On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Can you say precious? So precious you need to be buzzed in. I couldn't tell you exactly what they have, but it does appeal to a part of me I am not so reconciled with. The effete ephemera loving part.
Still, so appealing it rates as worth a detour.
The useful: If you like Nest on Fillmore, you'll like her more refined cousin, Tail of the Yak.
a friend recently introduced me to this little store. i love whimsical stores like this, with a variety of objects and decor. i got a few xmas gifts here and they had some stuff made by local artisans, which is always cool. a lot of it was out of my price range, but i kind of figured it would be that way. i love the way the store is set up-i just love to stand in places like this and gawk, even if i don't buy much. they gave me a pretty free calendar too!
This place is a different world! Even when I am mighty thin on the funds, I can indulge myself with a little trinket and an infusion of the esthetic.
My favorite purchases from Tail of the Yak are the amazing local letterpress papers (stationary, photo albums, place-setting cards). I think the calendars they give out at Christmas are created by one of the owners and they are so strange and elegant, I cannot just throw them away at the change of the year, I use them for craft projects. My other favorite purchase was some tres chere gold earrings that will never go out of style and only increase in value.
The staff have been most gracious. They are interesting. I don't expect gumball So Cal cheeriness. They are well informed about their products, have good taste and can wrap your present with panache.
I would love to give this business 5 stars, but can't:
Pluses: Great inventory, beautiful ambiance and arrangement of store fixtures and offerings.
Minues: Inflated prices (especially the jewelry - egads!) and most distressingly, snooty, preoccupied, and self-important staff.
Still, this is a shop I always make a point of visiting when I'm in the East Bay. Too bad they couldn't have a little nicer attitude to go along with the beautiful shop. One wonders, sometimes, why people ever go into the business.
The jewelry and paper products are amazing! Can't go higher than 2 stars as the women working the day I was in acted annoyed from the moment I rang the bell. I took my mom who is southern and loves, loves, loves everything Victorian. She walks the walk and talks the talk, yet both of the women were snooty to her too. Not the best tactic when we came in expecting to buy lots and spend loads of $$$$. And, the stuffed ostrich has got to go. I get that it is old and was probably stuffed long before people realized ornamental dead animals aren't a great idea. However, if you love it that much. Keep it home, in your bedroom ladies.
This place has such a unique aesthetic. You feel as if you're not shopping for home furnishings, but rather an assortment of eclectic relics and specimens. On my modest budget, I've bought a pair of hammered Mexican silver earrings here for $45, passing up on the authentic Victorian black resin earrings that retailed more than $200-300. There are two live doves kept in an ornate cage and you'll find stuffed birds staring down at you throughout.
Today, I bought a couple glass stands with bell jars to top them for $20 and $18 respectively. I love them and I will be using one of them to display a "relic" - a cluster of shells from the Philippines and the other as a "greenhouse" for my ivy plant. Other customers bought both the spiral tapered candles and Chinese New Year favors in droves.
P.S. No other place I know has as great crepe paper streamers and crepe paper spheres as this place.
Treasure trove of amazing things! A museum of ribbon and letterpressed paper and pretty things! Paradise for cute vintage jewelry, tiny bottles of special perfumes, twine rolled in a peanut shaped balls and neat french postcards.
This is the original. There are many knock offs of this fabulous store in the bay area and across the country, but the ladies at Tail of the Yak did it first and do it best. The window displays are always gorgeous--it makes me smile when I drive by. I love coming here for gifts or just for fun. A truly special Berkeley business.
FAVORABLE BIAS ALERT!
My sister is part owner of this store. I always have trouble describing it to my friends because it has such an interesting, eclectic mix of items. Stuffed birds (taxidermist style) to antique jewelry. I've always loved the shop because Alice and Lauren (my sis) have created such a beautiful place. It certainly reflects their taste. I don't get in there much as I would like but Christmas is my favorite time to shop there. It's just a great place and yes, I am a proud brother. By the way, Lauren is also a wonderful artist http://laurenmcintosh.com.
I really love this store. They have beautiful and strange things. I love the old scientific drawings they sell, they have great cards that I usually buy for myself to keep, really nice ribbon, and so many other little wonderful things. My friend even got the most beautiful and unique engagement ring.
The only reason they don't get 5 stars is because they aren't the friendliest towards me. I don't look like their common customers, I'm young and I have tattoos and such, but I always buy something. And once I start talking to them they're very nice, but I always feel like they're watching me shop and it makes me very uncomfortable.
That being said, I still love love love this store and will continue to shop there for as long as I can!
I found a few very cool things and the store is extremely visually appealing, but overall, VERY EXPENSIVE and very overrated.
The doorbell lets you in.
And then you step into a wonderland of treats. I bought the Mexican wedding flags for my wedding and I always know there will be something there to inspire me.
This is my favorite little boutique. Its cute and quirky - more of a tart than a cupcake. Unlike other little shops that came later, Tail of the Yak is sophicated and elegant at the same time. It definitely has a French influence.
I love the atmosphere, and I like the ladies that own/work here. They leave you alone. In most boutiques, the salesgirls keep asking you questions about what you're looking for, or keep pointing out their "wonderful" mechanise, or staring at you. Here, the ladies just ask if you need help, and then leave you alone. I feel comfortable enough to stare and explore and comtemplate. Plus, they package up everything so nicely, and they'll tell you what makes your item special while doing it. Makes you feel as if you've stumbled upon a lovely slice of old world charm.
Listen up, ladies - you just have to 'walk the walk' sometimes when you're out shopping. Would you saunter into a high-end boutique with muddy shoes or a dripping umbrella? No. So quit whining.
Don't expect the women who work here to be customer service drones. They are STYLE mavens and this place is not for everyone. You will find treasures here that cannot be found elsewhere. Period.
The other day I walked in and bought five teeny-tiny little wooden clothespins. Five for a dollar. I have no idea what I'm going to use them for, but I could not resist... you've just gotta love that. I also bought a beautiful hand blocked card for $5.00. My total bill was Six Bucks & Change. I admired some of the French antique ribbon at eye level, but it wasn't in my budget. But the memory of that robins-egg-blue satin still makes me smile whenever I think of it.
I always visit when I'm in town. But note, my five stars are not awarded as much from the perspective of my being a consumer, as much as a voyeur. Many items are overpriced and one must, of course, curb those later-regrettable impulse buys -- but we know this going in. Go the Tail of the Yak to savor and enjoy the whimsical experience of being there. Not unlike the Museum of Jurassic Technology in LA, this place is wonderful and weird, beautiful and perhaps, if the gals at the counter are a bit aloof that day -- humorously precious.
And as to reviewer "Sugar E"s seemingly disrespectful comment that this store has none of the "gumball cheeriness" of So. Cal -- well geez -- if people on this site paint an entire region of this state with one judgmental stroke, the joke's on them. Here in LA, we've got numerous treasures just like Tail of the Yak -- but because our neighborhoods tend to be more diverse and inclusive than the inarguably exclusive enclave in which Tail is located, prices here tend to be more favorable.
For those who are not put off by shopkeepers who actually say hello when you walk in, don't miss Zanzabelle, in LA's Silverlake neighborhood.
This place never fails to enchant me. If things were not quite so overpriced, I would give it five stars. I found cool Chinese vocabulary cards that looked like they were from the sixties. I seldom need any of the goods, but it is certainly a feast for the eyes and for the soul.
I've been going to this store for years. I used to tell myself when I was a struggling 20 year old that someday I'd be able to afford one of their fabulous Victorian or Georgian pieces. Well that day came and the way I afforded one was to go to London on my own and scour the Portobello Market. I love love love the aesthetic of Tail of the Yak but the prices are waaaaaay too high for me even now. Those pique tortoiseshell bird earrings? So not worth $1800 to me. I always find something small to purchase, like a pair of mexican sterling hand earrings or a book entitled Ghostly Ruins. There must be someone out there who can afford the amazing antique jewels and santos that this store sells because they've been around for over 20 years, but when I visit, I feel like I'm more of an appreciative spectator than a shopper.
A great store with a perfect aesthetic -- kind of a French Victorian Kunstkammer and cabinet of curiosities -- but more of a museum than a store since everything is priced out of range. If you travel you can find much of this stuff for A LOT less, especially the prints. I find that it is good to go and see what you like and then find it on eBay, etc. for much less. The people that work there are suffering from a range of affectations too, but maybe this goes with the 19th century feel. Don't go if you are afraid of taxidermy animals. Do go if you want to be inspired.
This place is a treasure to me. I love everything from this store: the papers, the estate jewelery. A great mix of eclectic and Victorian. I always leave feeling inspired.
well, uh, i dunno.
i like their little trinkets. but this is like wishbone in sf. like stocking stuffers. but they have nice jewelry. and stuff like that
I agree witht he rest of the reviews. The ladies have a cold attitude and you feel like your not welcomed. But, I love the aestheitic and will contiune to shop here for little gems. Great selection of vinatge jewlery, paper stock ribbons, hand made papers and lots of other goodies.
just plain lovely. i used to go here with my mom when i was little and gaze at all the amazing stuffed birds and religious statues. i still gaze at them today, since they are effing expensive and i can't afford them. but they do have smaller items well within reach. it's the perfect place to buy a beautiful, unique gift. half the stuff in there you have no idea what to do with, but you desperately want it anyway. mini paper lamps, muerte figurines, itty bitty bound books. just great, fanciful stuff.
i do have a major problem with their hours. they close at 5:30! i wanted to get my mother a nice birthday gift, but had to make it across the bridge from work first. luckily my boyfriend beat me and walked in at 5:20. i was making my way up ashby, so he asked the women if they wouldn't mind staying open just five minutes more until i got there (i assured him to assure them that a sale would be made that day! he even had picked out some items for me to look at before i arrived) and they said absolutely not, and ignored him until he left.
before i give them zero stars for service, i have to admit the last time i went in there the sales women were very pleasant. although you have to be "buzzed in," and you are not greeted after you shut the door behind you, i was treated very well once i was in the store...and spent money...
I love this store. It is pure aesthetic bliss. I love that the style is a little edgy-er than other stores like this, they don't go off the deep end with the girly, frilly pink stuff. I love that they include lots of taxidermy and wierd antique science stuff, which I like. Yeah, the prices are high, what do you expect from a place so well curated with unique, one of a kind things? I don't understand the other reviews posted here about the service...again, people are very quick to complain about this in the Bay Area. I have noticed that whenever I have visited this store, no matter how crappy I look, they always, always ask me if I would like any assistance and if I am looking for anything in particular, they are always very nice but not overly nice or spastically enthusiastic. They take pride in the store and in their work, that's a good thing.
My favorite store of all time! I never miss a chance to stop by Tail of the Yak when I'm in California. The antique jewelry is truly lovely, and well-priced. (I suppose I should add a disclaimer that I live in New York and pay $6.00 for foil, so what do I know?) The laurel garlanding is breathtaking -- stop by, if only to gawk at how gorgeous the shop is.
Walking by TotY, you probably wouldn't even notice this tiny little store. But once you take your first step into the shop, it's like an intirely diferent world. Unusual and exotic trinkets line the walls, alongside cases of vintage gawdy jewelry, and baskets of old elabrate ribbons. it's like an elizibethan paridise, full to the brim with crafty wonders. My personal favorites are these handmade wonders crafted out of layer after layer of crepe paper. Some are fashioned into roses and other asorted flowers, others into fruits and shells, even animals. Inbetween the layers are vintage trinkets, so charming and adorable you'll fall in love at first sight. Now, I would give TotY five stars but, *everything* is overpriced. That is it's fault, and one fault alone. If it wasn't for that, I would say it is one fabulous store. :)
this is a beautiful store. really.
how ever, i have to say their jewelry is absurdly over priced. i use to work in a vintage jewelry store and i can for sure say these people have lost their mind. or, rather, i should say they have found their market of babyboomerberkeley women who have lost their minds. hey, wish i could loose it with 'em and get that ring that looked so good on my finger...
ps. i bought trinkets.
The key to this place is not thinking you're going to buy anything. For me to like a place where I can't actually purchase anything is a real testament to how cool this place is. This is clearly the most beautiful place in all of Berkeley (I know, I know--that doesn't say much--but trust me, it's gorgeous). You have to think of this place as more of an aesthetic experience. It's like a Wunderkammer with a slightly Victorian edge. Just come here to stare at all of the beautiful things. The women who own this place have such a unique, precise, and completely unerring sense of style and beauty. What a cool place! Everything is horribly overpriced, and you have to ring the bell to get in, but it's totally worth it.
what is not to love about a store/museum of curiosities with a large antique cage of gently coo-ing turtledoves? (doves not for sale)
3 stars b/c I don't always feel enticed to buy, but the presentation and store esthetics is definitely worth a gander if you're in the 'hood.
If you are a magpie you will love this store. Pretty shiny things and I leave with gorgeous little ribbon that I never use.
always a stop for vintage inspiration... its a bit neopolitan funeral, a bit treasure hunt and a bit antique jewelery. you want 18th century diamond earrings? victorian jet and hairwork? how about a five pointed pen nib for scoring your own concerto? maybe perfume, silk ribbon, vintage glass tumblers or some other magical treasure for a new shadow box or just to be stashed away... mmm hmm. just let the cooing doves lull you into a bay scented trace. for under $20 you have some new ink and 2 yards of ribbon nestled in pastel tissue paper and wrapped in a package all elegant and lovely just brimming with ideas...
I used to love this store. My mom and I went to this store because she wanted to buy me some jewelry. This woman acted as if we were bothering her and would only show us one piece of jewelry at a time. We looked at a pair of earrings that were supposedly antiques. They had 3 tiny diamonds with obvious flaws - they were $1100. She was overtly rude and pretentious. I will never go back.
iPhone BlackBerry Cell Phone…
Neighborhood: Oakland Chinatown
February Special
Berkeley, CA
Neighborhood: Rockridge
Neighborhood: Fruitvale
Category: Jewelry
Neighborhood: Claremont
Category: Antiques
Neighborhood: Elmwood
Category: Home Decor
Neighborhood: Russian Hill
Category: Antiques
curiosities and trinkets - even a simple girl like…
magical and mystical, these spots set my spirits…
Loading...
