Teak Me Home furniture store is all about the Indonesian wood
Now open
Teak Me Home has opened a new showroom in West Berkeley offering furniture made of reclaimed Indonesian teak wood, recycled from the structural beams used in homes built in the 1800s. Teak wood is known for having a strong natural oil which makes it suitable for both indoor and outdoor use. Each piece of furniture from Teak Me Home is handcrafted.
This is Teak Me Home’s second location; its first opened in 2012 in Emeryville.
Owner Alex Elsinga said he wasn’t able to find solidly constructed furniture made of recycled or reclaimed wood so around 2010 he decided to design it himself. “Things that they [sellers] said was solid wood, was not solid wood,” said Elsinga. He said he started his business with referrals and then expanded.
Teak Me Home, 1500 San Pablo Ave. Phone: 510-725-7258. Hours: Daily by appointment only
Discount Fabrics, which sells bulk apparel, upholstery and costume fabrics, has moved from its spot at Ashby and San Pablo avenues to a new location a couple of blocks west of Fourth Street.
The retailer, which has a flagship store in San Francisco, has been in business for over 30 years.
Discount Fabrics, 1805 Eastshore Highway. Phone: 510-423-0699. Email: [email protected]. Hours 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. Monday-Sunday
A furniture and design store that was based in Rockridge for half a century has relocated to Berkeley.
Owner John Knight said the move was necessary due to the cost of space and changes in demand due to the pandemic. The new showroom on Claremont Avenue is a bit smaller than the Rockridge location. The store specializes in custom-made furniture.
Rockridge Furniture and Design, 3048 Claremont Ave. Phone (call or text): 510-652-5753. Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday
Closing soon
Over the decades, Storey Framing has framed up paintings, documents and personal keepsakes. It’s also framed antique horse stirrups, bridles, fishing lures, flute collections, antique rifles, powder horns, musket balls, and carved or cast reliefs, according to its website.
After 47 years in the business, owner James Storey is in the process of retiring. He hasn’t taken on any new customers since April, though he’s not yet sure when he’ll shutter his North Berkeley framing shop for good.
Storey Framing, 1645 Hopkins St. Phone: 510-524-3422
Closed
Earthly Goods
The women’s clothing store closed in August after 40 years in business. Earthly Goods offered a large selection of women’s apparel, footwear and accessories, such as Eileen Fischer and Dansko clogs.
Earthly Goods, 2100 Vine St., Berkeley. Email: [email protected]
In the spotlight
Hosseini’s Flower Cart
Mahmoud Hosseini has sold flowers from a cart on the Hopkins Avenue sidewalk outside Monterey Market for more than 15 years.
“He is truly a community fixture and is a very kind and generous person who makes tiny bouquets from flowers that have fallen from the stems, and gives them to little children,” one customer wrote in an email to Berkeleyside.
As an independent vendor, Hosseini has no health insurance and when he found out he needed dentures, he couldn’t afford the $7,100 expense. Hoping to help their local flower salesman, a group of neighbors led by Nick Morgan started a GoFundMe campaign that raised over $12,000. In addition to paying for Hosseini’s dental work, that was enough money to repair and upgrade his flower cart with new wood.
“I really appreciate your kindness; I hope I deserve it,” Hosseini told the organizers of the GoFundMe.
Hosseini’s Flower Cart, 1550 Hopkins St. #2711, Berkeley. Hours: 10 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday-Sunday
During the depths of the pandemic, as local small businesses were struggling to stay open, Brett Rounsaville and April Underwood had an idea: What if there was an alternative to Amazon that offered products like jewelry, apparel, spices, art supplies, toys, and more, from local brick and mortar shops?
Their solution, Keep Oakland Alive, was an online shopping platform that provides free delivery of goods from local stores to people’s homes — all in one package — within one to four days. It launched in September 2020 in Oakland and is now expanding into Alameda and Berkeley under a new name: Nearby Bay Area.
Launched with more than 20,000 items from 17 shops in the city, the shopping platform has now brought in more than $200,000 in sales and formed partnerships with over 60 stores. Retailers share a percentage of each sale with the platform to help cover the cost of delivery, administration, and credit card processing fees.
Emily Goldenberg, owner of GoldenBug, a children’s shoe store in Rockridge, said she’s been happy with Keep Oakland Alive and is excited about the opportunity to add her Berkeley store, which features kids apparel and gifts, to the platform. “It’s silly not to be involved; it’s just so easy,” said Goldenberg.
Sign up for Nearby Bay Area.
— C.J. Hirschfield
Berkeley shoppers can now buy meals, wine, hotel rooms and more using Berkeley Bucks, the city’s first-ever digital “eGift card.”
The gift card program was spearheaded by Visit Berkeley and is intended to spur local spending. Launched in June, Berkeley Bucks are now accepted by more than 50 businesses, from the Berkeley Repertory Theater to Easy Creole to Hotel Shattuck Plaza.
“We really wanted to find a way to keep our community lively and thriving,” said Jeffrey Church of Visit Berkeley, “especially for our minority-owned businesses who don’t have the time, the energy, the money, or even the expertise to market themselves.”
Incentives to buy Berkeley Bucks include a free beer with the purchase of a mezcal shot at El Patio and $5 off a plant purchase at the Pamana Plantas nursery.
The program is a collaboration between neighborhood business districts, the city’s Office of Economic Development and the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce.
Purchase Berkeley Bucks and see where you can spend them on the gift card’s website.
If you’re a Berkeley business with news to share, or you’ve noticed a new or closing business in Berkeley, email [email protected]. Read more Shop Talk columns. Catch up with food- and drink-related business news on Nosh.
