Porcelynne Boutique & Gallery – treasuring support from local community

Porcelynne Boutique & Gallery is on 14th Street in the cool Mission neighbourhood. Its owner, lingerie designer Jennifer Lynne, opened the store in 2006 after moving to San Francisco from New York, where she graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology. "I was still working full-time in corporate America, so I operated the store two to three days a week until I decided that corporate was killing me. In August of 2006, I took the leap and started running the store and designing full time. The rest is all history," she relates. "Everything you see in the boutique you will probably also see in my closet. I carry independent designers from San Francisco, Portland, Austin and South Carolina at present. Many items available in my boutique cannot be found anywhere else in San Francisco. I currently carry clothing, jewellery and accessories by these designers." Although Porcelynne carries items by other designers, the number one draw among its clientele is Ms Lynne's one-of-a-kind underwear that the designer makes in her studio located inside the shop. The number two draw would be the jewellery.

"I carry mainly local designers' pieces and a range of my own pieces as well. My most popular designs are made from recycled and vintage jewellery pieces remade into fabulous one-of-a-kind jewellery. I also carry Cast of Characters, tessapoppy designs, John Brana, Natalie Mingura and Frolick jewellery lines," Ms Lynne says. As with other hands-on boutique owners, she follows her own tastes when choosing items for her store. "If a piece is not something I like, it makes it a little harder to sell. I have to really believe in what I sell, so quality of work is important to me. I also carry items from designers I really believe in even if what they create is not something I would wear," she explains. Great items aside, Ms Lynne credits the locals with the continued success of the scene as a whole. "The community of San Francisco has been really supportive in the independent boutique scene. Many residents seek us out and refuse to buy from the mass producers in order to ‘Shop Local.' The overall support from the community has been wonderful. I wouldn't have made it this long without it."