Newish to San Francisco: Rare Device, a design shop and gallery that started in Brooklyn and headed west a couple of years ago. Collaborators Rena Tom and Lisa Congdon carry a mix of locally produced items for the home as well as a well-curated selection of wood and glass pieces from Japan. As for the name of the shop, "If you’re an English major or an English teacher, you know that rare device is from Samuel Coleridge’s poem ‘Kubla Khan,’" the owners say.
Above: Sake Decanter Set by Saikai in Japan; $78.
Above: Gray Teapot Set from Saikai in Japan; the mug is $22.50, the creamer is $27.50, and the teapot is $50.
Above: Soy Sauce Dropper from Kumura Glass in Japan; $45.
Above: Re Form Pot Candleholders from Landscape Products; a "Japanese designer’s homage to Scandinavian midcentury design." The small is $58, medium is $68, and tall is $88.
Above: For a tour of Rena Tom’s San Francisco apartment, go to Design Sponge. "The sideboard is a crate built to ship our art across the country. It was a shame to throw it out, so we installed some ikea Billy shelves in it and we put our dishes inside," Tom says.
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