From neon clothing and dead stock vintage items to zines, bolo ties and clown rings, the sights you’ll see upon entering the funky, psychedelic general store Happy House in North Beach, will make you realize that this is not your typical San Francisco gift shop.
For longtime friends and owners of Happy House, Nikki Greene and Isabella Hill, this artistic space is an extension of their personality and their beliefs.
“My grandfather was a photographer. My mom was a fashion designer,” Hill said. There is a long tradition of artistry in her family.
Hill is a textile artist who specializes in cross-stitching embroidery. Greene is a photographer. The idea of Happy House was sparked during the COVID-19 pandemic when Hill and Greene shared an art studio together in the Mission.
“That was one of our inspirations for starting the store,” Hill said. “We wanted something that would support us, artists like us, and give us a little extra income while we pursue these projects.”
For Hill, a space where people could shop for handcrafted items in person rather than online sounded amazing. It was a concept that Greene had held onto for over a decade. There were different iterations in her mind of what the space would be like; a store containing artist-made items that you wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else. A space where craft and art meet.
“One day I was just like, ‘Hey, I’ve had this idea for a really long time and I think it’s something I want to do’. And then she [Hill] was like, ‘Cool, I have an idea of something I’ve been wanting to do and it seems like we should just do this together,’” Greene said.
Happy House began their pop-ups at craft fairs in the fall of 2022 near the Ferry Building where they began sourcing friends’ art pieces to sell. As the shop expanded, community artists began to approach Hill and Greene and asked to be included.
Just this May, Happy House found its long-term spot on Grant Street. The shop allows artists to consign their items with Happy House, splitting the profit evenly once it sells. Half of the items are consignment while the other half is dead stock vintage, which are discontinued items no longer sold in stores that are sourced by Greene and Hill.
“I think that the time of having a bunch of useless, cheaply-made stuff is over,” Greene said. “I think that if we want to continue on this planet as conscious people, it’s just time to put our money where our mouths are, because commerce is a big part of arts and crafts and has been since the beginning.
A unique fact about Happy House is that Hill and Greene can tell you how and where everything was made. According to Greene, it lends itself to having consciously, ethically and sustainably made items in a world full of trash.
For Dena Goldsmith-Stanley, having a place like Happy House allows for her work to enter the world in a way she might not be able to do herself.
“I’m handpicking what I use and pretty much a hundred percent of what gets cast in the resin is stuff that I found, you know, on the ground,” said Goldsmith-Stanley.
Her unique jewelry consists of hand-painted clown-faced rings and bolo ties, some of which are resin filled with dried and preserved flowers, googly eyes and safety pins. According to her, isolating these items and freezing them adds a time capsule quality, making these everyday objects more interesting.
“I’m just kind of taking from the world, you know in that way, and of course I’m producing small enough amounts that the carbon footprint is very low,” Goldsmith-Stanley said.
Originally from Bakersfield, artist Samantha Solano focuses her work on rugs and clay magnets. After receiving the gift of a turfing frame, which is often used for makeshifting rugs, she thought she’d give it a try. Her clay work began with making miniature versions of her record collection and her work slowly turned into face characters.
Solano came across Happy House and met Hill while she was walking her dog in the neighborhood.
“I haven’t been able to find a place, a storefront or something that I want to sell my stuff,” Solano said. “We just fit in perfectly. Psychedelic General Store is exactly what I was looking for.”
For San Francisco based ceramic artist Katie Thrash, Happy House is a spot where her own work is displayed. She was introduced to the store after being approached by the team during the West Coast Craft in the winter of 2023.
Ceramics has led Thrash to the forefront in the realm of being able to make and build with her hands, tapping into her creative side. Her Nerikomi pieces are often colorful and patterned, most being inspired by her mother’s quilting background and her father’s engineering side.
Thrash has appreciated knowing the stories behind other artists’ processes, techniques, work and effort as she knows how much goes into her own pieces.
“Oftentimes, artists are not making nearly enough for the time that they’ve put into their items,” said Thrash. “I see a lot of people juggling to make it work because they’re so passionate about their work,” said Thrash.
Happy House is located at 1412 Grant St. and is open Wednesday to Sunday from 12-8 p.m. Markets and events are often hosted at the psychedelic general store and announced on their Instagram account (@happyhousesf).
