Please welcome Ryan Robles. He'll be writing Bag Lady, which will be cover local boutiques, shops, stores, and other retail oddities that deserve a megawatt spotlight shined on them. He'll also interview small business owners, operated by folks just like you. More or less, anyway.

Take it away, Ryan

Here at SFist we love a good find, and we adore nice things. Naturally. We also love to drape ourselves in fun jewelry, and wear clothes not everyone will be rocking while out on the scene.

Two years ago, we happened on this rare downtown standout called Shotwell. Our first visit made us (literally) squee with joy, because not only did they have fantastic vintage pieces, but also carried a bevy of local designers, like Rebecca Beeson and Gytha Mander. Bag Lady hearts local designers, very much so.

Formerly on Geary Street, Shotwell recently expanded their collection, in tandem, with a move to their current digs at 320 Grant. An exceptional idea, because the new location leaves very little to be desired. With living plant walls leading up the entrance stairs, to Holly and Michael Weaver’s brilliant design sense, which uses gorgeous antique pieces to create an aesthetic anyone with a nominal sense of style and design would be truly content to live in. Our personal fave: a slightly unfinished fluorescent light installation that adds another dimension of brightness to the already sun-drenched window-walled second floor (Bag Lady is, alas, a whore for fluoro lights).