Guide Book
Topdrawer offers analog wares for nomadic shoppers.
Five years ago, when Topdrawer was scouting locations for its first San Francisco store, the Mission District was part of the mix. But things in the hood were a bit gritty for the retailer of “tools for nomads,” and the shop took up residence in Cow Hollow. How things have changed. When the privately owned, multimillion-dollar company set out last year to launch brick-andmortar No. 2 in the city, Valencia Street was the goal.
Topdrawer’s prime spot near 21st Street, which opened in late June, lures passersby, many armed with fresh Reformation totes and Smitten scoops, with an interesting mix of colorful goodies: pens and bento boxes, sunglasses and rain boots, photo albums and Japanese house shoes. But there’s a method to the merchandise: “We provide tools for creative professionals — designers, writers, entrepreneurs, engineers — living a nomadic lifestyle,” says Topdrawer President Peter Dunn. “These are people who may work in a cafe or co-working space one day and on a plane or train the next. We sell everything one would have (and need) in an office — an office that fits in a bag.”
The brand’s toolkit for the peripatetic set revolves around four main activities: working, photographing, eating and traveling. Key product categories include notebooks, writing tools, photo albums, bento boxes, bags and electronics. “We focus on buying curated and thoughtful products from around the globe geared to professionals tired of buying things that will end up in a landfill,” Dunn says. “They don’t want more stuff, they just want the things they really need — things that are comfortable, durable and stylishly designed.” .
Undoubtedly, Topdrawer speaks to Bay Area sensibilities and the hordes of office-less creatives that reside here … when they’re not nomad-ing, of course. Currently, along with two San Francisco boutiques, there’s one store in Boston and five in Japan. These locations make sense when you learn about the brand’s origin.
In a nutshell: Topdrawer launched in 2012 as the boutique division of Itoya, an iconic, centenarian Japanese stationery retailer. Kolo was a then-14-year-old Boston manufacturer of premium photo albums, journals and travel accessories, and a longtime Itoya brand. About a year ago, the two like-minded companies, which already shared a president in Dunn, officially united. (Technically, Itoya acquired Kolo although the company’s robust e-commerce business operates under the www.kolo.com URL.) Topdrawer’s international HQ moved to Boston, where a small team works out of a WeWork space. And Akiro Ito continues his reign as president of parent company Itoya, founded by his great-grandfather in 1904.
Accompanying Topdrawer’s unique Japanese American heritage is an enigmatic merchandise mix — i.e., modern smartphone cables and oldschool photo albums. “The funny thing is our average consumer is 20 to 30, so there’s a renewed nostalgia for things like photo albums. Many of our customers had no idea what photo mounting corners were even for,” Dunn notes. They do now, as Kolo photo albums and scrapbooks in myriad canvas and leather versions are one of the retailer’s top sellers. Other popular products include exclusives like Romeo fine pens, travel pouches, bags and journals from Color Chart and Merippa House Shoes, which retail for $55 and are no strangers to Instagram likes.
All of these items and more are displayed in the airy 1,200-square-foot Mission boutique. Home to worn wood floors and sparse but pitchperfect vintage furnishings, it seems tailor-made for the city’s most hallowed hipster hood. On any given day, hoodie-clad locals and tourists alike can be seen crowding around the gigantic centerpiece table covered in endless containers of pens, markers and mechanical pencils, and stacks upon stacks of journals and notebooks. (Pen testing is encouraged.) Elsewhere, people are busy inspecting bags and backpacks, scrutinizing bento boxes and deliberating over which sunglasses work best with their face shape. (Aviators tend to be the most universally flattering, FYI.)
“Out of all our locations, the Mission store is the one that aligns most closely with the Topdrawer brand,” Dunn says. “In fact, I think the Mission may have influenced us.”