S H Frank & Company

After reading so many disparaging comments about the particularities of shopping at Frank’s, I want to defend Larry and the whole staff. As someone in customer service, I understand the expectation of catering to the customer– an expectation that often necessitates maintaining a polite visage even with complete assholes. What’s great about Frank’s is that you will receive the treatment you offer– come in ready to be patient, be polite and be open to the experience, and you will receive all the help you need. Larry has taught me so much about leather working over the years and is always willing to demonstrate a tool or offer a deal. If you ask nicely, he will let you into the warehouse or upstairs for specialty leathers. Yes, there are some quirks to shopping here– that’s ok. This is the kind of local business that makes San Francisco so special– that someone who truly knows their field and cares about what he is doing can maintain a loyal clientele for years, despite some particularities, is incredible and important. If you have a problem with it, shop online and eliminate the customer-​vendor interaction altogether. You are missing out on a special place with an amazing selection and staff.

The prices are very arbitrary and the service is very abrupt. It was a rather jarring shopping experience but they do have some nice pieces of leather. you need to help yourself, look at the leather in the front of the store. just ring the bell when you are ready to pay. seems like the kind of place that might just be dealing with wholesale and they don’t care too much about retail or customer service. if you have a lot of questions about leather, this isn’t really the place to get your questions answered.

I started buying from Larry in the ‘hippie days’. A 1 service and always helpful. Nothing to bitch about.

Was sent here by Jack from Fog City Leather to help me find the leather to recreate my belt of 20 years. I had a top-​notch experience and learned a lot in the process. So grateful places and artisans like Larry are part of this city.

A fairly wide selection of hides — much more than you’ll find at the famous nationwide leathercraft chain –, a smallish selection of tools, findings and supplies. On my first visit, the young woman working just inside the front door was abrupt — her tone and words implied I was an idiot and beneath her notice for not knowing their layout and rules. While it’s not the first time I’ve encountered that attitude in San Francisco retail shops, those displaying it might consider what idiots it makes them out to be. But, perhaps she was doing contract– or piece-​work there, and tired of dealing with customer interruptions? Maybe she’s a nihilist, anarchist, defiant, or just a jerk — who knows, and who cares?
Once he was aware of my presence and need for assistance, tho’, salesman and apparent head staffer Larry was friendly, helpful and fast. S.H.Frank’s prices were not cheap but did seem reasonable compared to nationally-​established Tandy, and Larry gave me a reduced combined price on my selections that helped.
I’ve designed and hand-​crafted one-​of-​a-​kind leather accessories on and off for decades; S.H. Frank is a useful and convenient supplier — they’ll see me again.

This place is amazing. A little overwhelming with the amount of leather goodness. But they have everything one might need for leather crafting be it bags, belts, upholstery, etc. I picked up an assembled kit of leather working tools, lots of rivets, and some unbelievably beautiful weak-​in-​the-​knees-​making leather for a bag. And the gentleman who helped me was generous with his time, showing me how to use the tools effectively, and with his pricing! I still can’t quite believe it. They have a front small room set up with lots of pre cut strips for belts or straps, hardware, and tools which makes the store feel approachable. This is the kind of place that makes SF so awesome and unique.

the owner or who ever he is? he is a BIG D### Head. i go to Maverick Leathers in Petaluma, ca .they are nice and have a lot of leather, not any tools.
i went to S H Franks maybe three times and never knew they had the whole back area because the the BIG D### Head never let me back there. the last time i there was a nice young guy who showed me the back and all the tools and stamps. but then the BIG D### Head came over and we got in a fight and i throw my stuff down and walked out.
life is too short for me to deal with people like that, Maverick Leathers in Petaluma is so much better. i know it is a drive but easy parking.

I’ve been twice and I must have been extremely lucky my first time. This second time I had a little more interaction with the owner and. just. wow, what a dick. A couple memorable quotes from our, thankfully, short visit:
Me: «Oh that’s a cool tool, what’s it called?» (while he’s using it in front of me)
Him: «It’s called $ 26.»
Another customer: «Does this glue work on leather?»
Him: «The instructions are on the back.»
We were still making sure the items were the ones we wanted and he comes back in the room, not to ask us if we needed any help, but to tell us we’d been there too long.
I just don’t get it. Don’t open your shop to the general public if you don’t want them in your store or in the other 99% which is off-​limits anyway.

By all accounts Larry is particular, but he is certain to have the particular leather you need.
Yes, the ‘rules’ are quirky, but who cares? It is so refreshing to know that San Francisco still has some eccentric characters left! Those people who are so insulted by Larry’s antics are either humorless or self absorbed, or both …get over yourself, don’t take everything personally.
This place is it for leather and a real hoot!

The place looks amazing, tons of leather on the back and tons of choices.
I you are lucky or a woman, this place will be amazing.
I went there 3 times and the owner alway act like a dick with me.
He’s not helpful, try to sell you crap, give you random prices and ask you to leave if you take too much time for his appreciation.
I am a designer, i need leather and other material but i’ll never gonna go back to this place.
Even if the leather is good, I won’t trust the owner.
Terrible experience.

I needed a small scrap of leather to cover two buttons on my leather jacket. Someone at the fabric store in my neighborhood recommended S H Frank. Another friend had told me about this place a while ago and seemed pretty happy about her experience. I went to the shop on a weekday morning and explained what I needed. I came out with three generous scraps of leather. One of them was a bit too shiny so one of the shop workers dulled the leather. The shopkeeper did not charge me for any of the leather and told me to come back if the pieces didn’t work for my purposes.

Larry’s schtick had all of us customers cracking up. It’s surprisingly busy there and the triage area where you have to wait is surprisingly small and, yes, Larry will abuse you a little — but it’s tongue-​in-​cheek abuse! It’s clear he’s really interested in doing everything he can for you and he’s also wiling to cut deals.
The place didn’t have the tools I needed, so I left, but they clearly have the best leather selection around. And not having to buy a whole cow side makes it worth the trip for hobbyists.
It’s a really fun experience if you’re open to it. The place to go for leather. I only wish they had an aisle with tools on display.

Larry is awesome! He taught me how to repair a rip in my leather jacket in under 5 minutes. He gave me a piece of leather and let me use his special glue for free!

It’s really incredible that with so many leather craftspeople in the Bay Area, THIS is the only game in town. The man who runs this place has got to be the rudest a*****e shopkeeper in SF. He’s absolutely neurotic and a total micro manager even of his customers. If the people here were nice, their antiquated shop set-​up would be only a minor annoyance instead of one more insult. When you walk in you have to make sure you don’t step over the red line. If you do you get yelled at. They only come out to see what you want if you ring the bell. You better know exactly what overpriced item you’re looking for because they’re not going to help you. Of course you only know what they have in their closeout bins because the rest of the store is behind the red line and browsing is not allowed.
I have shopped here a few times and spent few hundred dollars and I have never once walked out feeling like I got exactly what I wanted or a good deal. On the contrary, I always leave feeling abused and ripped off. It seems they really only want to sell to people who want to buy lots of whole hides. They have no time for questions or any finesse in dealing with the PAYING public. (And I DO wonder if all of those 5-​star reviews are from people who are white.)
ATTENTION: ENTREPRENEURIAL OPPORTUNITY. Someone, anyone, PLEASE come and set up a decent, friendly and affordable leather and leather findings store in San Francisco or Oakland. The leather craftspeople of the Bay Area will welcome you with open arms. In the mean time I am doing all of my leather shopping online. One quick search revealed plenty of sellers. There’s really no need to continue supporting abusers.
One star because zero is not allowed.

Larry (the owner) is awesome. I work for a non-​profit org in the heart of the Tenderloin and he is soooooo helpful in terms of how he can help us out. Yes, his mind is in more than one place but he always reassures you that he will be back to help you out. :)

If you’re looking for a great place to get pissed off look no further. Crazy Larry, is probably the rudest store owner I have ever encountered. I’ve been here a few times, and each time is like visiting hell without the burning, and with Larry as the guardian of Hades, except in this case he is guarding his random haphazardness of a leather shop.
When you enter, you have to ring a bell, at which point Angry/​Crazy/​Peevy Larry will go on a rant about all the crap he’s dealing with and how you are bothering him. On the first day, I went there he asked what we needed and I simply replied black leather. So he invited me beyond the bell ringing gate of Hades to check out his stash of dead cow skins. Upon touching his leather he screams at me saying «DON’T TOUCH THE SKINS! I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE ANIMALS!» Ok sheesh I think calm down, I think these animal spirits will be ok with me touching them before I turn them into a purse, shoes, wallets, hat, or what have you. Unfortunately, I actually had to purchase a few things because I really could not drive to the best leather shop on that particular day.
On the next occasion, I walk in, and am greeted by wonderful Larry yet again.
«What can I help you with? Stay here I’ll be back. Wait give me 5 minutes, you came at a very bad time. I’m dealing with statements. You know what statements are?” — Larry
«Yes, they are bills” — Me
«Yes and do you know what time of month it is? It’s the 30^th when all statements are due. You came at a very bad time.” — Larry
«Ok. All I need is a piece of Ivory leather»
He then throws a pair of scissors at me and says…
«You can go in the back and cut a few samples, but I don’t want to hear a peep out of you. Not a peep.” — Larry
At this point I want to curse at this bad impersonation of George Costanza/​Larry David/​Satan amalgam, but I digress.
I quickly walk the f out of there faster than — insert bad joke here– and decide to drive over an hour to Hide House in Napa to visit Sal (The Manager) where the service and product is infinitely better.
If you want to walk into a sit-​com starring the real life version of the devil/​woody allen/​george costanza/​larry david by all means. Go to this HELL HOLE.

This place is amazing! A completely awesome selection of leather, at excellent prices. Larry, the owner, is a total hoot! (You can’t take him too seriously, though… He’s a piece of work!)
I don’t suggest coming here, unless you have a good idea what you want. It’s definitely not the kind of place you go to browse… it’s more of a warehouse.
(But I don’t care, as long as they have what I need, at a great price.)

THIS IS NOT YOUR AVERAGE RETAIL STORE! Don’t come here expecting to wander the aisles caressing leathers. There are so many hides it would take 2 days to go through them all. Come here having an idea of what you’re looking for, even better yet a sample of something that is close to what you are looking for and they’ll help you locate a hide that will knock your socks off.
That said, this place is f-​ing amazing. I could’ve stayed there all day caressing leathers. Bought a hide that I am absolutely in love with to upholster some dining chairs. I came here initially because, contrary to the comments of other reviewers, the prices are better even than what I had access to at wholesale cost from my vendors (I work in the furniture industry).
And Larry… quirky yes, but he was the icing on the cake of a positive and memorable retail experience.

This place is amazing!!! Beautiful leather. Larry was the person that help us. First he seems a little tough and then he turned out to very nice and knowledgeable. I definetely recommend this place.

This place has a lot of personality. It’s not the standard retail experience.
Yes, you have to wait behind a sign.
Yes, you have to interact one-​on-​one with a sales guy.
No, you can’t wander around feeling up all the lovely leathers.
That said, Larry does everything he can to help you. I’ve been several times and the shop can get rather busy. But he’s never wasted my time. Once he even let me browse the buckles and d-​rings by myself! Another time he said that he would set all my rivets so I wouldn’t have to buy a hand press die.
Best of all, Larry put me in touch with my fabulous cut & sew company. Without him, I’d probably still be searching.
This is a great business. But it’s run like a business, not like a retail-​entertainment facility. You get the best experience when you come in with specific questions.