Rena Tom, owner of Rare Device, is closing the Park Slope branch of that shop, which features  artisan jewelry, housewares, home decor items, paper goods, books, and clothing on Seventh Avenue near 16th Street.

I met Rena back in the early days of blogging (2005). I actually became acquainted with her work online and introduced myself to her a day or two after she opened her shop in Park Slope.

"Hi Rena, it’s OTBKB," I said.

That’s all I needed to say.

Rena came to the first blogfest at the Old Stone House and was always a leader in retail blogging. A native Northern Californian, she moved back to San Francisco a year ago to open a Rare Device out there. She kept her Park Slope shop open.

Now she’s decided to focus on her California shop, which is doing very well. The painting pictured is by Betsy Walton, who is having a show at the Rare Device Gallery in SF. Here’s what Rena had to say about closing the shop.

After nearly three years in Park Slope, I am closing
the New York branch of Rare Device. I  moved to California a year ago
to open a second store and it has been a learning experience to operate
an East coast store from the West coast, to say the least, but it is
time for me to focus on the (larger) San Francisco store and gallery.

Everything in the Brooklyn store will be on sale beginning
Saturday, May 3. The sale schedule is as follows, with all sales final.
The discount does not apply to custom orders or web orders. We’ll be
open our regular days/hours (Wed-Sat 12-7, Sun 12-6) but may end up
staying a bit later in the evenings depending on foot traffic. We have
a great selection of housewares, books, home decor, jewelry, handbags,
and even a bit of clothing for men and women. We accept cash, Visa, MC
and Amex.

may 2 – friday – CLOSED FOR PREP

25% OFF
may 3 – sat
may 4 – sun
may 7 – wed
may 8 – thu

45% OFF
may 9 – fri
may 10 – sat
may 11 – sun
may 14 – wed

65% OFF
may 15 – thu
may 16 – fri
may 17 – sat
may 18 – sun

Sale location: 453 7th Ave (between 15th and 16th St), Brooklyn, NY 11215. Phone 718.301.6375.

Please
note that Rare Device in San Francisco is still going strong (we are
actually having an art opening tonight), as is the webshop, so New
Yorkers can still purchase items online at www.raredevice.net.