Whole Earth Access

Whole Earth Access

Company type	Private subsidiary
Founded	Berkeley, California (1969)
Defunct	1998
Fate	Shuttered
Headquarters	2950 7th Street, Berkeley, California 94710 U.S.

The Whole Earth Access (1969 - 1998) was a countercultural retail store in Berkeley, California. Two more shops were later opened San Rafael (1982) and San Francisco (1985). By 1993 it also had stores in Concord, San Mateo and Sacramento. The San Mateo store closed first followed by all others with the Berkeley store finally closing in 1998.

According to a 1985 issue of the store's Whole Earth Access Mail Order Catalog, (named after, but not connected to The Whole Earth Catalog which it also sold):

Our Berkeley store opened in 1969, inspired by but independent of The Whole Earth Catalog. It began by carrying books, a few woodstoves, a few power tools, and back-to-the-land equipment. Access to a wide variety of products was available at very low prices through special ordering from distributors' catalogs. Gradually the store began stocking the items most commonly ordered, and we now carry a wide range of top-quality products for basic living, still at very low prices. Our newest section is electronics and communications, which includes cameras, video, audio, and computers.

Larry Farb commented in 1986 to the Los Angeles Times that, "we've grown up with our customers [...] the person who bought wood stoves in the '70s is buying cappuccino makers today."

References

• "The Back-to-Wood Boom." TIME. Dec. 05, 1977.
• Whole Earth Access Mail Order Catalog: Access to quality products for good living at the lowest possible prices. Berkeley, California: Ten Speed Press, 1985.
• Binkley, Sam. Getting Loose: Lifestyle Consumption in the 1970s. Durham: Duke University Press, 2007.
• Zonana, Victor F. "One of the Fastest-Growing Chains in U.S.: Whole Earth Access Stores are Bargain Basement for Yuppies." Los Angeles Times, May 19, 1986: E1-2. [1]