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A taxidermied crocodile-goose hybrid at Paxton Gate

Paxton Gate is a San Francisco-based company founded in 1992 by Sean Quigley that is named after famed British gardener and architect Sir Joseph Paxton. Described by Quigley as "a natural history museum merged with a home products store and quirky gardening shop."[1] It is an operation that features a large selection of natural science curiosities, taxidermy, numerous varieties of carnivorous plants, succulents, as well as gardening tools and a curated selection of books. The store's inventory emphasizes ephemera associated with the natural sciences, both of the animal and plant kingdoms, taxidermy, mounted insects, assorted neo-Victoriana, oddities, and products associated with the steampunk movement. They also offer a host of different workshops and events, including insect pinning, taxidermy classes and terrarium workshops. [2] In 1999 the operation relocated from its original San Francisco Stevenson Street location to Valencia Street in the city's Mission District in order to accommodate its growing collections of vintage trophy mount taxidermy as well as fossils and minerals. The store freights a Victorian gentleman/inventor/botanist/biologist aesthetic that Time Out London once described as “Martha Stewart Meets David Lynch.”[3]

Quigley opened Paxton Gate's Curiosities for Kids in 2008 and licensed a second operation, Paxton Gate Portland, to owners Andy and Susan Brown of Portland, Oregon.[4], with a second Portland location opening in 2019. The original Portland store achieved a certain amount of television fame when it was featured as "The Knot Store" in an episode of the second season of the popular IFC television series Portlandia, created by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein, guest starring Jeff Goldblum. Later, Armisen included Paxton Gate Portland in a travel piece he authored for the UK-based Guardian Newspaper in May 2013.[5] Arimsen would later bring actor Jerry Seinfeld to the store for an episode of Comedians in Cars with Coffee.[6]

In June 2019, Paxton Gate re-designed their e-commerce website for its stores and changed the name of its design arm, Paxton Gate Design/Build to RareField Design/Build the following year. Paxton Gate San Francisco is located at 824 Valencia Street, SF, CA 94110

RareField Design/Build

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RareField Design/Build is Paxton Gate's Design/Build arm. Formerly known as Paxton Gate Design/Build,[7] its original focus was on landscape for residential projects unrelated to the aesthetic of the store itself.[8] This eventually led to designing and building the interiors of several noted San Francisco eating destinations including the restaurants Flour + Water and Central Kitchen[9] and the French bakery Le Marais.[10] as well as The Third Rail[11] and Handline.[12] The name Paxton Gate Design/Build was changed to RareField Design/Build in 2015.[13]

RareField Design/Build shares the Paxton Gate Offices on the third floor of 766 Valencia Street, SF, CA 94110.

Paxton Gate’s Curiosities for Kids

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In December 2008 Quigley opened Paxton Gate's Curiosities for Kids at 766 Valencia Street.The 1,500 square foot space featured a life size tree built from wood and vines, vintage Structo fire trucks and books including Roald Dahl's Revolting Recipes and Freaky Flora,[14] Curiosities for Kids was designed for children and their parents with games, toys, puzzles, classic books including Curious George, The Little Red Hen, Where the Side Walks Ends, as well as science kits and other inventory such as Silly Putty, Whoopee Cushions and Sock Monkeys that would be familiar to parents from their own childhoods, but uncommon in a modern toy marketplace, with its emphasis on electronics. In a nod to the original store's reputation for taxidermy, Curiosities also features taxidermy made from papier-mâché, a line of mounted plush animal heads and workshops and other including insect pinning, mask-making, demonstrations and birthday parties.[15]

In part due to the changing demographics of San Francisco and online competition, the standalone Curioisities store was closed in 2019, though its approach and selection live on as curated sections in both the Valencia and Portland locations.[16]

Paxton Gate Portland

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In 2010 Paxton Gate Portland was opened by Andy and Susan Brown,[17] with the Browns opening a second location in 2019. While Paxton Gate Portland shares much of the same inventory with the San Francisco store, as well as its emphasis on taxidermy, the natural sciences, gardening tools, carnivorous plants, succulents and Tillandsia and jewelry, the store(s) also pursue Pacific Northwest-based artists and designers, including framed entomology art by Insectism (Tak Hau) as well as Jewelry designs by Theeth (Kimi Kaplowitz) and the Orb Weaver spider web ceramics by Angela White. The stores host regular in-person events. Some of the regular events feature Tyler Thrasher with crystalized cicadas and bones, Insect Safari and the entomology collection of Don Ehlen, The Falconer, John Prucich with live raptors in store and regular in store entomology pinning classes.

Paxton Gate Portland is located at 4204 N Mississippi Ave, Portland, OR 97217 and 811 NW 23rd Ave, Portland OR 97210.

References

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  1. ^ Le, Ahn-Minh (10 May 2009). "Sean Quigley of Paxton Gate in Style Spotlight". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  2. ^ Black, Annetta. "Beautiful Dead Things". The Bold Italic. The Bold Italic. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  3. ^ Keeling, Brock. "Black Friday Alternative: Paxton Gate". SFist. Gothamist LLC. Archived from the original on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  4. ^ Clarke, Kelly. "Paxton Gate Keeps the Season Dark". Willamette Week. Willamette Week. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  5. ^ Armisen, Fred (24 May 2013). "Fred Armisen's Portland: it's weird and it's wonderful". Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  6. ^ Seinfeld, Jerry. "Fred Armisen". Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  7. ^ Shafer, Shannon (17 May 2009). "Opening: Flour + Water". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Better Homes and Gardens". Paxton Gate. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  9. ^ Adler, Sarah (24 June 2012). "Central Kitchen SF: Hipster Chic Decor". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  10. ^ Pape, Allie. "Le Marais: Baking Up the Marina". sf.eater.com. Vox Media. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  11. ^ Pape, Allie. "Third Rail Headed to Dogpatch in the Fall". Eater SF. Vox Media.
  12. ^ Lee, Lydia. "Sebastopol couple create a life of sustainable and delicious fare". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Media.
  13. ^ Chino, Mike. "Paxton Gate Founder Launches RareField". Inhabitat. Inhabitat. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  14. ^ Labong, Leilani. "Dark Ages". Paxton Gate. 7x7. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  15. ^ Farr, Kristen. "In Your Face: Kids and Cockroaches at Paxton Gate". KQED. KQED. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  16. ^ Mark, Julian. "Paxton Gate's toy store, Curiosities for Kids, to shutter in June". Mission Local. Mission Local.
  17. ^ Skinner, Marjorie. "Paxton Gate". Blogtown. Portland Mercury News. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
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