Gump's: legend in S.F.

"Gump's, San Francisco, is a California---no---an American legend. It has survived the Gold Rush, earthquakes and fires...



...Hardly your average gift and decorative accessories store, it is a combination art museum, fine antique shop, super gift and decorative accessories shop, furniture and interior design store whose decorators design the homes of the famous and/or the not so famous, just very rich."


A Ch'ing Dynasty gilded wood Buddha, carved for a summer palace in Northern China, still gazes serenely over the store's first floor. It was carved in the Northern Manchurian Province of Jehol, the summer capital of the Ch'ing Emperors in the early 19th Century. The piece, the largest of its kind outside a museum, is the only item in the store that is not for sale.




















And now, the highly anticipated, After Christmas Sale...








I couldn't afford anything at Gump's, but across the back alley, on Maiden Lane, there is a wonderful little shop by the name of Candelier, which was having a 70% off Christmas Sale, where I was able to add a few items to my Christmas decorations.


Thanks to my friend, Michelle, who got us there early, I was able to get this beautiful Santos angel by Wendy Addison, along with a few unusual ornaments to add to my collection.


I also picked up this tree and several black, flocked balls, which look great in my toile den.