Eurasian Interiors (1861 Union St.) is one of those wondrous shops that carry nearly everything you never knew you needed, but suddenly have to have.
It mainly offers home furnishings and accessories, but you'll also find novelty socks, stuffed animals, jewelry, greeting cards and more. It's especially well-known for stocking more than 30 brands of what manager Eric Wang calls "designer candles," ranging in price from $20–60.
"All the candles we carry are soy candles," he said, explaining that "they burn clean" and have few chemicals. Customers like having so many top lines all in one place, Wang added.
The shop has been in business for 16 years, and Wang said it has many repeat customers. It's particularly popular with designers and dealers, who shop there for below-retail prices on refinished antique furniture, directly imported from Asia, Austria and France.
The shop's owner, Leon Monderer, is from Austria and imports items from there, while Wang is the buyer for the Asian antiques, candles and accessories.
Prices are lower than ever right now, because the warehouse Eurasian Antiques uses to house its larger pieces recently closed. While it seeks a new space to store them, all of the furniture has been marked down: A wood armoire has been slashed from $4,500 to $1,800, while an ornate cabinet, once $1,950, is now $995.
"This is the first time in 16 years" that prices have been cut, Wang said. "We never have a sale at all."
Eurasian Antiques has a sister store in Sonoma that tends to sell more furniture, but "here in the city, we focus more on small items and home accessories," Wang said. That's due to a larger crowd of young, mobile tech workers who buy less-expensive IKEA or Pottery Barn pieces, instead of collectibles, and to tourists who want something they can fit in their suitcase.
For those customers, Eurasian Interiors carries a number of unusual finds. It has a large collection of netsuke, or small Japanese sculptures made from boxwood, for $24.99. The delicate pieces are all hand-carved and signed.
Another popular line is Jellycat stuffed animals, from Britain. There's also a selection of whimsical, handmade Taiwanese animals with weights inside ($62), so they can be used as bookends or door stoppers.
Some inexpensive and popular gift items include dish towels featuring local destinations like Golden Gate Park or Lake Tahoe ($20), and Italian marble coasters ($12 each) featuring everything from San Francisco themes like crabs to an assortment of dog breeds. Many of the location-specific designs are custom-made for the shop.
You'll also find alpaca throws, recycled cotton throws made from old T-shirts, laser-cut wood maps, antique light fixtures from France, hand-painted giclée prints and many other quirky items. Hours are 11am–6pm daily.
