My Style: Peep One Of S.F.'s Coolest's Treehouse-Like Pad!
Photo: Gina Esposito
If we could trade places with one person in S.F., it would have to be Jay Carroll. The former Rogues Gallery brand manager moved to the city by the bay two years ago, to work for Levi’s as a concept designer. That job basically requires him to circle the globe, getting inspired, and buying loads of cool reference pieces, all the while chronicling those adventures on his website, One Trip Pass (Tough life!). With such a rad job and plenty of opportunities to source ridiculously cool goods (and meet their makers!), it’s no surprise that Carroll’s Telegraph Hill home is entirely awe-inspiring. Nestled on the leafy Filbert Steps micro-hood, with sweeping Bay Bridge views from the roof, and filled to the brim with relics of Americana, it’s a masterpiece in and of itself. Check it out after the jump and get ready to be transported.
The adobe-style fireplace (left) and a set of collected pillows (right).
Your place is amazing! How on earth did you amass this much stuff in just two years?
"I brought a couple of things over when I moved from Maine two years ago, but I was mostly wiping the slate clean. I came to S.F. when Levi's hired me to drive cross country to collect American artifacts and ephemera. I hit dozens of flea markets, estate sales, thrift shops, and junk stores, which is what I grew up doing in New England with my mother Cheryl. She has her own interior decorating business and an affinity for objects of character. So, it was a case of my pastime becoming my job, and, in this case, a dream job."
A peek inside of Jay's drawer, filled with pieces from his travels.
Tell us about your professional background.
"I was a stone carver in my early twenties. I carved limestone, sandstone, and marble under a master carver named Nick Fairplay. I was a roadie for a Southern rock band for two years and was based out of Memphis. Then, when I was 24, I moved back to my hometown in Maine to grow a small menswear brand called Rogues Gallery. Given the all-hands-on-deck aspect of the small brand I learned a lot and I learned it fast. When that crumbled along with the economy my friend Ned Martel and I invented our dream job instead of finding new ones. That became One Trip Pass—a search for American culture and craft, the beautiful things, old and new, assembled into a series of temporary art installation retail shops. People liked it and it became a real job."
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