November 4, 2014

Review of Stonemountain & Daughter, Berkeley CA


Ah, work travel, you fickle beast, keeping me away from sewing and finishing up that damn coat.

On the plus side though, new fabric shops to visit!

Last week, I popped into San Francisco (en route from Vegas to Boston to London… yeah) and apparently there was this sports thing on which meant that lots of people got overexcited and swamped the centre of the city. This was most upsetting as it meant I missed both meeting my virtual sewing pal Tanya (next time!) and a trip to Britex.

However, the upside was that I was staying in Berkeley with my friend Anthony (of whom more will follow…) and that, of course, meant… my first trip to Stonemountain & Daughter!

Berkeley is a place teeming with character, overflowing with students, hipsters, homeless people and folks who tuned in and dropped out several decades ago. Delightfully, Stonemountain & Daughter fits right in, with retro signage and a most relaxed staff (who were all dressed up for Halloween – double bonus!).

I was a little concerned when I first walked in that it might be mostly quilting cottons, because they’re all focused at the front of the store. Not that cat quilting cotton is bad, you understand…
There was also an awesome button display – I want my own button Cashmerette sign! One day, dear readers, one day.
However beyond the cottons and buttons, this place is an Aladdin’s cave… venture back and you’ll discover Fur Mountain (I feel like someone needs to set up a blog with that as the title), a huge variety of denim, eyelet, Japanese fabrics and flannels.

Then in the adjacent room, a very solid range of other apparel fabrics, from silks to knits to brocade to wool.

Being the predictable creature I am, I picked up (top to bottom):
– Black jersey for lining a Moneta
– An awesome textured knit for the aforementioned Moneta – you can’t see it well in this photo, but the white stripes are raised knit ridges!
– A stretch cotton in bright blue, yellow and pink
– A great navy and grey flannel shirting for a Negroni for Anthony.

So a lovely trip, a lovely reunion, a lovely fabric shop and I’ll leave you with a lovely view of the Golden Gate bridge from the Berkeley hills. Remind me why I live in Boston again?

22 thoughts on “Review of Stonemountain & Daughter, Berkeley CA

  1. I grew up out there and I lived in SF for almost 3 years after grad school before moving to the Midwest. Lemme remind you, expensive! Like, from rent to gas to groceries, it’s all pricey! I hear Boston is too, so maybe that’s less of a problem! Personally, I like visiting out there, because it’s less stressful than living there 🙂
    Super jealous of your Stone Mountain trip!! Looks like tons of fun. Since I didn’t start sewing until I moved, I’ve never been. Looks like it’s very worth it!!

    1. Jenny says:

      Yes Anthony was telling me about housing prices out there and it’s crazy!
      And funnily enough I have the same thing with Japan – I visited before I started sewing, and now I’m kicking myself!

  2. tanyamaile says:

    I’m glad that you had a great – albeit short – trip over here and enjoyed Stonemountain. I do think you need a Cashmerette button sign. 🙂 Hopefully, we find ourselves in the vicinity of each other in the next few months and hopefully within sight of a fabric store! Perhaps you should switch coasts!

    1. Jenny says:

      I MISSED YOU TANYA! Boo. But hopefully will catch up soon!

  3. Marjie says:

    A visit to an old friend and a new-to-you fabric store! Excellent!

  4. You didn’t mention the incredible second floor where the discounted fabrics are! I’ve bought wools for $5 a yd, beautiful cottons, the list goes on. Every time I visit the SF area SM&D is a must see.

    1. Jenny says:

      Yes, that was great too! All the really flashy stuff was downstairs, so I’m easily distracted, but if I’d been in the market for wool there was tons up there.

  5. gMarie says:

    those are some lovely fabrics! Can’t wait to see your button sign and hear more about Anthony! g

    1. Jenny says:

      Anthony will be a model at some point in the future 😀

  6. Tsigeyusv says:

    You were here?! This is my town and my store! Well, not MY store, but it’s my local fabric shop. Between stone mountain and new pieces, I have everything covered. They even do a little website coupon one can flash from a smart phone to garner a bit of a discount.
    Looks like that photo was from the Rose Garden. It’s indeed a lovely view. I’m seeing it from my window right now.
    (First time to comment, but I stalk (err, read) your blog religiously. I’m so glad the horsehair seems to be helping on your coat, which is looking very lovely, by the way.)

    1. Jenny says:

      Ah, thank you for having a lovely local store! And you are right that is the Rose Garden – I can’t believe you get to look at that every day, that’s phenomenal!!

  7. Oh woweeee that shop looks awesome, and so Californian! I would really like to scale Fur Mountain armed with rope made out of ribbon and crampons made out of pins

    1. Jenny says:

      DO IT ROSIE DEAREST

  8. Katy Patzel says:

    Jenny come back to us!!!!

    1. Jenny says:

      Back on Sunday and then NO MORE PLANNED TRAVEL. woohoo!

  9. Meg says:

    I hope you made it upstairs, too! Discount fabrics and wools!

  10. Julie says:

    I can’t believe you were just up the road from me.

  11. TXD says:

    They also have one of the most expensive rayon print sections ever! Yes and second floor now has a lot of designer deadstock which is awesome

  12. What a lovely article to read of your visit to our store in Berkeley. We hope you will be visiting again soon! So many new changes since the shut down with many more fashion goods now coming in from Europe!

  13. Karen K Mackenzie says:

    So, what I want to know, is … do you have your button sign yet? It’s been nine years! 😉. Maybe a button sorting job in the future for your little one? A bit of a head start, or a game of 52 Pickup!

    I’m heading to San Francisco this fall. I work remotely for a foundation there. I’ve never been so I’m taking a few vacation days. One of my coworkers is taking me fabric shopping for a whole day!!!

Let me know what you think!