Park Life

This 1,400-square-foot store and gallery is a champion of emerging artists and clever design. The colorful wares are spread across large central tables stocked with books, and dozens of posters and prints cover the walls. The store's curated stash includes playful office accessories and housewares from Japan, Germany and Scandinavia, jewelry and other wearable art, T-shirts and stationery. Park Life maintains a time-stealing display of art, photography, and design books, including a handful of rare, out-of-print books and exhibition catalogs. Co-owner Jamie Alexander curates ten exhibitions per year in the gallery in back; he also serves on the board of the Headlands Center for the Arts. The shows typically coincide with the introduction of spin-off T-shirts, skate decks or prints in the store, created in collaboration with the featured painter or illustrator. Previous notables include artists like Jason Polan, David Shrigley, Tucker Nichols and Ian Johnson. More recently, Alexander added a sister outpost in the Mission.