Merchants tense as Burning Man reservations get off to slow start

    SAN FRANCISCO, California (KPIX) -- So far, Burning Man has failed to sell out for the first time in a decade. Slower ticket sales are having an impact on some businesses in San Francisco as shopping for the annual art festival and pilgrimage in northern Nevada's Black Rock Desert has started off slow as well.

Kimono Dave in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood is one of the "go-to" places to pick up Burning Man attire.

"Anything that's blacklight-reactive is going to be huge out there," said Kimono Dave owner, Dave Carr. "You want to be seen. You want to maybe wear something that you're not going to wear in normal life. This is basically the prototypical piece that no one is walking around in."

On Thursday night, customers packed the store looking for the sought-after Kimono Dave piece.

"This is the piece that really skyrocketed my brand," Carr said. "Having this be so blacklight-reactive and it's just something that's so easy to throw over any layer."

Carr said he is seeing signs of business picking up after what has been a slow start to the Burning Man season.

"Sales have been down this year period," Carr said. "For anyone that does anything that I do, for anything related to festival culture has been down. Major music festivals around the country have been struggling, canceling or postponing."

Carr is not the only business owner noticing slow sales.

"As of this weekend, the world is going to come or not," said Uti with Piedmont Boutique.

Uti has been in business for 52 years. She says 20 percent of her business depends on Burning Man sales. Most of the pieces are made in-house and she has unique and practical items for any Burner.

"The purpose of those boot covers is, as you're going through the playa dust which is like talcum powder, it sweeps it away from falling into your shoes," Uti explained.

With 10 days until the start of Burning Man, businesses are prepping for a busy week. These boutiques have given Burners the essentials for an event which provides businesses with a venue to show off their masterpieces.

"That was easily the most gratifying moment of my life -- has been the last two years consecutively," Carr said. "Basically adventuring through an art gallery of people and randomly seeing my own work on people running around, having fun. It's incredible."