Neighborhood Shorts

A Look at Needles & Pens

Needles & Pens is celebrating 11 years in the Mission this week.  And while the zine and art shop has become a neighborhood landmark over the years, it was a contentious journey to get to that place.  By being credited with creating “the 14th Street DIY revolution” by the SF Bay Guardian, anti-gentrification activists protested the business and “attacked the store.”  Now on 16th Street, it feels like a throwback to what the neighborhood once was.  So it goes.

Ahead of the anniversary, Mission Local filmed a quick interview with co-owner Breezy Culbertson.  It doesn’t focus so much on the past, but where the business is at now.  Do check it out.

Comments (8)

These places are still popping up, electric blanket for instance just opened.

Ah, EB, I hope she fares well.

How on earth do these things survive?

How can they afford to stay in business? Are these things some kind of money laundering operations?

The stuff looks mediocre at best.

How can anyone make a living peddling this stuff? Why would anyone want to peddle this

stuff in the first place? Who buys this stuff anyway?

Why is the Mission full of stores like these, that are absolutely usless and utility-less, to normal people?

I could really use a couple of markets selling plenty of fresh organic produce, from the North Bay at reasonable, non-swindling prices.

For crying out loud we live next to some of the best farms in the damned country.

Yet theres hardly an abundance of produce unless you want to pay the extortionist prices at the farmer’s markets.

Heck kick out these stupid greeting card peddlers and instead sell some day-old leeks and mustard greens. I will buy them. 

No, I don’t want to buy my vegetables from those Mexican markets. Those are horrible.

It should be a crime to call those offerings, “produce”. Especially given we live where we live.

Heck, I bet people have access to better produce in Denver, Charleston, New Haven and St. Paul than we have here.  

That’s a blasphemy!

Rainbow isn’t good enough?  Local mission market, bi-rite?  Even the closest mexican market to me on 24th has an organic section ha.  Also the farmers market in bernal heights is a far cry from expensive, that place is amazing.

The Central City farmers market at Civic Center I’ve found to be very reasonable in the price department. A far cry from the ridiculous price points at the Ferry Building, but that’s really for tourists anyway. And I wouldn’t complain too much. You could be in West Oakland, a true market desert.

The anti-gentrification protest article you reference proves that local activists have a long history of misguided idiocy. 

Some have certainly been misguided, but others not so much. No need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Troll-fest 14