San Francisco is well-known for its downtown filled with skyscrapers and a Golden Gate Bridge that welcomes all from the north. Those who live, love, and thrive know it to be a big city with a small-town feel, one that embraces those who want to be embraced. As I wait to chat with Nicole (Nico) Schwieterman, the owner of Fleetwood on Clement Street, I can’t help but peruse her shop. At Vesuvio by Joanna Blanche Lioce captures my attention. This book highlights a staple in North Beach and how the bartender sees, hears, and knows all. The smells of the apothecary shelf draw me toward a ceramic double egg tea light candle holder with two bright yellow yolks. The shop is filled with creations from over 80 local artists. I want everything!
Schwieterman takes me to her favorite spot so I can learn more about what pushes and pulls her to create community wherever she lands. Fleetwood was the former space of Pinelli’s Flowerland from 1927 to 2022, and we are in the space’s backyard . She emphasizes the importance of paying homage to those who have come before us and touches on community, art, and nostalgia within our San Francisco neighborhoods. This idea is evident as Pinelli’s vintage sign adorns the front of her store.
She has had her hand and heart in the art community since her arrival in San Francisco 20 years ago. Landing first in North Beach, she spoke about her visits to Caffe Trieste, Vesuvio, and Specs, searching for the artist community. Born in the Midwest, in a small town of 5,000, she says San Francisco reminded her of that small-town feel and how her three-month internship designing packaging and wine labels led her to her home away from home. “Being in Specs and eating the cheese and looking at old postcards, reading other people’s sentiments about San Francisco, and how they felt similar when they first got here, of feeling like you’re home,” she reflects.
Her childhood, surrounded by sawdust from her grandfather’s wood shop and ink from her father’s screen printing shop, instilled in her a love for tangible art, which she feels is desired by folks here in San Francisco. Her background led to teaching screen printing at Workshop SF, and eventually being asked to create flyers and help with their events. Schwieterman jokingly says she has a problem saying “yes,” which has helped her create the community she had been looking for. Using her extra shop time, she screen-printed t-shirts and posters for local bands, helped at their merchandise booths, and live screen-printed at El Rio for album release parties. Who knew the 2010 World Series would also be a big win? Overnight, her “I [Beard] SF” and “I [Freak] SF” t-shirts gained widespread attention, leading to a feature in the San Francisco Chronicle. These designs, along with ”Good Grammar is Sexy” tote bags, ultimately decided her fate.
From 2015–22, Fleetwood’s first brick-and-mortar store in the Tenderloin was in the same space that had housed the first gallery she visited in San Francisco 11 years prior. Understanding the need to preserve community spaces and art, especially in a place like the Tenderloin, she sought to create a similar feel. She produced her first art show by bringing 100 pieces under $100 from 100 local artists for her grand opening, which led to her role in managing the First Thursday Art Walk in the Tenderloin, which still thrives today. She brought three separate art walks within blocks of each other together to create a larger footprint. With financial support from the Tenderloin and Lower Polk Community Benefits Districts and working with the surrounding businesses, the participation tripled within a year. This volunteer work marked the beginning of Schwieterman’s deeper involvement and engagement with the San Francisco art community.
The Richmond District opened its arms when she viewed the former Pinelli’s space, and she soon had the keys. With her experience and love for the community, she was approached to be part of the team for the Clement Street Art Walk. Scheduled every third Thursday, the Clement Street small businesses provide space to local artists, musicians, and makers, such as its sibling Art Walk in the Tenderloin.
The importance of a small-town community vibe where everyone knows your name is apparent in Schwieterman’s contribution to bringing art to the city’s neighborhoods. “At the root of San Francisco, everyone is very community oriented; that is what I’ve always been attracted to, and that is the one thing that has always stayed with me from back home.”
You can find Schwieterman at Fleetwood (714 Clement Street), planning her next “yes” projects: coproducing and sponsoring the Real Neato Music Fest on Sept. 21, 2024, and the new Clement Street Art Fair, debuting Oct. 19, between Sixth and Eighth Avenue.