The Hobby Company of San Francisco

Shop here for any hobby and craft needs you may ever have. My son received a remote control car for his birthday that didn’t work. His grandma got it online, so we were afraid there was no way to fix it as it was complicated to send it back. He was so distraught and then we found Erik, the RC expert at the Hobby Co. who easily fixed it within a day. Where do you find this kind of excellent, friendly and knowledgeable service these days? The Hobby Company of San Francisco, that’s where.

I’ve lived in the Inner Richmond of San Francisco for the past 6 years and have been frequenting The Hobby Company of SF for all my crafting/​art needs. The reason I do is for their exemplary customer service and excellent products/​selection.
Believe me when I say that I have no patience for bad/​arrogant customer service (I was a server for 5 years as well as a customer service manager of a gym.).
Many other hobby/​art stores have a pretentious air to them, but not here. The employees have always (always) been warm, knowledgeable, and willing to help. They offered to call me when an item I needed which was out of stock came in (and they actually did!). Two standout employees are Gina and Eric; always approachable, out-​of-​their-​way helpful and with smiles.
I have no idea what other Unilocaler Anna means when she witnessed a particular interaction, but one must know to never judge unless directly involved. And I’ve been directly involved with The Hobby Company of SF for many years and can attest that they are experts and just all-​around really good folk.
As for me, I’m a loyal customer who is writing this review out of sheer gratitude. Gratitude that excellent customer service along with great product still coexist in San Francisco. They exist at The Hobby Company of SF.
We need to support more stores like this in San Francisco so as not to lose our «only in SF» character.
So please, fellow Unilocalers, support The Hobby Company of SF. You’ll be happy you did! Promise.

It is disappointing to view the comments made by Anna G. I have been coming to this small business for over 20 years and if Anna had been familiar with this store, she would have never made such an assumption. The staff in this store is more diverse than she assumed. I cannot even imagine any employee that would treat any of their customers as reported. This small business is locally owned and operated by a couple that grew up in the neighborhood. Please come in and enjoy the great selection of product and heart felt customer service.

I was going to give this place a solid 4 stars, but after witnessing an interaction with another customer, I’d give ZERO stars, if I could.
A young, dapper, gay African-​American gentleman came in to politely ask the two ladies at the check-​out area about some kind of model set. The one who answered him was very rude and dismissive. And it can not be chalked up to her having a bad day because she was as sweet as pie to ME.
What caused this woman’s disdain? Was the young man the wrong color or the wrong sexual orientation? Either way, I’ll take MY business elsewhere !!!

Been coming here since I was a kid, building models, entering contests, and getting all the stuff a hobby enthusiast needs. Great people and service with a great old school style in what’s a dwindling market in the face of online. Stop in and find a great source for models and crafts in the City.

They have everything, and are helpful when trying to locate a specific item. Will be back again.

My 8 year old loves this store. The following is her review: «All the art supplies you’ll ever need! If you need beads, this is the place to go. They have yarn, model airplanes, foam shapes, chemistry sets, and much more. The staff are very helpful. Individual beads are inexpensive. They even have gift certificates, which are great birthday presents for 8 year old girls.»

I recently decided to be «crafty». This store fills a need in SF. There really aren’t many places like this that make it easy to just run in and pick up something you need. Don’t order off of Amazon! Just run in here! I was impressed with the variety and all of the basics I needed were there. Helpful and friendly staff.

This place is awesome! As far as I can tell this is the best place in San Francisco for buying model supplies. It’s a bit out of the way, but worth making the trek for.

They really have everything here and the staff are extremely friendly. I came in for canvases and paint brushes. I do have to say that they could expand their canvas selection, as the ones that were available were a little over-​priced. It was neat to see all of the stuff they have available for building models and furnishing dollhouses.

Creating or fixing your jewelry? Just ask for Miriam: she knows the store’s extensive inventory of chains, beads, ribbons, strings, clasps, earring backs, you name it. She’s there Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Thanks to her advice, I’ve been able to repair necklaces, convert brooches to necklaces, make clip earrings into post earrings, and fix bracelets.
She’ll also let you know where you can get items they don’t carry. Not a whit of pressure.
And the items I’ve purchased are reasonably priced.
This place is a hidden gem with hidden-​gem personnel.

A whole other world. What Michael’s would be like if it weren’t a huge chain. The have really basic art supplies and all kinds of specialized hobby stuff like things that go with model trains and little dowels and pieces of wood to make stuff out of. I bought a simple word burning tool.

You know those awesome dioramas with super-​realistic trees and rivers and stuff? Turns out they’re not made by friendly sprites or cheeky gnomes. They’re made by nerds who pay a lot of attention to detail. This place is stocked full of their tools and supplies.
Woman at the register was very nice and helpful and answered my total-​newbie questions with aplomb. Wish they had more train sets, but they have just about everything else.

One of the cutest arts and craft stores that my friend and I stumbled upon today during our aimlessly wandering adventures around the Richmond! Because I’m such a sucker for arts and crafts, I was so excited glancing at the items they had available here. From acrylic paints, Jolee’s scrapbook stickers, stamps, clock parts, and a bead room, they’ve got it all! If I’m too lazy to go all the way to Michael’s or Beverly’s in Daly City, you’ll find me here!
Everything here is reasonably priced as well, considering this store is its own company and they have some little things here that I have never seen at other craft stores. It’s so easy to leave here with new ideas for a new crafts project. I thought it was cool that they still sold the old-​school Gelly Roll pens here; I remember being crazy about those when I was in elementary/​middle school. Brings back great memories! Oh and marbles. I remember I used to play with those years ago.
I’ll probably be back soon, don’t you worry!

I was quite disappointed with this store. So disappointed, I’m giving one star. Staff is great, helpful and friendly. However, for a hobby store, there isn’t much selection and they don’t really keep their products in stock. I purchased two things I wasn’t sure about and when looking at the receipt, it said there are no returns, exchanges or store credit. I wasn’ informed at the register, nor was there a sign that said FINAL SALE ON ALL PRODUCTS. I get this is a small shop but if I’m going to support it instead of the big guys, you got to have something to keep me coming back. There wasn’t much I saw where I couldn’t find the products elsewhere. Such a disappointment. I will keep my shopping at Joann’s.

If you’re looking for the bad-​asses of crafts, you’ve found them. These guys know how to use a saw and bead a necklace. Sometimes when I stop in, there’s a line of guys waiting for their expertise on all sorts of stuff like models. This is a creative and inspiring place for kids activities too. This morning I saw a father buying an unfinished treasure trunk with all sorts of glitter paints. I cannot believe how reasonable their prices are because I buy almost everything from Amazon these days but now it’s actually worth it to stop by this store for all the pinterest and kiwi crate crafts that I want to do with my kid.

AMAZING!!! Great place, very friendly and helpful staff. I’ve been there many times, I always can get what I need. Love it!

I came here yesterday looking for figurines for a DIY snow globe project that I wanted to work on as gifts for Christmas. They didn’t really have much. I was hoping to find different size evergreen trees or Santa or reindeer figurines, but their selection was limited. I was really disappointed with their Christmas related selection.
However, if you’re looking for other items, they do have a good and wide selection. For instance, there are various paints, lots of beads if you’re making jewelry, tons of glitter, and stickers. I think it really depends on what you’re looking for. Some items are a little bit pricy than others.
The people working there are really friendly and really helpful. I was looking for a spray that would help make figurines waterproof and they made recommendations to me. I might come here in the future for other craft projects.

If you’re looking for a rainy day activity — look no further than The Hobby Company.
Their beading and jewelry area is wonderful. Though they’re no Michael’s as far as size and selection — they are an absolutely solid asset to the city and they have an extensive selection of sterling silver as well as gold plated chains in all different sizes (thanks Jocelyn for the heads up). Also while they do have a fairly limited selection of beads (compared to bigger craft stores) — they are very well priced.
The staff here are helpful. They have an edge to them — so are by no means the kind of staff who will rock beaming smiles and follow you around asking if you need help — — but if you have any questions — they definitely care about helping you find what you’re looking for.
The Hobby Company keeps creative people creative. I love it!
Trust

If you like crafty store, this is the place to go. It’s very similar to Michael’s Jo-an’s and I am not sure if there is any of those chain stores in SF. Thus, if you are looking for some crafty things and happen to be in the neighborhood, stop by and check it out!
we bought some threads for making bracelets!!! quite excited!