We recently made a custom card for Mission Blue, a café and gift store in San Francisco.

The story behind that card starts with the first store that ever carried our cards: Black Bird Bookstore, right here in the Outer Sunset. We’re still grateful they took a chance on us so early.

Our next stop was Bird & Beckett in Glen Park, a neighborhood we already loved because of our hikes in nearby Glen Canyon.

When the owner learned that our cards were already at Black Bird, he told us about the Crosstown Trail.

That was the first time we heard about it.

The Crosstown Trail is a 17-mile walking route that crosses San Francisco diagonally, connecting neighborhoods, parks, stairways, cafés, and hidden corners of the city.

San Francisco feels made for this kind of wandering.

It’s a city of little streets, sudden views, colorful stairways, hidden gardens, and neighborhoods that almost feel like separate villages.

The trail somehow stitches all those pieces together.

Then the owner of Bird & Beckett said something like, “Next you should have your cards at Mission Blue. That way, your cards would cross the town.”

So we went to Mission Blue.

That’s where we met Kellie, the owner, and if you’ve been reading our newsletter for a while, you probably already know how much we love that place.

Mission Blue is more than a café and gift store. Kellie supports local artists and makers, hosts events, and makes the café feel both creative and welcoming.

She started displaying our cards, invited us to pop-ups and a Christmas market, and over time, Mission Blue became part of our story too.

So we decided to design something especially for Mission Blue.

At first, I wasn’t even sure what we could add. The café already had so many beautiful custom illustrations.

For a moment, I thought, maybe she doesn’t need anything else. But slowly, ideas started coming.

Mission Blue is also connected to the Crosstown Trail. We often see people starting the walk there, grabbing a coffee before heading across the city.

Remembering how we first heard about the café through the Crosstown Trail, I created a custom card inspired by the shop and everything it makes us think of: warm coffee, sunshine, cookies, neighborhood energy, people crossing paths… and butterflies.

And that’s one of the things I love most about custom illustrations.

When you really know a place or the people behind it, you can fill a drawing with details that mean something.

The butterfly on the card was especially important. The Mission Blue butterfly is a rare butterfly that lives in parts of San Francisco, and it’s the reason Kellie named her café Mission Blue.
🎥 Kellie shares the story behind the café, the butterfly, and its connection to the Crosstown Trail in this lovely video.

This weekend, I brought the card to Kellie.

She loved it.

And then something unexpected happened.

I was lucky enough to meet Bob Siegel, one of the founders of the Crosstown Trail. He’s passionate about helping people discover San Francisco on foot and see the city differently.

And I found myself handing him my very first Crosstown Trail card.

That felt pretty special.

🦋 If you have a business, place, or personal story you’d love turned into a custom illustration, just hit reply. we’d be honored to create one.

Also, this weekend I was painting live pet portraits there, and it turned into a big success. I loved seeing the smiles on the dogs’ faces when they got their portraits. 😉

Okay, maybe mostly the humans.

Solène & Zélia, for SoliaVenture

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