Jesse Schlesinger came by his love of making things working with his dad on building sites outside Washington D.C.
Involved in all types of art and design, Schlesinger started the wood shop at Minnesota Street Project, has a two-person show coming to the Anthony Meier Gallery in March, and is just finishing 10 bronze, stone, and cement sculptures to be installed at Judah and 43rd. Now, Schlesinger has started a design shop called Joye, his mother’s maiden name.
Joye's retail space at Fog MRKT.(Courtesy of Fog Design + Art)
A new retail space at the entry to Fog Design + Art Fair at Fort Mason, called Fog MRKT, features Joye and five other local shops, including Quince & Co, Len Carella, and Permanent Collection.
At Wednesday’s preview gala, Schlesinger said he was glad to have this platform.
“I had already been making these things, and I was like, ‘You know what? I'm just always going to make cutting boards, okay?” Along with cutting boards, Joye offers items like a brass talisman and bronze candleholders.
This year's Fog marks the fair's first foray into approachable retail spaces with wares available for easy purchase, and Schlesinger has deep connections with some of the other retailers here. His relationship with chef Michael Tusk and Lindsey Tusk of Quince &Co—which is showing tableware designed for their restaurants Quince, Cotogna, and Verjus—goes back to when he lived on a small farm in Santa Cruz and sold what was growing at the Ferry Building farmers market.
“Twenty-five years ago, I was selling strawberries and tomatoes to Quince,” he said. “Now we're back-to-back and getting to work together.”
Rings reproduced from designs by the late artist JB Blunk. (Rich Stapleton)
Another booth at Fog MRKT is occupied by Blunk Shop, offering reproductions of late artist JB Blunk’s ceramic cups and bracelets as well as work from artists who do residencies in the Inverness house that Blunk built.
Nora Boyd, standing by the booth, manages the Point Reyes gallery Blunk Space. She says Blunk made no distinctions between art and life, and he wouldn’t have wanted his legacy to be static. The gallery brings that legacy into today, she added, showing works of artists who have done residencies, sometimes together or sometime with a historical artist who was part of Blunk’s circle, such as the current show with contemporary designer Rio Kobayashi and Fritz Rauh.
Boyd hopes visitors to the booth at MRKT will eventually make their way to the West Marin gallery.
“We'd love for people to learn more about JB Blunk, and to come visit us,” she said. “We're sort of in the woods, so it's great for us to be able to meet new people [so they can] understand what we're doing because it's a bit nuanced and complex.”
Gui Veloso, head of communications and community partnerships for 500 Capp in the late artist David Ireland’s former home in San Francisco’s Mission District, also hopes for more exposure, although the arts nonprofit is decidedly not in the woods. Looking for a way to fundraise for the space and artists they work with without charging admission, Veloso and others at 500 Capp came up with The Accordion Shop (named for a Swiss accordion maker who lived in the house before Ireland purchased it). Sarah Wendell Sherrill, a member of Fog's steering committee, liked the idea and offered them a space, Veloso says.
Launching at Fog, the shop features work by SF artists such as handmade lamps by electrician Rico Duenas and ceramics from Chris Duncan.
“It really feels wonderful,” Veloso said about being at MRKT. “This is a great opportunity for us to partner with interesting artists who are creating thought-provoking work in a way that can directly finance their practice.”
// Fog Design and Art Fair is on view 11am to 7pm Thursday through Saturday and until 5pm Sunday, January 23-26 at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, Piers 2 and 3 (Marina); for more information, go to fogfair.com.
Shop local art and design at Fog MRKT through January 26, 2025.(Courtesy of Fog Design + Art)
