Alum Nicole Bald of Lavish: Your Hayes Valley Stationer and More

HOODLINE -- Walk down Hayes Street and it’s hard to miss the color explosion that is Lavish, the neighborhood’s stationery and sundries store. A relative “long-timer” of the neighborhood, the store has played witness to some significant changes along the street in the past few years as various businesses have come and gone. Behind the scenes of every color-blocked window theme and merchandising display is owner Nicole Bald. We caught up with her to learn a little bit more about her shop, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Back in 2005, Nicole was a San Francisco State History major in need of a job. She found Lavish on Craigslist and was hired by then-owner Elizabeth Leu, who also owns Fiddlesticks down the street, and who had opened Lavish in 2003. In the years they worked together, Nicole moved up from sales associate to buyer, and when Elizabeth decided to sell the store in 2009, she approached Nicole first.