- Sourcing trinkets can be as simple as cleaning out a drawer, asking neighbors for donations, tapping Buy Nothing groups, thrifting or adding small, inexpensive finds from craft stores.
Between the lines: Florendo played a big role in helping Inner Sunset resident Pam Chueh set up a box when she wasn’t sure where to begin — walking her through logistics, sharing supply links and easing concerns about damage or theft, or whether neighbors would embrace the idea at all.
- Chueh mounted her box to the tree near her home in January and within a month, it was overflowing — not because she was stocking it, but because the neighborhood was.
- “Everything is from the community. I never have to replenish it — I actually have overstock,” Chueh said.
- She’s not only gotten to know her neighbors, she’s also watched her block become a destination.
- Recent visitors have driven up from San Jose. Travelers from Canada have made it their last stop before heading to the airport. Some families now build entire Saturday outings around hopping from box to box across the city.
Sea Cliff resident Laura Marie Parsons, who goes by Lampy, is one of those frequent visitors. She is now colloquially known as the “Trinket Fairy Godmother” for restocking the city’s numerous boxes with her wicker basket full of tiny figurines.
- She swung by the Outer Sunset location after discovering it on TikTok days after it was installed. The niche community has not only sparked a new hobby, but a network of friends.
- “This has just been something that’s given me purpose, community and friends — really genuine friendships,” she told Axios.
What’s next: Florendo, who is a mother of two, is also currently working on creating a small exchange project for kids — “a place where very young traders can safely go to share joy with their community,” she said.
If you go: Find them in Noe Valley, NOPA, Inner Sunset, Outer Sunset, Nob Hill and the Castro, which launches Saturday.