Museum of Craft & Folk Art

Closed forever — last day Sat 11÷10÷12:

What a joke!
These people have a lot of nerve to require payment of a single penny just to walk inside a tiny room and take a few minutes to look at the half-​dozen items displayed there. I don’t care how «exquisite» or «engaging» those items might be. The city is full of art galleries where art can be viewed and shopped. It’s also full of free museums. If people want to throw their money away because they are so filthy rich and pretentious that they can kid themselves into thinking they got anything resembling a good return on their investment, that’s their business. But the museum should in all good conscience make very clear when the money is handed over: «Just so you know, this museum consists of a single cubicle. Did you still want to pay?»
I planned on spending part of an afternoon here with my mother. After blowing admission for the two of us, we could no longer afford to pay for any of the REAL museums in the area, and five minutes later were looking for something else to do for the rest of the day. All the rest of the reviews that claimed to have gotten something substantial in return for their money are deluded poseurs or have forgotten the value of a dollar.
In short, the folks at this museum are running a racket, and I urge you not to be fooled. This is not a place that should be charging money. And it is not a museum. My criteria? If I can spin in a circle with my arms outstretched and touch every display with my hands in under three seconds, it’s not a museum.
What a joke.

I found out about this place through ETSY. They host a craft night with the MOCFA every month. I went for the Sister Corita screen printing. It’s a small space but they also set up outside so you can mingle and enjoy the fresh air. The event was great. For $ 10 I got to «design» a tote bag with my choice of screen print (they also had t-​shirts), enjoy music, drinks (I had a great cocktail of plum wine and something else) and some great salad and tofu bites.
They had some cool prints by Sister Corita on display. It was nice to see some of her work.
art+music+drinks+friends= MOCFA

I first went to the MOCFA for the Clare Rojas exhibit a while back. Though the museum is small with one gallery and a store, it has heart. The staff are friendly and very helpful. If you have any questions, they are happy to answer them. The store, too, is great. Lots of interesting stuff that I have given as gifts, to my family, friends and myself.
I encourage the Unilocalers who disliked the exhibit they saw to check out the new exhibit — art is subjective, after all, and no one is required to like everything they see, but one disliked exhibit does not mean the museum’s a dud. It is anything but.
Get on their mailing list and keep up to date with their events, like Craft Bar, which is always fun, and their exhibit openings.

It has a lot of potential. Great location. Great size too.
The single room is small (size of a large living room), so there should be no excuse for having an awesome quality packed show every exhibition.
Unfortunately, I didnt find that to be the case on my first visit. I was severely underwhelmed by the exhibit (Volver: Mexican Folk Art into Play). Put some more meat on the bone. The room had space for more things and the quality was weak.
The gift shop admittedly has some nice books and crafts for sale (check out the woolbuddys on sale).
I’ll give them another shot with the next exhibit that sounds interesting.
Bonus: its next to the Jewish Museum and close to Beard Papa’s! The Mexican restaurant Tropisueño next door looks pretty good too.

I came to the MoCFA last night for an ETSY Labs event. The event itself was horribly overwhelming, while the museum itself was very underwhelming.
The museum itself is yes, one room plus the lobby/​store. The items on display in the store are far more interesting than those in the «museum,» which is smaller than a one-​bedroom SF apartment. Each of the four walls has a different art display, but the current display is just not interesting. In the center of the room are a few glass-​enclosed displays of vases and vessels, but the ones you can see for free at the de Young are more interesting (and historic.) All in all, the $ 5 you pay for entry comes out to be about fifty cents per minute that you need to spend here.
Now, as far as the ETSY Labs event: I’m still bummed at how it all turned out. Two of us arrived at 6:30 (event starts at 6) and after 20 minutes in line, got to go in. We went into the «museum» room and were faced with a zoo of indie chicks knitting, cutting, gluing… there was no room too move and after about 10 minutes, we realized that there was zero hope of us ever getting to the craft tables to actually get supplies for the projects. Again, sad over here because the projects actually looked pretty neat. Our other friends arrived late and by the time they got to the door were told that no one else was being let in. So we all left.
Overall, definitely not one of the great museums in San Francisco. Walk by, enjoy the window display, but don’t waste your $ 5 and 10 minutes on going in.

This is NOT a museum. It is like a very small art gallery, one room… that you have to pay money for. We were shocked and asked for our money back after walking back to the desk and asking where the rest of the display was… it was refused in a very rude way. This display was lame. A wall of painted plates in blue and white mostly of women in bikinis and not well painted. This place should not be charging. Gift shop has nicer work than the actual display. I have never been disappointed with anything calling iself a museum before. This is like a bad joke. There are hundreds of galleries and shops in SF with more and better art and they don’t charge.

I love arts and crafts so of course I wanted to check out the craft museum. I was surprised to see that it was tucked away in a little alleyway. And I was even more surprised to see how small it was.
Entrance should have been $ 5 a person but the lady was very nice to us. She gave us student discounts without actually checking for any ID or anything, so it ended up being $ 4 a person.
There’s only one room which is unfortunate. I wish there was more to see since it was all so beautiful. I also wish they showcased more traditional craft items, like crochet items, clay, or sewing, something besides paintings. The exhibit I saw was mostly paintings on wood panels.
The shop in front was fun and had a lot of interesting items. It’s a little pricey but cool to look around. Plus the art is all one-​of-​a-​kind.
If you’re looking to plan a trip to this place, make sure it’s not the only thing on your agenda. We spent half an hour there, max. I enjoyed my time there but if you factor in finding parking, paying for parking, and paying for your ticket, I’m not sure it’s really worth it. Hopefully you think of other things to do in the area so your parking money is worth your time.

Oh Museum of Craft & Folk Art, let me count the ways I love you:
1) The Museum Shop has been votes the Best in SF for very good reason. It is filled with amazing items by local artists — and the staff can tell you all about them (the people & the goods).
2) I am partial to the amazing knit jewelry. Really, knit jewelry.
3) Quality of their exhibits — beautiful & always interesting. If you want to delve into an exhibit in a personal, hands-​on way, definitely worth a visit.
4) The Crafts Bar with Etsy is amazing — a fabulous night out actually creating.

I feel conflicted because I really like this place and love that they do craft workshops but the place is just too small. Plus a lot of people were visiting so it was über cramped…

So the space is small, so what? Mike Shine built a replica of his surf shack inside it not that long ago. Yes, you heard me right, a whole surf shack was built into the space, with wood, glass, nails and paint. It was absolutely amazing! On the day of the opening party I walked around the rooms and stood to watch a video featuring some skateboarder from the 80s. I turned to my husband to confirm the man in the video was in fact the famed skater and this dried-​up old skate hag turned to me and reprimanded me in a very snobbish manner because I wasn’t sure about the name. «You don’t know who *so-​and-​so* is?» She was shaking her head at me. Excuse me if I don’t kneel at your altar lady. Just because I don’t know the name of every famous skater of the 80s doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate skate culture and good art.
Anyway, the museum is fabulous and their shows are very unique. Right now there is a show called «Open Source Embroidery» which is an amazing idea. Whenever I come to MOCFA I always leave inspired and impressed. They have wonderful parties and events too! For Mike Shine’s show, the al-​girl folk band Pink Sabbath played.
And don’t get me started on the museum gift store. They carry such lovely handcrafted items, not the typical things you would expect when you hear the word «craft». Every time I go in I fall in love with the jewelry, accessories, wall hangings, ceramics and toys. They also have a great selection of craft books to get your motor running. If you are crafty like me then you will appreciate everything the store has to offer.
I highly recommend jewelry by Wendy Hacker-​Moss and L’Aromatica perfumes!

Traditionally, when I think of «crafts», I think of Michael’s, and of «Home Sweet Home» signs made out of yarn, hanging in a country kitchen with too much wallpaper and too much potpourri.
In other words, I always hated crafts.
But this whole «green» thing sort of requires a better appreciation of the labor and materials that go into goods, so I can no longer turn a completely blind eye. Plus, it turns out that crafts can actually be, you know, elegant and fashionable even for a yuppie. Especially, it seems, if they’re Asian.
Which is why the current origami exhibit at MOCFA is such a great one. Actually, there’s a lot of other oriental paper arts on display besides origami as well (like those lacquered Korean paper boxes – gotta get me one of those). And any geeks out there simply must check out the 18-​minute video on the mathematics of origami (yes, they now have computer programs that figure out how to make any shape, and they’ve even come up with some nifty aerospace applications).
Since it’s a small space that you could easily scour in 90 minutes or so, consider pairing a visit here with the Museum of Craft + Design up on Sutter.

We went here after the Contemporary Jewish Museum and was hoping to get more out of our time than the CJM. The Museum of Craft & Folk Art is only $ 6 but you do get what you pay for. There are really great exhibits of artwork in a small room. Each exhibit is exquisite, we spent about 20 minutes in there (to give you an understanding of how much there is to see).
Overall I wish the museum was a little bit bigger but glad something like this is being displayed in SF. The museum store is worthwhile as well.

Great museum! San Francisco’s best kept secret, but it is time for the secret to be revealed. It is a small space, but the exhibitions that rotate there are truly compelling and exciting. I just saw American Symbols (on display from May 9^th through August 3^rd) and it was fabulous. I am not much for crafts and folk art, let alone patriotic art, but this exhibition defied my preconceived judgment. Art work, past and present, of the 5 American symbols (the American flag, the Eagle, Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty, and the American Shield) are represented in different artistic forms. There is a mix of American history and political art. The staff are very friendly as well.
Attached to the museum is a store with very interesting pieces by local artists and folk artists from around the globe. Beautiful jewelry pieces, ceramics, wood sculptures, textiles, handmade imported Japanese papers, etc etc.
Next exhibition is called Simply Shaker (a Shaker furniture and object collection) and the following is called the Shape of Things (on traditional paper arts from Asia). If you are a visitor to San Francisco or you live here and have never been here, you must come and see. It is $ 5 to get in and the space is only 1500 square feet (very very small for a museum), but if you dig crafts and folk art and you dig history, it is worth the money.
The museum is located in SOMA on Yerba Buena LANE, not Rd or Ave, between Market and Mission and 3^rd and 4^th (directly across the street from the Jewish Contemporary Museum).

The ONLY Craft and Folk Art Museum in northern California. The entrance is on Yerba Buena Lane — — a walkway between Market and Mission streets. This museum is a wonderful place to spend a little time while you wait to meet friends for dinner or a show.
The museum is quite small — actually teeny — for a museum, but the exhibits I have seen so far truly represent international craft and folk art. The exhibits are comparable to the much larger exhibits of the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, NM.
The museum includes a small shop of fine handmade craft and folk art items from around the country, as well as California. Membership in this fine little museum includes free admission and a 10% discount in the museum shop.
Go to
for details on the current exhibit and membership information.

We got the free Unilocal passes to come here and check out the Ukulele Exhibit. The staff was friendly and the storefront museum was cute. This place is definitely small (about three rooms), but quaint and cozy (just the right size for a ukulele exhibit!). I liked the pineapple ukuleles the best. The museum also has a small but cool gift shop. I think admission is normally only $ 5, so it might be worth a look-​see even if you didn’t have free passes. Great location, too, tucked away but near everything.

Well-​curated museum in a small space, with a very narrow focus for each exhibit. Currently, it is one on ‘ukuleles, with some really lovely examples of local artists/​instrument makers. With the attention on one topic, you can really learn something. For example, I learned how to spell and properly pronounce ‘ukulele.
It doesn’t seem that they have a permanent collection on display, and it is a little expensive for two rooms, but I recommend going if you have extra time in the area, if it is a free day, or if you are passionate about the topic.

I’ve been to this museum twice now. The first time was when they had the crafts created by Japanese internees, and the next was for the paper exhibit.
Both exhibits were fantastic — particularly the former. Though their space is small, this museum uses it well — the exhibits were beautifully displayed, and I learned a lot from them.

When I heard they have an «Art of Gaman» exhibit, I couldn’t figure out where this Museum was and it took a while to get the right path, but quite worth the trek out since it ends Feb. 26, 2007?
Check it out, we all need to tap into our creativity whilst trapped surrounded by the barbed existential wire of work.

They are currently featuring the exhibit, ’ Arts and Crafts From the Japanese Internment Camp 1942−1945″ Based on the book «Art of Gaman» by local author, Daphne Hirasuna.
«Gaman» means «to endure the seemingly unbearable with patience and dignity»
This exhibit is incredible and heart-​felt. Beautiful drawings and paintings; furniture and wooden carvings made from tools and wood fashioned from scrap; photos of a Japanese garden in Manzanar that would rival any garden in Japan or elsewhere; clothing sewn by hand; and much more.
A very moving experience… you wonder how these artists were feeling when they created these masterpieces. You wonder what they are doing now… are they still alive?