Some may fondly remember the Mixed Nuts pop-up in Hayes Valley, a workshop-sized space packed to the brim with retro odds and ends. The tiny boutique had a successful run in 2014, before handing the space over to its current occupant, MINE.
Though the Hayes Valley location is no more, the original Mixed Nuts is very much still in business at 3243 Balboa St. The flagship store has been tucked away in the far reaches of the Richmond since 2012, and continues to attract a wide range of visitors, from serious collectors to curious window-shoppers.
Part antique store, part post-war American time capsule, Mixed Nuts specializes in vintage furniture, housewares, and knick-knacks. Relics of decades past cover the pegboard walls, from old tools to funky handmade signs. Offbeat pottery and ephemera line the shelves in neat rows, while pops of color come from every corner—for instance, a bold set of plates or a bright-orange floor lamp.
And then, of course, there are the chairs. The store overflows with an eye-popping selection of authentic mid-century modern chairs: they sit proudly in window displays, stand guard on shelves, even hang from the ceiling.
Mixed Nuts is meticulously curated by its two shopkeepers, Brandon Clark and Anthony Williamson. Both studied design in Philadelphia, where they became versed in the works of Charles Eames ("the 'Converse All-Star' of modern design," as Clark puts it), Eero Saarinen, and Harry Bertoia. The influence stuck: much of Mixed Nuts’ inventory consists of the original products of Eames and his contemporaries.
Brandon Clark (left) and Anthony Williamson.
Chatting with the pair is like receiving a crash course in mid-century modern design: choose any piece in the shop, and Clark or Williamson will gladly recount the history of the designer, style, and even the individual item itself. The gathering and researching of vintage furniture is “a very serious hobby,” according to Clark—which can seem like an understatement, considering the impressive collection that fills the space.
When we ask the two where they find the items to fill their shelves, the answer is quite literally 'everywhere.' "You’re always looking, no matter where you are or what you’re doing,” says Clark.
But finding the right items takes time and dedication. For example, Williamson recently drove over 700 miles to swap goods with a seller in Salt Lake City, who had previously found Mixed Nuts and stayed in touch.
“In that way, it’s more than just an antique store,” Clark explains. “It’s a community of 20- to 60-year-olds [interested in the same thing], reinventing themselves and their shops based on what they can find.”
Although some of Mixed Nuts' larger, more collectible pieces may come from afar, it also features some smaller local finds. "The yard sale scene in SF is probably the most fun,” says Brandon. “Especially out here in the Richmond and Sunset. A lot of these families were born and raised in San Francisco, so you can find a lot of history in their homes: photographs, cool relics, stuff that people love.”
While estate sales and flea markets often have a wide variety of collectibles, “it’s all the same people, and usually the good stuff is already taken.”
Thanks to their constant flea market-hunting, garage sale-scouting, and interaction with fellow collectors, Clark and Williamson have a steady flow of “new” items ready to fill any empty spaces in their shop. In fact, the store's entire contents change roughly every three weeks, because there are always about 20 or 30 pieces lying in wait—“or in our apartments,” Williamson jokes—to go on display.
Mixed Nuts keeps somewhat unconventional hours, in part because there’s a lot happening behind the scenes. In addition to being the shop's sole buyers and sellers, Clark and Williamson also operate their own construction business around town. “It keeps us very busy,” Clark admits.
But the unearthing of hidden treasures is addictive, and he and Williamson are always on the hunt for “better, rarer, and weirder” finds for their customers.
After all, they live in one of the country's rarer, and weirder, precincts. Hence the store's name: “If America is a melting pot," Clark tells us, “then San Francisco is a can of mixed nuts.”
Mixed Nuts is open Monday-Wednesday by appointment and Thursday-Sunday from 12-7pm. In addition to buying, selling, and trading items, they also do prop rentals and operate an online store.
