Srsly.

Abbey Herman has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from San Francisco State University and worked in Nonprofit Fund Development before deciding that what she really wanted to do is work for herself in a retail environment where she could support her local community and provide products that customers could feel really good about purchasing. It was all just a fantasy, though, until Abbey asked Jessica if it was something that she would be interested in pursuing.

Jessica, who holds a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of Washington, was a classroom teacher of emotionally and behaviorally disabled students before developing her own business working as an educational consultant. Jessica, without hesitation, said “yes” to Abbey’s proposition and the sisters began working on making their fantasy a reality.

In August 2011, the sisters finally got to see the fruits of their labors with the opening of Park and Pond on Grant Avenue.

KD: You’re sisters, did you grow up in the Bay Area? Tell us how Park+Pond came to be? Do either of you have a background in retail or design?

P+P:Yes, we grew up in the East Bay. Our whole family is from the Bay Area. We’re like 4th or 5th generation! Abbey was working in nonprofit fund development before deciding that what she really wanted to do was work for herself. She came up with the initial idea for Park and Pond as a retail environment where she could sell only local goods, supporting the local community and providing products that customers could feel really good about purchasing. It was all just a fun idea, though, until Abbey asked Jessica if it was something that she would be interested in pursuing.

 Jessica has her Master’s in Education and was a classroom teacher of emotionally and behaviorally disabled students before developing her own business working as an educational consultant. Jessica was excited about Abbey’s idea and they developed and adapted the idea into what Park and Pond is today.

 Both Abbey and Jessica have worked in retail previously, although not a ton. This is all pretty new, but our family is pretty entrepreneurial and creative so it didn’t seem too far-fetched to open a store. Abbey has a Bachelor’s in Fine Art so she has that aesthetic background.

KD: Why North Beach? (My favorite neighborhood in SF, not for the faint of heart, but magical) & How often are you able to resist the lure of Golden Boy?

 P+P: North Beach is the ideal neighborhood for us! There is a great community feeling, lots of foot traffic, and a friendly group of merchants. We’re trying not to let our waistlines grow too big with all of the yummy food around here and that is a big challenge! We definitely eat at Golden Boy on a semi-regular basis, but try to stay away most of the time.

 KD: You both take a lot of pride in the fact that most of your inventory is sourced fairly locally. Can you talk about that a little? Did you have relationships with a creative crowd before P+P? Was it a goal to be so locally supportive?

P+P: Actually, our entire inventory is sourced locally. It must be PRODUCED within 100 miles in order to qualify for us to carry in the store. That is at the heart of what we do here. We support our local makers and entrepreneurs by only stocking goods that are local. Also, it’s appealing to both locals and tourists that they can come to Park and Pond and find a store filled with authentic Bay Area merchandise. We love having a direct relationship with all of our vendors. We know them personally and have been to most of their studios. We get to talk to them about their process, their plans, and their inspirations. It’s a really amazing experience for us and we get to pass it on to our customers.

KD: Do you foresee more Park & Pond locations throughout SF or in other cities? 

 P+P: We could possibly expand to other cities at some point, but that’s not what we’re focused on at the moment. We want Park and Pond to be the go-to store for unique gifts in San Francisco. We want to be the best we can be at this location before any expansions can be considered.

 KD: If a style conscious and savvy traveler were headed to SF, what are your absolute “musts” for an incredible day in the city?

 P+P: This city has so much to offer that it’s hard to go wrong! We love the Dog Patch neighborhood and think it’s exciting to see what’s been going on over there lately. We also love 24th Street in the Mission and Cortland in Bernal Heights. We love the little “gem” neighborhoods in SF lately. They really show you the “true” San Francisco. And of course, no visit to SF would be complete without a good trip to North Beach. This is one of the oldest parts of the city and it’s so beautiful! Plus you get great food and awesome shopping. Grant Avenue is really bustling lately and has tons of awesome one-of-a-kind shops that are definitely worth checking out.