude. The variety of fabrics, shapes, colors and textures tend to be suitable for year-round wear - oh so San Francisco!