By James Salazar | Examiner staff writer
Jul 14, 2025 Updated 18 hrs ago
Sunshine Powers, the owner of Love on Haight, says she has grown to see her role as "a keeper of the corner," someone who can spread positivity and excitement to other parts of the neighborhood.
Stumble into the heart of the Haight-Ashbury, and you will find a neighborhood clothing shop that employees say is dedicated to championing the power of positivity and self-expression that the store’s owner says is inherent to San Francisco’s beauty.
The tie-dye emporium, formerly known as Positively Haight Street, Love on Haight has stood at the intersection of Haight Street and Masonic Avenue since 1998. Step beyond the small business’ velvet rope after employees’ enthusiastic sidewalk greeting, and you’ll find the tie-dyed jackets, overalls, shirts and bucket hats from over 200 artists. You’ll likely run into fans of the Grateful Dead — better known as Deadheads — who’ve sought out the store since former owner James Preston’s artwork served as the backdrop to a Grateful Dead live album released in 2000.
It’s all in a day’s work for the store’s employees and owner, who say their main goals are to brighten visitors’ days and get them excited about a neighborhood brimming with cultural significance.
“The Haight-Ashbury is possibly one of the most historical areas in the world and we have a duty as members of this community to make sure that we carry on what happened here almost 60 years ago,” said Sunshine Powers, the current owner of Love on Haight.
Powers, a native San Franciscan who in 2012 became a part-owner and helps manage the store, said that she recalls the neighborhood being “where I came when I first fit in.”
“I always felt out of place until I came to the Haight and I was accepted for being who I was,” Powers said. “For me, that’s the most important thing about being a San Franciscan — is that you can be who you want to be as long as you’re a good person.”
As the owner of Love on Haight, Powers says she has grown to see her role as “a keeper of the corner,” someone who can spread energy and excitement to other parts of the Haight-Ashbury.
“I feel like people can see a lot of crazy stuff in San Francisco,” Powers said. “I like to be the good kind of crazy. I like to be the kind that welcomes you, that shows you rainbows.”
Love on Haight wants to show SF 'the good kind of crazy'
Greg