Vol. XLIX, No. 3
March 2025
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THE NOE VALLEY VOICE Brushing Up On Fire Safety In Noe Valley
Museums Put Ruth Asawa Art On World Stage
What You Can Do to Stay Prepared in 2025
SFMOMA Launches a Global Retrospective of Icon’s Work
By Emily Hayes
By Corrie M. Anders
T
he devastating wildfires in Los Angeles have rattled Americans from coast to coast. While unlikely to occur in Noe Valley, the tragedies are a good reminder to brush up on fire preparedness and think about how you would react in a similar disaster. It’s estimated that at least 29 people died and more than 16,000 homes and other structures were lost in the Los Angeles fires in January, with damages topping $250 billion. What does it mean for Noe Valley residents? Buildings located in the wildland urban interface (WUI), meaning near areas with burnable vegetation, are at risk for urban fires. There are some wild wooded areas nearby—like CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
T
he complete works of the late Ruth Asawa, one of Noe Valley’s most beloved artists, will be the subject of a global retrospective that starts next month at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). More than 300 pieces, from intricate looped-wire sculptures and paper folds to paintings and bronze casts, many evocative of Asawa’s Castro Street home, will be on display from April 5 through Sept. 2. “She would have been so excited to have a retrospective,” Asawa’s daughter, Addie Lanier, said of the two-year tour, which will travel from San Francisco to New York, Spain, and Switzerland. “For my mother,” who
One of 11 in Crew at 11: Joselito Barcena, an SFFD probationary firefighter, demonstrates gauges on an engine at Station 11, located at 26th and Church streets. Photo by Emily Hayes
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Lace & Liberty: The Story of Its Unveiling at Castro and 24th Streets The Noe Bridal Boutique Is the Icing on the Cake By Kit Cameron
more brides? This is something I can do.” That realization led her to launch her own business, Lace and Liberty, and
propelled her into the top tier of the Project Entrepreneur Venture Competition, a national accelerator for women-owned businesses.
Thirteen years later, at her bridal boutique anchoring the corner of Castro CONTINUED ON PAGE 11
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n 2012, Danielle Wen was about to be married. She had plans to walk down the aisle within a year, but she was working at a “more-than-fulltime job” in finance at UBS Financial Services in Hong Kong. She didn’t have time to spend hours searching for a dress in a department store. “I wanted a specific look,” she says in recalling her frustration. “I couldn’t find a dress that had both the top and the bottom that I wanted.” She wound up designing her gown with the help of a seamstress. “My wedding had 85 people—a nice gathering, and I felt really happy with my dress. I felt confident.” She also had an epiphany. “Big designers sell in stores all over the country,” she explains. “Small boutiques purchase from the big brands. They measure you and give you the size closest to the measurements.” This means a size 8 customer with a larger than usual bust might be squeezed into an unflattering bodice, or a shorter bride could have to cope with a too-tall gown trimmed at the bottom. “Alterations are a big hassle when ordering standard sizes,” Wen points out. “I didn’t see anywhere giving people options” to mix and match pieces, especially at prices couples could afford. Collaborating with vendors to choose styles and fabrics was “so fun and personal” when Wen was making her own dress, she said to herself, “How can I create [a similar] custom experience for
Dream Makers: Whether online or enveloped in satins and silks at 1301 Castro St., Lace and Liberty founder Danielle Wen (left) and lead designer Alison Chang are busy serving the needs of soon-to-be brides all over the country. Photo by Art Bodner