LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District

Holiday Market 2024!

Saturday, December 14. 2024
Noon to 5 pm
at SOMArts Cultural Center
934 Brannan Street

Vendors!  Entertainment!  Gear Swap!

Entertainment!  

• Naughty Santa – photo booth and Kinky Elf Puppies!
• Main Stage – Twisted Windows
  1:00-1:30: Shay Tiziano
  1:30-2:00: DanceHallDyke & Lolo Ramone
  2:00-2:15: Nikita Velour
  2:15-2:45: Dual Demons
  2:45-3:15: Alicia T-Corn & KleineVosje
  3:15-3:30: Nikita Velour
  3:30-4:00: Eliza & Dangerbones
  4:00-4:30: Shay & Angel
  4:30: Costume Contest 

Vendors! 
(More will be joining!)

Vendors: Apply here!

GEAR SWAP! 

• Buy at great prices!
• Sell on consignment or Donate items for us to sell!
  • Sell items to raise cash and give a new kinky life to items you no longer use!
  • Drop off your items, we do all the work.
  • Donations of items are accepted that we will sell to support the District.
• Gear Swap info here

And After the Holiday Market: 

• • Return to this page for links to other great SOMA events on 12/14/2024!

Watch this page for updates or follow the event on Facebook!

This is a smoke-free event.
However, there are designated smoking areas outside of SOMArts.

This event is underwritten by a generous grant from Success Centers!

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District Holiday Market is Saturday, December 14, from 12 to 5 pm, at SOMArts.  Full information.   Facebook page.

There wil be no Land Use Committee Meeting in December.  The next meeting is set for Monday, January 6, 2025, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm. Land Use Committee Meeting Zoom Link. Facebook page.  Contact the committee chair.

There will be no Board meeting in December.  The next meeting of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District Board of Directors will be Wednesday, January 15, 2025, from 6 to 8 p.m. As always, all are welcome to attend, and time is reserved for public comment.  ASL interpretation provided if requested ten days in advance. To participate, use the Board of Directors Meeting Zoom link, or call 1-408-638-0968 and use Meeting ID: 847 8906 0820 and Passcode: 972086.  Facebook page.  Draft agenda (coming soon).  Minutes of past Board meetings. Please contact manager@sflcd.org if you have questions.

A Governance and Legislation Committee meeting will be scheduled when needed. Please contact the Governance and Legislation Committee chair to sign up, or for more info!

We send out a newsletter each month, right before our Board Meeting.  Do you get it?
If not, view a recent newsletter, then sign up to get it monthly.

Speaking of newsletters, the SOMA West Community Benefit District does a great one, highlighting events — both social and political — affecting our part of the City.  Subscribe to the SOMA West Community Benefit District newsletter.

San Francisco has ten Cultural Districts, each supporting a unique aspect of the City’s cultural mosaic You can learn about the San Francisco Cultural Districts Program, and subscribe to a Cultural Districts newsletter, published quarterly by the Mayor’s Office of Housing & Community Development.

We keep adding links to our Resource Guide page.  Use it!

Threats to our South of Market businesses and institutions can arise quickly, and may require a quick community response.  SOMA Action network sign-up link.

If you have not yet seen it, please read our Statement of Solidarity, and consider what you personally can do to fight racism, injustice, and abuse of police power.

The Eagle is open for business! The Sunday Beer Bust on 11/24 is in benefit of Team Friendly’s Toy Drive. Please come out and support our queer leather community!

We are very pleased to announce that the fifth cohort of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District  Entrepreneur Training Program has nine graduates, who are now (or will soon be) offering their goods and services to our community!

Here is a list of the folks who have completed this 9-week program, in Cohorts numbers 1 through 5.

Cohort 1:
Graduated September, 2022

• Joseph Valliere — Downtown Armor — Rubber gear, ultimately boots and a kink consignment shop. (facebook, etsy)
• James Strock — Recreating rubber gear from a new proprietary polymer
• Jordan Fickel / Patrick Stephenson — BEARPAD — Art brand celebrating big bodies. (art, store, instagram)
• Gloria Polo — Fire Dragon Photography — Leather/Kink photography (facebook, website)
• Anna Randall and Richard Sprott — TASHRA – The Alternative Sexualties Health Research Alliance — improving healthcare services to kinksters (website, facebook, instagram)

Cohort 2:
Graduated April, 2023

• Marcos victor de brito puglielli– House of Puglielli — Custom leather design, sculptural, wearble art (website, facebook, instagram)
• Dr. Zo Marcos Zotigh — Needle Play Acupuncture — Acupuncture Clinic (website, facebook, instagram)
• Sumiko Saulson — Mauskaveli — Hand painted wooden paddles, plus jewelry, books and clothing (website, books, facebook)
• Alejandra Bravo Ducey — Raptrix — Small batch bondage gear for every body (shop, instagram, facebook)
• Nate Boles — Wylde Honey Productions — Queer erotic artist promotion, production and reproduction
• Angela Wilson — Cognizant Healing — Intimacy coaching for therapists (website, facebook)
• Angeli [Daytona] Lata — Murder They Wore — Fetish fashion (website, facebook)
• Kangcheng Yin — Kuma Club SF — Gay Bathhouse/Sex Club (facebook)
• Byrd Bannick — ByrdBeaks — Fabric based queer gear and accessories (website, facebook)
• Chris Hughes — Skunkheart — Queer and kinky TTRPG content (facebook, links)

Cohort 3:
Graduated August, 2023
Jay Budd – Frisky Foxxx Productions (LLC) – ethical pornography and infotainment.
May Fendell – SINNAttire – latex and cosplay clothing
Jasmine Robinson and Shelby Baizar – B.Tourmaline – Events, merchandise and resources serving Black Queer and Trans populations (Instagram)
Lilith Spillz – Lilith Spillz – custom kink accessories from reclaimed materials (website)
Michael “Spike” Sandberg – Leather Legends – Leather consignment service and shop
Isabella Delan Kalfen (Izzy Delan she/her) – Babygirl Inc. – custom industrial gear and jewelry
Rochelle Benjamin – Pans Labrnth – Kink & leather clothes, gear, and wigs
David Khalili – Rouse Relational Wellness – sex and relationship wellness center (website)
Diablo & Amande – AfterDark Productions, LLC – Event venue for the kink and alternative-sexuality communities (website)
Adrianne zi – TBD – Writing drawing painting kinky art
Brad Schwab – JetPup – Colorful and playful clothing and accessories for the pup play community (website)

Cohort 4:
Graduated October, 2023

Aaron Joseph – Cumply – Experimental kink and fetish items (website) 
Michael Devin – Doppelbanger Toys – Custom made sex toys modeled after real people (website)
Daniel Brusilovsky – TBD – High-end kink furniture and accessories
Jocelyn Garibay – The Communal Toy – Handmade, high quality, safe kink furniture (website)
Alexandra Cardinale-Weinberg (Sasha) – Rocket Ready Apparel – custom themed collars and harnesses, and resin accessories (website, etsy)
Conrad Park – BOBA Munch – kink community (website)
Jessica (JessJess) Mumper – Beyond the Rainbow Events – a welcoming and enjoyable environment for themed immersive events (links)
Amy Dacker – Kink Konnectress (?) – Matchmaking, dating coaching, and background and reference checking for Kink, BDSM, Queer, and Poly communities
Neri Cafri – TBD – Second hand leather and kink gear 
Jesse West – Big Mood Network, LLC – Creative urban infill for community arts & entrepreneurial outlets
jacqueline cosgrove – QBL (QuadrupleBottomLine) – A space for workshops, parties and exploration of kink, sex positive and restorative play

Cohort 5:
Graduated November, 2024

• Lior Ray Ayalon  – The Spooky Haus – A transgender artist collective, working in a variety of mediums, including leather, acrylic, resin, chain, and printmaking.
• Sura Hertzberg – Eros and Psyche / Sex & Psychedelics – A magazine on the intersection of sex and psychedelics (e.g. kink, BDSM, and playing with shadow), bringing the community together for educational, playful, and interactive events around these topics.
• Francisco Grajales – Stingy Thuddy – Hand crafted kinky gear for horny people.
• Eve Minax – Eve Minax Consulting/MX Productions – Demystifying BDSM by showing personal growth seekers how to be more confident, compassionate, kid-ass kinksters.
• Dylan Peet – VENEER – A leather consignment and queer fashion boutique.
• Hallie Mayo – Stained Glass Mommy – Queer kinky stained glass art (butt plugs, poppers bottles, and other kink related sun catchers).
• Victoria Victrola – Blue Victrola – Event hosting specializing in music, tea, picnics, charcuterie, and whimsy.
• Bronica DeCarlo – Bronica Blue Art – Kink themed jewelry, like butt earrings, big rings that have kink-related statements on them, and similar items, many hand sculpted and molded.
• Anna Sthesia – Hidden Function – Queening chairs and other BDSM/kink objects, hidden in plain sight and discreetly disguised as “normal,” high-end home furniture.

The District is proud to be able to help leather community folk start and build their businesses.

Learn more about the program, or sign up for the next Cohort.

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District exists to represent and support you!

At least twice each year, we hold “Town Halls”, both to share information with our community and to listen to them.

• • Learn what the Cultural District has been doing!
  • Hear our plans for the year to come!
  • Share your experiences of the Cultural District!
  • Give us feedback.  Your opinions matter to us!
  • Enjoy refreshments!
  • Become a member, and receive our new Cultural District Pin!

So mark your calendar now for the Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District Town Halls!

Saturday, January 18
and
Saturday, May 17, 2025
from 2 to 4 pm
at the
Folsom Street Community Center
1286 Folsom Street
in San Francisco

• • Everyone welcome!
  • Free!
  • Remote viewing and participation planned.  Watch this page for details!

Kinksters massed at SF City Hall on Sunday, September 22, 2024, and proudly paraded through SOMA for LeatherWalk!

The walk is over, though donations are still accepted!

The Walk started with greetings by Cultural District President Reika Faust, and a warm welcome by District Six Supervisor Matt Dorsey.

Each walker received a free LeatherWalk 2024 pin as they lined up behind the color guard flags.  Several local organizations organized fundraising teams for the Walk (including The 15, The Gauntlet, BLUF SF, the Yellow and Black Group, and the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District) and carried their banners in front of their members and supporters.

The Walk stepped out promptly at 11:30 am. SFPD officers stopped traffic, and volunteers helped keep everyone safe, as Walkers proceeded to the Walk’s first Stop, Oasis.

After a pause for libations and a massive group photo, the Walk continued down Folsom to Stop #2, where some Walkers visited the Hole in the Wall or Powerhouse, while others stepped across to Azúcar Lounge for edible refreshments.  Stop #3 was Leather Etc., where Walkers received discounts on gear of all kinds.  At Stop #4, Mr. S Leather, several authors and contributors signed copies of their new book, “Kink Is”.

After that, volunteers stopped traffic to allow walkers to proceed safely to Ringold Alley, where John Brett, Minister for the SF Night Ministry, offered words of inspiration and a “Blessing of the Leathers”.  Then it was on to Stop #5, the Lone Star Saloon, for more camaraderie and cocktails.

The Walkers then regrouped and strode the final leg of the Walk, to the SF Eagle’s Leather Pride Fest which closed Harrison street from 11th to 13th Street.

At 3 pm, the huge Leather Pride Flag was ceremoniously raised above Eagle Plaza, officially heralding the start of Leather Week.  Partying in the street continued until 7 pm. Many leather/kink festivities continued throughout South of Market and all of San Francisco, right through the Folsom Street Fair the following Sunday.

We estimate that roughly 200 Walkers enjoyed LeatherWalk 2024.  Kink pride  was visible in the District, and our LeatherWalk tradition was joyously preserved.

Fundraising for LeatherWalk continues until Sunday, October 13, to give fundraisers the opportunity to reach their goals. Proceeds from LeatherWalk directly support our Leather Legacy Landmarks sidewalk plaques initiative to install plaques at 77 iconic and sometimes raucous SOMA locations, honoring places that began serving our community in the 1960s.

Donors have contributed more than $13,000 towards our $22,000 goal of funding the installation of the first 17 plaques, all on Folsom Street. There is still time for your support get us over the top! Please making a meaningful donation today at www.leatherwalk.org. Support your favorite walker!

Please visit this page for galleries of photos and videos from the event.

And please join us in extending thanks to the many individuals and groups – including our generous donors, the participating bars and businesses, the many volunteers, and the specialists at Do Good Stuff, – who deserve thanks for making LeatherWalk 2024 such a grand success.

You can continue to make donations to the Leather Legacy Landmarks initiative here.

 The Cultural District’s annual elections took place in mid-August. 

We would like to introduce our new board, existing staff, and historian as well as acknowledge our outgoing Directors.

Meet our Board & Staff

Thanks to Outgoing Board Members!