Dedication
Our Story
Ordering
Catalogs
More fun stuff to look at!
We are a real live store, with a physical location as well as a web presence. In fact we existed as a storefront waaaaaay before dot anythings were even a thought!
Mendel's/ Far Out Fabrics
1556 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA 94117
Between Ashbury and Clayton Streets
Tel: (415) 621-1287
Fax:(415) 621-6587
Email: hello@mendels.com
Store Hours
Monday - Saturday 10am - 5:50pm
Sunday 11am - 4:50pm
Dedication
Our web page is dedicated in loving memory to Sarah Herscowitz.
Benjamin hard at work reorganizing the fur squares!
Our Story
Mendel's opened on Haight Street in 1952, by our founder and namesake Mendel Herscowitz (my grandfather) and has operated continuously and family owned for last 45 years. The original store was at the corner of Haight and Masonic (where Reckless Records is today). We moved to our present location, between Clayton and Ashbury, in 1968.
Running stores is kind of in our family blood. Mendel had a "5 and dime" store on Haight Street in in the early fifties (called B&L 5 and Dime -- named for his daughters Bette and Louise). Mendel's parents had grocery store in Daly City in the early 1900's. Bette bought the business from Mendel in 1978. Suddenly he was retired-- which meant that he could work when we wanted to-- a nice situation to be in. Today, I (Naomi) help my aunt, Bette, run the store. When she is ready to retire (which means work only when she wants) I guess I will be in charge.
The store is in a constant state of change. When Mendel opened the store originally, he sold house paint and linoleum. Times changed, and so did our merchandise. Today, we like to think that we are "the complete store for the creative individual." We have our own mix of merchandise, which you will never find duplicated anywhere. The defining factor is that we sell products for you to do stuff with. Why sell a tie-dye shirt, when we can sell you the dyes to make it? Why sell a necklce made of clay, when you can make your own necklace? Creativity is good and healthy and we want to encourage you to find your own personal outlet.
Ask anybody about our store and you will find out that we have a ton of fun here-- you might even hear some laughing if you call us. Obviously people need to have jobs so that they can afford to live (the essentials, you know), but it certainly doesn't hurt if you can work in an creative and supportive environment. It is kind of an old school way of running a store, but its the way we have always done it.... and it works.
Ordering
Check out our Ordering and Shipping Page for all the details.
Catalogs
We do not publish a catalog, but we are constantly updating our web page. We are happy to answer any and all questions about what we stock, how to order it, availability, pricing, opinions.....
Maillist anyone?
Want to notified of specials by email? Want to hear about updates to the website, new products or other exciting things? Here is your chance. We have two mailing lists. The first is for people who live in the SF Bay Area. This mailing list will announce updates to the website as well as in-store only promotions. To sign up for this list go to the maillist for locals sign up page
The other list we have is for people do not have the luxery of being able to visit our brick and morter store. This list will announce website updates and product updates. To sign up for this list get yourself over to our mail list set up page.
If you are having problems send ME an email and I will help you.
Gift Certificates?
Wanna share this coolness with your friends and family? We have a gift certificate page where you can buy as many as you would like.
If you have any suggestions, questions, or requests on the types of things you'd like to see on our site, please send us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.