Throughout her career, cook and author Heidi Swanson’s recipe books have adopted the feel of culinary travelogues, experiencing far-flung cultures through the process of preparing and sharing meals. It’s apt then, that she’s returned home to Northern California to open a bricks-and-mortar incarnation of her online store QuitoKeeto with her partner, photographer Wayne Bremser. Named after favourite street in her childhood neighbourhood, the store is located on the edge of San Francisco’s Chinatown and acts as part studio and part retail space, allowing customers to stumble serendipitously upon its curated collection of vintage culinary finds and hand-thrown local ceramics. The space itself is a soothing, minimal oasis of calm that the owners designed themselves – white bamboo replaced particleboard flooring, while hand-blown facetted glass light fixtures drape elegantly from the ceiling, lending the space a soft elegance in line with its neutral aesthetic. Though much of their collection is sourced locally from artisans and small towns throughout the state, a few concessions are made for exceptional finds – not least gorgeous cotton textiles from Oaxaca and a well-travelled selection of chef’s knives from Europe and Japan.
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