SOCK POP In line with the upcoming holiday season, a pop-up boutique for socks has opened in the Elmwood in the space that was the former home of the hair salon, Panache On College. The temporary shop opened on Oct. 1 and will be in the space until January 2. Owner Nicole Chabot is a Berkeley native and excited to be welcomed into the Elmwood shopping district, a neighborhood she described as “full of smiling people.” The store primarily features socks from Socksmith based in Santa Cruz along with a few other curated gift items. “Socksmith is a fantastic company with socks for women, men and kids all with incredible designs, great quality and good value.” Chabot said. Sock Pop has another mission, too, beyond providing fun and colorful socks. “We are donating a portion of our net profit at the end of the calendar year to BAM (Berkeley Arts Magnet), my son’s public school, for the 5th-grade outdoor trip. They need to raise $28,000 for all kids in the 5th grade to go on the trip, and we hope to make a dent in their fundraising goal,” Chabot said. Sock Pop is also currently seeking part-time staff. Sock Pop, 2928 College Ave. (near Ashby), Berkeley 94705. Open Mon. – Thurs., 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Fri. and Sat., 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sun., 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Connect with them on Facebook.
NEYBORLEY-POET’S CORNER Local artists take note. Neyborly, the arts boutique at 2518 San Pablo Ave. which we reported on in a February Shop Talk, is opening a second location down the street, in the former True Value Hardware, which had been there since the 1950’s. The space and the neighborhood where it resides is known as Poet’s Corner – called that because of the nexus of streets named for poets like Chaucer and Byron. Neyborly-Poet’s Corner will be five times larger than the first location and aims to provide a community space that serves as a gallery for local artists and craftspeople as well as a place to host events, parties and meetings, and drop-in co-working. Co-owner Ben Seidl wants to build on the model he developed with his brother Andy to further engage the neighborhood. “We really wanted to create an active, accessible, and vibrant place for people to come together to create, celebrate and support local talent. Poet’s Corner has a custom photo booth, a small catering room, a modular stage, a great sound system and ample space to stretch, dance and mingle,” Seidl said. Poet’s Corner will be available for hosting a variety of public events such as non-profit benefit nights, art exhibitions, community events and indoor arts/crafts markets as well as private events such as company meetings, wedding receptions, birthday parties, showers and holiday celebrations. “We sustain our business through the rental of the space so our community gallery can be free for local artists. We also pass on 100% of all sales directly to the artists themselves,” Seidl said. A grand opening celebration is slated for Sat., Oct. 7, from 6 – 11 p.m. with displays from local artists, music, and food and beverages from Lanesplitter pizza and El Patio. Poet’s Corner, 2043 San Pablo Ave. (near Addison), Berkeley 94702. Tel: 510-363-7876. Open Mon. – Fri., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. for drop-in co-working. All other hours depend on event rentals for the space (evenings and weekends). Connect with Neyborly on FaceBook and Instagram.
OH SHIRT YEAH This t-shirt boutique was introduced in a December issue of Shop Talk and opened its doors for business on Wed., Oct. 4 on Telegraph Avenue. The store provides customers an opportunity to design their own t-shirts using a sublimation printing process. Images can be uploaded from your phone and pressed within minutes with no color restrictions. (Please note: Oh Shirt Yeah is not affiliated with Topman YR Digital Printing in any way. The video link provided in the previous post on this business was included to demonstrate a process similar to the one Oh Shirt Yeah will be using in their business.) Owner Jordan Inglebright of ESEF Apparel in Vacaville graduated from UC Berkeley and said “I love the sense of community among the small business owners in Berkeley. It is unlike any other city. I am so excited to be here – Telegraph is legendary!” Oh Shirt Yeah, 2491 Telegraph Ave. (near Dwight Way), Berkeley 94704. Tel: 510-647-9467. Open Wed. through Sun., Noon – 8 p.m. Connect with them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
NEST After five years on Fourth Street, Nest has closed. Selling a unique collection of jewelry, textiles, goods for the home and women’s fashions, the boutique will continue to run its store at 2300 Fillmore St. (at Clay) in San Francisco, which has been open since 1995 and has been more successful. Nest is owned by mother and daughter team Judy Gilman and Marcella Madsen. The team stated the reason for closing as not getting enough foot traffic.”It is the internet too,” said Madsen, “A lot of retail is slowly dying as more people are shopping online. A lot of individual stores will get replaced by corporations.” Castle in the Air, a nearby crafting store, will be doing a pop-up in the location in December. Nest, 1815 Fourth St., Berkeley 94710. Contact the San Francisco store at 415-292-6199 or connect on Facebook.
Shop Talk is Berkeleyside’s regular Berkeley local business column. If you’re a Berkeley business with news, or a Berkeleyside reader who has spotted a change in your neighborhood or on your travels, shoot us an email with the details at editors@berkeleyside.com. Read previous Shop Talk columns. And catch up with all food business news with our Nosh coverage.
