Urban Fauna Studio
Categories: Shopping Arts & Crafts Art Supplies Shopping Knitting Supplies Art Supplies, Knitting Supplies [Edit]
San Francisco, CA 94122(415) 664-1267
- Price Range:
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$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Dogs Allowed:
- Yes
Stefanie L. said: "Bundle up your trip to Beyond Beads with a stop at General Bead, and you'll have yourself a jewelry bonanza. Wow, that was cheesy. But I'm serious. Beyond Beads doesn't have the basics, like extensive collections of colorful seed beads…" read more »
26 reviews for Urban Fauna Studio
Review Highlights
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26 reviews in English
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Review from Anne V.
San Francisco, CA
12/27/2011
Always have great service and find something special at this great local shop.
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Review from Audrey H.
San Francisco, CA
2/16/2011
They just moved into a new location, which is huge, full of light, and well planned. I must admit I was a little nostalgic for their former space, which was about the size of a closet, but cozy. What really makes the new space great is that you can see all of the yarn and fiber goodies in really good light. If you get too excited by all of the cute items you can spin around like a crazy person with your arms outstretched - the new place is that big.
If you like knitting, crocheting, spinning, felting or any other fiber related craft, this is your place. They have a nice selection of wheels (some new Greensleeves spindles!) and other tools to indulge your crafty side. -
Review from katie e.
Alameda, CA
9/9/2008
Wow! I was really excited when I heard about this place opening a few weeks ago. I missed the crowded grand opening, which I'm ok with, because as the other reviewers have noted, this place is TINY. They really pack a lot of merchandise into such a small space, though. There are spinning wheels and drum carders, a good selection of hand-dyed wool, solid-colored wool sold in small amounts (good for felters), angelina sparkly stuff in every color you could want, yarn from Be Sweet and O-Wool, and lots of knitting needles, notions, and needle-felting supplies. There was also lots of other random cuteness - my boyfriend picked up a set of mustache stamps for his sister.
In addition to the merchandise being top-notch, Jamie and Blas are really great! Both my boyfriend and I had really fun conversations with them. They were both totally knowledgeable about their products and suppliers and really excited about this venture. They are working with some fiber artists to do classes (Blas was telling me about one for spinning art yarn) and Jamie said they were hoping to have some events where they let everyone loose on the drum carders to make their own fiber blends.
I really appreciate that they have established regular hours - right now it's just Friday-Monday, but it's nice to know when I can show up and have them be open. Just a note, parking really sucks in this area (it's SF, after all), but it's usually possible to find something within a few blocks. Public transit (like the N-line) is a good choice. This is a fun, low-key neighborhood - lots of good restaurants around and only a few blocks to Golden Gate Park. I will be making the trek over here for fibery fixes as often as I can!Listed in: San Francisco, Crafty Shops
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Review from Lauren F.
San Francisco, CA
12/21/2009
This is pretty much the only place in SF to get non-yarn fiber craft stuff like spinning wheels and colored roving. Yes, it's tiny, so the selection is not huge, but they had most of the supplies I needed and were able to order in everything they didn't in a just a few days.
The prices are pretty reasonable, especially on the hand-dyed yarn, and Blas and Jamie know absolutely everything there is to know about all of the fiber arts. I also really like that they consign for dozens of small fiber artists, hold lots of classes and are a certified green business. Here's hoping they're successful enough to move to bigger space soon! -
Review from Alicia V.
San Francisco, CA
7/21/2011
I absolutely love this place! I am new to knitting and decided on a whim to walk into this cute little shop one Friday afternoon. I had a pattern in mind, but not a clue as to how to begin the project. I was assisted by a lovely woman who was not only keen on making sure I purchased exactly what I needed, but she went the extra mile and looked up the pattern for me online, then patiently explained the way to work cabling, which size needles I should purchase depending on my knitting style, and a whole host of other knitting factoids. I left with a lot less intimidation for the craft and a whole lot of enthusiasm.
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Review from Ljótur H.
San Francisco, CA
12/19/2009
The quest for a knitting shop in SF continues...
The place is tiny but has a lot of interesting-looking yarn, and apparently they're all eco-groovy, so I'm giving them the 3 stars just for that.
I needed some needles, though. Their selection isn't great. They couldn't be bothered to stop talking about cats long enough to ask if I needed anything, they avoided eye contact, and I'm not into interrupting, so I decided to take my business elsewhere. Too bad, could use a shop nearby, and I really wanted to like them. -
Review from Leigh G.
7/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place is fantastic, but oh boy, is it small. Well, for yarn I guess "carefully curated" is a better phrase...but having schlepped all the way out to Sunset, I was a little disappointed by the size. The selection is great, the prices are pretty competitive, and the items are all hand-dyed, selected with care, and the staff know their products forward and backward. So you can't go wrong with that.
Some things are a bit expensive, but the price reflects the quality and dye process. I saw this one ball of yarn that was the most gorgeous blend of turquoise and purples. It was handpainted and SO SO SO soft. And $60. I loved it, but never in my wildest dreams could I ever afford buying yarn that costs that much!
They also have some cute kits and knitting accessories. I couldn't quite bring myself to buy yet more yarn without a project in mind, so I bought adorably cute stitch markers that are metal rings with a small bamboo charm with images of sock monkeys and yarn and such on them. The stuff in the store was so great I couldn't resist leaving there empty handed, especially after going out of my way to check it out! And those stitch holders are sickeningly adorable and I am going to love using them.
But if my husband asks, I bought them months ago. Our little secret, Yelp. Our little secret. -
Review from Jessica B.
San Francisco, CA
1/2/2010
I came here on the second opening day, and I'm so glad I did. Let me first preface this with a warning that this is not a "craft store" per se. It is a teeny tiny little store brimming with fiber arts supplies. So, needle felting, spinning, dyeing, knitting and crocheting.
They have oodles of fiber (the stuff that makes yarn) here, which is so nice, because you can actually *touch* the fiber, which you can't do at an online store. Because most people who make yarn also use it, they also stock the basic knitting supplies.
The owners are SUPER awesome, and I even got a free needle felting lesson when I stopped by. Turns out, stabbing brightly colored fluff over-and-over was quite therapeutic for me, so I bought some needles and wool to play around with at home.
If you love making things with your own two hands, you should definitely stop by this place. -
Review from Debbi W.
6/14/2011
This really isn't a review. I've only just became a friend on FB. But my request was handled so quickly, I want to make a trip to SF just to see the store.
Listed in: ROADTRIPS
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Review from Reagan T.
Richmond, VA
7/14/2011
I love this LYS so much, I wish it were actually local for me, as I live on the other side of the country (literally). The selection for the space is fantastic, I found myself touching nearly every skein they had. Wool, cotton, alpaca, llama, you name it, they have it. Their wall of hand-spun and hand-dyed yarns looked amazing, and I was surprised to find that some of them were decently priced. The girl working there was very kind and helpful, but definitely gave me enough space to wander around the store and do my own browsing. After I made my purchases, I was given a token for their little dispensing machine that had different prizes and things inside. I won a postcard and a button that said "I Heart Yarn". I would come here again and again, and probably spend way too much money on all the wonderful things they sell!
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Review from cyndi L.
San Francisco, CA
6/17/2009
5 stars for being so nice!! I stumbled across a mention of this little (key word, peeps.) shop on the Ravelry forum and was highly intrigued. Another yarn shop to check out? What a chore. So I think I visited it the next day or so and as we rolled up to the door, on a scooter, I saw that it looked like it was closed. Tried to read what the shop hours were and then the door opened, one of the owners saw us through the blinds (probably heard us too as the motor was still running and we were only a foot away from the front window). She said to come in and take a look around. I think something about inventory was mentioned.
It was really nice of them to open up for me and I really liked what I saw inside. They have some yarns that I haven't seen at other shops so it was lovely to see different permutations of the fibers. I picked up four balls of a cotton/bamboo yarn that I was not familiar with.
I hope that they do well enough to make it through this rough economy. I know that I will try my best to make this a some what regular stop. -
Review from Silly P.
San Francisco, CA
2/5/2010
I really loved this place! I took a knitting and a crocheting class here. It's a little bit small, but the instructor was excellent. They have really beautiful materials there. I thought the yarn was a little pricy, but then when I looked online, I realized they are pretty on par for what's out there. The people there are very friendly and I had a great time learning to crochet!
Oh, and I saw another post that said they don't carry Noro yarn. Maybe it's an old post, because they do carry it. I haven't used it, because I really like the Mary Jane's attic stuff that the owner hand dyes and sells there, but I know it's there! -
Review from Theresa J.
Brisbane, CA
4/23/2009
I'd like to give a shout out to a great little place where I picked up some new felting supplies as well as some hand-dyed, hand-spun wool yarn. Urban Fauna is a fairly new little shop in San Francisco, located on 16th Avenue, between Irving and Judah. Although tiny in size, they have a fabulous selection of wool roving, artisan yarns, books, tools and supplies, etc. They also have great workshops/classes on spinning, weaving, felting, etc. I haven't taken any yet, but it's on my short list of things to do. I first heard of this shop through their blog, Mary Jane's Attic, when they were announcing the opening of their new brick and mortar store.
I've never been a serious knitter, but I was so inspired by the beauty of the yarns in their shop that I bought a skein, then went home and knitted the whole skein in one night. However, I found that I didn't have enough yarn to finish the scarf. So, back to the little shop I ran the next day, only to find out that it was the only skein of it's kind. What to do??? The shop owner, Blas, who incidentally is amazing, informed me that I could contact the maker of this fabulous yarn on Etsy and perhaps order more directly from her. Fabulous -- not only because I could order more, but because they support Etsy artists.
And on a final note, Blas, the shop owner was delightful. He was friendly, knowledgeable, and made my visit to their tiny, but bursting at the seams with wonderful things, shop completely comfortable and enjoyable. -
Review from Michael I.
Highlands Ranch, CO
9/4/2008
I'm not a knitter (well, I knitted a scarf for my wife once - I earned big bonus points for that one, by the way!). I'm not a spinner of yarn. I don't do fiber crafts of any sort. And yet, I think Urban Fauna Studios is an extremely cool place and a business that I hope thrives.
My wife is a knitter and crocheter and spinner and all of that. She was searching for places in San Francisco that might sell spinning wheels, and she found a listing for Urban Fauna a week before they opened. She called the listed number and spoke to Blas (one of the two people who run the shop), who was happy to tell her all about their plans for the shop, the grand opening, etc. She went with some of her fellow fibercrafters to the grand opening, which was apparently mobbed out the door and a huge hit. She went back again two days later with me.
Urban Fauna Studios is... how shall I put this... tiny. Think shoebox, and you're on the right track. I honestly can't say too much about the quality of their wares because, as I said, I'm not a fiber guy. However, I've been told by fiber folks whose opinions I trust (my wife and her fellow fiber people) that Urban Fauna's stuff is excellent.
What I CAN speak to first-hand is their service. Jamie and Blas (the couple that run the place) are absolutely outstanding to work with. We showed up at their shop 45 minutes before closing time on Labor Day (yes, they were open on Labor Day!), and the two of them took the time to go through all sorts of spinning wheel options with my wife, letting her try them out, looking up info online, showing her how they worked, etc. They weren't trying to upsell her or put on any pressure or anything. They helped her decide on the wheel she wanted, ordered it for her, and gave her a good price. Jamie followed up the next day to let us know about the status of the order and to send my wife some online videos about how to use her new equipment.
What's more, they have two adorable dogs. Rocko (the little yellow one) sat in my lap for half an hour while my wife tried out spinning wheels. These are some incredibly well-behaved animals! Hey, I like cute dogs.
Bottom line: The people at Urban Fauna Studios are the kind of people you want to do business with. They care about their customers, and they provide service the way it's supposed to be done. And since I'm told their merchandise is top-notch, I imagine that knitters and spinners and the like will love this new shop. It's a good addition to our fair city. -
Review from Rika Y.
San Francisco, CA
8/21/2010
A little out of my price range as a poor grad student, but everything is reasonable. The fair trade/eco friendly stuff is just expensive! There are also some more moderately priced items such as some very cute stitch markers made by a local crafter. What will keep me going back (other than the fact that is' only a few blocks away) are the owners, who are very friendly and welcoming. The website is great for finding out about events such as sales and knitting nights. See you guys again soon!
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Review from Jean L.
Fremont, CA
9/7/2008
I was there opening day and they had a huge turn out of excited customers. I agree with everything Michael I. mentioned. UFS has excellent customer service and they were very friendly. I dragged my fiance with me and thank goodness Blas was there to chat with him while I shopped. He seems pretty cool and personable. My only gripes are that I wish it was a bigger place and they had more yarn. Don't expect to find Debbie Bliss, Noro or other well known quality yarns. They carry their own beautiful handspun yarns and a couple other yarn manufacturers I wasn't familiar with, like O-wool. The previous yelper wasn't exaggerating about the shop being tiny. I felt that when more than 4 customers are in the shop, it does feel crowded. Otherwise it's a great little fiber arts shop with lots of crafty ideas.
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Review from Katherine C.
San Francisco, CA
12/22/2009
My mom actually stopped by this store on a walk and she loved all the beautiful hand spun, hand dyed yarn, even though she doesn't do anything with fiber! She brought me there today and we spent quite a while chatting w/Blas and drooling over all the different yarns and other fiber arts stuff. We caught Blas just as he was on his way out for a break, but he was kind enough to open up the shop just for my mom and I. We walked away with two beautiful skeins and a new fav place to shop.
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Review from Jen K.
San Francisco, CA
2/14/2010
Love, love, love this store. I love all things crafty and this store has beautiful products for all kinds of fiber ideas. The owners are eager to help you and even give demos on how to use some of their products. During one of their sidewalk events I learned how to needle felt with Jamie. After, I asked them if they would come to my classroom and teach a group of 5th, 6th, and 7th graders how to wet felt. They came this last Friday and did an outstanding lesson. They arrived with all of the supplies, including the hot water needed! Their natural ease with the kids and desire to teach this fun craft was so contagious that my students begged me to get the supplies so they could make more felt beads and balls. I will for sure be back for those supplies and some goodies for myself.
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Review from Luri S.
San Francisco, CA
10/4/2009
I only came to this shop because my BFF spins and she had to get some stuff to satisfy her retail therapy thing. I was planning not to spend any money because I have tons of yarn but $75 later... I love this shop! Blas is the nicest guy and now I want to learn how to spin. (Oh boy another hobby, but spinning goes hand in hand with knitting right?) In the tiny shop there is a lot to enjoy. I love all of the felted creations- especially the little felted Totoro! I bought earrings, needles, stitch markers and this yummy lemon grass colored yarn. Props to Blas and Jamie for this little gem. Best wishes for much success. I plan to go again and again.
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Review from marie k.
San Francisco, CA
11/8/2008
Urban Fauna is an absolutely adorable shop! It is, as everyone else said, a tiny place, but it is outfitted beautifully with an amazing stock of items to meet your fiber art needs. I spin, knit, felt and weave; I've worked in the DIY/Crafty community for several years and I'm well acquainted with fiber/craft shops -- and this place had me in paroxysms of joy! I was oohing and ahhing and touching and wanting to buy absolutely every product I saw. Beautiful yarns, beautiful fibers, gorgeous and nifty and totally cool tools and accessories. It is just an awesome shop.
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Review from kevin c.
San Francisco, CA
9/4/2009
This is a great little store in the Sunset! My wife loves this place for all the cool yarn from local artists and the incredible classes they offer. I love the place because it has supplies for the Yudu printing system, which are sometimes hard to get elsewhere. However, what really gives this place 5-stars is the customer service. Blas and Jamie will always take the time to answer any of your questions - they both love to teach and are very patient! If you are in to knitting, crochet, fiber arts or Yudu printing, this store is highly recommended.
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Review from Sun L.
San Francisco, CA
4/21/2010
Urban Fauna is a teeny-tiny, blink and you'll miss it kind of place. Matter of fact, I did miss it the first time I was looking for it!
I've bought yarn there before for my girls, and kinda forgot about it. Then, I got an email from the friendly folks at UF about a free hands-on demo for felting, they were having on a Friday evening at the de Young, last March.
My daughters and I showed up; my daughters had a lot of fun making felted pictures, which inspired me to sign them up for a class at UF. I looked at their online schedule and decided on a beginners amigurumi knitting class; however, the scheduled date wasn't going to work for me. I emailed UF, and got a prompt reply of, "No problem, as long as there are 2 students, we can do a private class at your convenience." How cool is that!
My girls have had two fun and productive classes at UF, and I want to keep signing them up for more. I also really love that they're in my neighborhood; makes it super convenient to drop off and pick up. -
Review from Allison R.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 9/27/2010
So I went here today again to check out some fiber. I have been interested in spinning lately and like I said in my original review I wouldn't go back unless I wanted to learn how to spin or rent a spinning wheel. Well today was the day I decided to give this store another go. I was delighted to find that although really tiny the customer service outdid itself. Blass was super sweet and told me all about wheels. On a whim I asked if he could teach me to spin and it turned out Janice was taking over and she was able to teach me. Our one on one lesson was exactly what I needed to get started. I stayed several hours shopping and will return again soon. Glad to say that my first experience was just a one off. Humm I might have to rent a wheel after I master this spindle!!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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7/26/2010
I was really unimpressed by this shop. From the reviews I felt like I was going to go in there and… Read more »
Comment from Jamie C. of Urban Fauna Studio 7/27/2010
We're sorry to hear you were unimpressed. It's true we're a… More » -
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Review from Natalie R.
San Francisco, CA
8/6/2010
Yummy fiber craft goodness in a teeny store in the Sunset. The classes are great (and very reasonably priced), and cover more than just knitting. Spinning, felting, amigurumi! Extra bonus, they are dealers for Schacht and Ashford and can place orders for you. And you can try out spinning wheels (take your shoes off.)
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Review from Andrew F.
Pacifica, CA
8/4/2010
It may be small, but Urban Fauna has a lot to offer. I found the staff to be extremely helpful and knowledgeable (they're spinners themselves!). In addition, their stock was eclectic and reasonably priced. I highly recommend visiting this shop!
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Review from Lucy C.
San Francisco, CA
1/19/2010
I went here yesterday with a friend and after a WEEK of going to my old one-stop shops looking for felting needles (EVERYONE was out) and white roving (Again, EVERYONE was out of it) I found Urban Fauna. The TINIEST Little store of EVERYTHING anyone who loves felting or yarn crafts could possibly need. Not just the basics-----Unique one of a kind home-spun yarns done made by the owners themselves! A seriously dedicated husband and wife team who honors local patrons as if they were life long friends (which they will be now!). I asked how they got started and it was simple: A husband who wanted to tackle the challenges of his wife's knitting obsession---and VOILA! A fantastic duo of brilliance. I cannot say enough about this place and they ALWAYS have stock. This is my new knitting and felting haven---not a huge Yelper---but if I could give this place 10 stars, I would. Just fantastic. And, unlike imagiknit----the people here are NICE! And they don't take a bazillion hours to help you spend a down payment on a house. Fun, easy shopping. I went in there because I was felting my couch----the guy at the counter was just as excited for me as I was. Not like other craft stores or knitting stores where they look you up and down and decide if you have brains enough to conquer such a feat. If you have the vision, they will literally embrace it with complete excitement. GO THERE. I mean it. GO.
