📝 Editor’s Note
After the latest Panthers loss, my wife was dumfounded that I could be so upset hours later. She claimed that if her favorite team, the UNC Tar Heels lost the national championship game by a point, she would feel upset for maybe 30 seconds.
That is how I’ve historically felt about art.
I appreciate talented artists and works of art, but most art typically stays with me for no more than 30 seconds.
That changed when I saw a Jack Penny piece in our friends Anderson and Campbell’s house. I thought the design of the room and the piece was striking. I was still talking about the painting well after we left their house.
My wife surprised me with a Jack Penny piece as a gift earlier this year around my birthday (see below). I thought she and Bess DuBose did a great job picking it out and I immediately feel more cultured.
Without further ado….
Why Devon?
Devon was highly recommended by her brother, Conner (who was a very popular past profile). Conner shared that, “I don’t want to overhype my sister too much, but she is very good at living this life. I can’t think of a negative thing about her besides the fact that she is bad at ordering her own food and always just “wants a bit” of everyone else’s.”
Follow Devon on Substack
Self-Description
Arts & culture cheerleader that accidentally fell into tech and loves a long run, experimenting in the kitchen, chasing pastries, and hanging with as many friends as humanly possible.
Devon’s Recommendations
Written in her own words…
Brand
Brand-ish: ReLove vintage shop (SF + Oakland)
Not quite a brand but ReLove, a vintage shop in Oakland + San Francisco, always delivers. One of my favorite finds was a two-piece NorBlack NorWhite that killed it at a wedding in Portugal this summer. The Bay has tons of amazing vintage that can be found at brick-and-mortar stores, online, and at pop-ups across the city. LaliSimone, Mercy Vintage, Neutral Ground, are just a few other examples of homegrown vintage that can deliver across all dress codes.
Watch
TV Show: Great Pottery Throwdown
Twiddling your thumbs between Great British Bake Off seasons? The Great Pottery Throwdown is an incredibly endearing and inspiring alternative to GBBO, just with clay instead of butter. Judge Keith Brymer Jones is a total softie who just wants the best for all the contestants on the show; he’s one of the reasons Brad Pitt cites it as a favorite series binge.
Food & Drink
Pastries: Green House Bakery
I am a pastry fiend. Green House bakery is a spectacular pop-up in Oakland where Rachel (our hero baker) creates the most creative, flaky pastries in her home 2-3x/month. I will get in line over an hour before opening with a lawn chair, book (and one time even nail polish) to chill with other Green House bakery fans and be first in line for her professional-level homemade goodies. If you plan ahead, you can swipe a preorder box so there's no need to wait in line, but the boxes sell out within 10 seconds of a drop so set your alarm.
And for whenever I make my way back to New York: Librae bakery.
Gift
Workshops at The Crucible (Oakland)
My partner’s grandfather was a blacksmith, so I gifted him a blacksmithing course at the Crucible one holiday. He loved it so much that I went back to the well a year later to gift him a raku pottery firing workshop in honor of the hours we’ve dedicated to watching the previously mentioned Great Pottery Throwdown.
Music
Musicians: Conner Youngblood, Caroline Rose
Concert: Sampha
Playlist: Habibi Funk
I’ll dabble in nepotism and say my brother, Conner Youngblood. I get emotional listening to it every time because it’s awe-inspiring to know he’s produced so much beauty and creativity on his own terms. He just had a new album come out (Cascades, Cascading, Cascadingly), so check it out!!!
As for non-blood related recommendations: Any Habibi Funk Spotify playlist, Sampha in concert (currently on tour), and I can’t get enough of Caroline Rose. I’ve seen Rose twice in concert the past few years, and their music is this cathartic combination of rocker, romantic, and reminiscent of the occasional high school emo moment, just in adult form.
Open
A lot of folks may think “ballet isn’t for them”, but I recently joined the Young Patrons Circle board and am so jazzed about the work being done to bring a more diverse audience into the fold. SF Ballet’s artistic director Tamara Rojo kicked off her first season (2023) balancing the traditional with the experimental, and she’s only getting started. The upcoming season includes "Frankenstein: A Sci Fi Horror Ballet Come to Life" and my favorite work from last season, "Broken Wings", which brings Frida Kahlo's life, love, and work to the stage.
Plug
My Substack: San Francisco Has [No] Culture, which details arts & culture events in the Bay Area. I moved here after working in the arts in New York and was skeptical of the city holding space for more than tech. The depth and diversity of culture continues to amaze me, and I write this Substack as a way to show others just how much life and vibrancy there is across the Bay.
Want to reach out to Devon? Please reach out via Instagram (devonayoungblood)
P.S. from Rambull — Reddit is a great source of recommendations. I recently went to reddit in search of the best podcast episode. The clear consensus in r/podcasts was for Reply All, Episode #158 The Case of the Missing Hit. As the top post shared, “such a light-hearted story with the right amount of mystery, intrigue, humor, a range of interesting guests, history on the music industry, and a truly satisfying & joyful conclusion all in under an hour.”
What the Redditor didn’t share, was that it had an incredible Easter Egg for Greensboro NC. Check out the episode here.
+1 to SF ballet! I already got tickets to Frankenstein next year and am very excited to see their interpretation of it.