Business Briefing: SF market caters to kinky holiday shoppers

Eight years ago, Hal Mayo began working with stained glass and was hired by a studio in San Francisco’s Richmond district that focuses on the art medium. Wanting to branch out on their own, Mayo took part last year in the entrepreneur training program offered by the city's Leather & LGBTQ Cultural District.

Mayo, who is queer and nonbinary, wanted assistance in establishing their own stained glass business to cater to the kink and leather community. Thus, their Stained Glass Mommy was founded. A bit ironic since Mayo is a femme dom in the kink scene, the business name alludes to one of their favorite indie rock bands, Soccer Mommy.

“I say it is modern stained glass made with blood, sweat and tears for my fellow kinky queers,” said Mayo, a San Francisco resident with a new studio space in Oakland where they will begin hosting stained glass workshops Sunday, January 4.

Part of their inspiration came from dreaming about creating a stained glass butt plug. They also saw an untapped market for works with feminine themes.

“It has been really kind of a dream come true. I get to do this and get to serve my community, and provide art that is kinky and queer and has a femme twist to it,” said Mayo. “A lot of stained glass today typically is geared toward cis gay men. I saw a niche and I filled it; there isn’t anyone else in the Bay Area that I know of focusing on more gender-inclusive kinky stained glass.”

This Saturday, December 13, Mayo for the second year in a row will be selling their glass creations at the leather district’s annual Kinky Holiday Market. They will again be adorned in a red latex outfit à la a sexy Mx. Santa Claus.

“About once a month I do markets like the holiday one,” said Mayo, adding that their commissions for individually designed stained glass artwork have been “keeping the business afloat” and them booked through January. 

Now in its fifth year, the Kinky Holiday Market features various vendors who cater to a kink and leather clientele. Items for sale run the gamut from leather clothing and kinky toys to sexy artistic creations such as Mayo’s stained glass designs and Christmas ornaments ($25 to $45) resembling poppers bottles to their larger artworks to hang in windows to catch the sunlight ($60 to $300).

“My best sellers are my large pussy mirrors with flickable clit gemstone,” Mayo noted during a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter.

They also have their own spin on the German tradition of hiding a pickle ornament on one’s Christmas tree, the finder of which wins a prize. Mayo makes Prince Albert pierced Christmas pickle ornaments.

“You can hide it in plain sight from your grandma,” they quipped.

Another returning vendor is Gooch, the queer photographic chronicler of the local LGBTQ scene and a freelance photographer for the B.A.R. At his booth will be for sale “a lot of my prints that can be found on my website – queercentric, kink, drag, events, queer politics,” said Gooch, whose online marketplace can be found at photosbygooch.com.

Regular attendees of the market will find it has been changed up for 2025. The event has been moved to the nighttime, will feature a drag lip sync battle, and overlap with a party the cultural district is co-hosting with the San Francisco Street Fair Coalition.

If successful, the new lineup will be brought back for the 2026 Kinky Holiday Market, said Bob Goldfarb, a gay man who is the leather district's executive director. They hope to see increased foot traffic from the crossover with the party being held in conjunction with the market.

“We think it will be good for our vendors,” said Goldfarb. “By doing it in the evening, hopefully we get the people we had before and also get new people. The vendors are excited about it. We are very optimistic about having people come for the market and stay for the party.”

The event is again being held at SOMArts, the gallery space at 934 Brannan Street in the city’s South of Market district. The market will run from 5 p.m. to midnight, and while free to attend, donations of $5 to $10 to the cultural district will be accepted.

The cultural district will see its municipal funding cut by 30% starting July 1, noted Goldfarb. That will mean a $100,000 reduction to its budget, so the district is hoping this year’s holiday market will net it $10,000 to help offset the hit to its coffers.

“We are facing a rather steep budget cut from the city,” said Goldfarb.

Coming back to the market is the Gear Swap N Shop, a bit of a misnomer as the fetish wear and gear on offer will be for sale and not available via barter. Items can be donated for sale to support the cultural district, and featured will be gear from the late leatherman whose handle was Glovedman74 and who died in February a month shy of turning 51.

His friends gave half a dozen bins of his gear to be put up for sale at the market. In honor of the “legacy donation,” there will be a photographic tribute on display, cultural district manager Cal Callahan told the B.A.R. The items will be specially tagged to track how much the sale of them benefits the cultural district.

The gear shop will run from 5 to 9 p.m. and close early in order to make way for the party. At that time a portion of the vendors will also be closing up their booths, though most will remain open until midnight.

Throughout the market hours will be DJs and performers, such as the group Twisted Windows, and attendees will be able to get their photo taken for free with naughty Santa and his kinky elves. (Two playful stand-ins for Saint Nick will be on hand for two-hour shifts throughout the night. For pet parents looking to take holiday photos, only service animals are allowed entry to SOMArts.)

The drag lip sync battle will run from 8 to 10 p.m. Street fair coalition members San Francisco Pride, Folsom Street Fair, Castro Street Fair, along with the leather district and TurnOut, an organization that recruits volunteers to support queer and trans grassroots events, will each have a drag performer battling on their behalf to be crowned the winner.

The ticketed inaugural “Festive As F*ck” party kicks off at 10 p.m. with general admission starting at $35. Those who have volunteered with TurnOut or one of the street fairs can get free tickets, while anyone who has supported an LGBTQ organization in 2025 can get 50% off the general admission price.

A free parcel check will be offered so party attendees can get in some shopping before dancing the night away until 2 a.m. They can grab their purchases on their way out.

For more information about the market vendors, entertainment schedule and how to buy party tickets beforehand online, visit sfleatherdistrict.org/market25.

As for Mayo, their stained glass workshops in 2026 will run three and half hours on Sundays and cost $165 per person, according to their website. Each participant goes home with a finished artwork that day, either a geometric pride-inspired piece or a vulva shaped one that Mayo calls a “pussy stained glass.”

A former visual merchandizer, Mayo also offers their keen eye to assist other sellers at markets to give their displays a glow up.

“I can consult with other vendors on their booths,” they noted.

To learn more about their Stained Glass Mommy services and artworks for sale online, visit stainedglassmommy.com.

Got a tip on LGBTQ business news? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email [email protected].