I walked thru Pacific Heights the other day, which is a neighborhood I almost never go to, just looking at the different shops. I passed a store called Cottage Industry and felt an urge to go in. I couldn’t tell you why, I just felt like I should go in. I stood there at the precipice of the door for a few moments and then strolled in. It was packed with lots of different kinds of art from paintings to sculptures to chandeliers to beads and crafts to make your own jewelry. Once I was inside I saw this beautiful young woman sitting behind the counter smiling at me. I asked her, “What is this place?”

“An art store. The owner travels the world looking for unique art made by local artisans in remote places and then he buys everything they have and sells it here.”

“That’s pretty interesting. There’s a ton of different types of stuff in here.”

“Yeah, it’s a fun place to work.”

“Do you make art yourself?”

“Yeah, I like to do a lot of things, mostly into painting right now.”

“So how’d you end up in San Francisco?”

“My car broke down on a road trip and I stayed.”

“Really? How long you been here?”

“About 4 years. I was driving across the country and my car broke down here so I got to spend a few days here and I fell in love with it.”

“What do you love about it?”

“The culture, the diversity, the stories…this is a great place to get inspired.”

“It sure is, I’m really glad I came in here.”