Greeted by one of a few friendly surfer dudes, we walked in to find ourselves faced with large blocks of colorful folded T-shirts, featuring unique brands designed by illustrative artsits such as Sprout, Ando & Friends, Warriors of Radness, and the house brand, Mollusk.
While the selection of clothing alone could set this surf shop apart from the thousands of others that dot the CA coastline, perhaps the most notable quality of Mollusk is the sense of community and creative embracing that seems to be consistent throughout the city of San Francisco.
Thomas, a local SF artist, immediately approaches the guy at the register to ask about the price of a small piece of paper with a drawing on it by transient musician and visual artist, Kyle Field (aka "Little Wings"). The guy squints his eyes to get a better look at the piece, and then politely offers to make a phone call to find out...
...he returns a few minutes later and leads Thomas to a "secret" drawer housing an array of Field's work. As he sifts through the loose papers of line drawings, he casually mentions that Field is in NY, as he had just recently gotten kicked out of his previous residence...a tree-house-looking "attic," as he calls it, located directly above the front entrance to the store.
The entire store, in fact, could be qualified as a piece of art in and of itself. Aside from featuring framed pieces by local Bay Area artists, most of whom are somehow linked to the surf community, both on the store walls and in the small gallery located in the back, there also appear mixed-media sculptures hanging from ceiling and wall panels that give the store a comforting "artist's wonderland" feel.
As I perused the store while Thomas looked at boards and tried on shoes, I couldn't help but notice the familiar surf video, "Wet & Wreckless," by our beloved local surfers/party-planners, San Franpsycho.
Whether you're a die-hard surfer mogul, a tourist looking for a unique SF surf-culture souvenir, an artist looking to purchase or display art, or a local who happened to be strolling through the neighborhood and felt like stopping in to sit on the comfy, worn-out vintage couch to chat with the clerks, there is something for everyone at Mollusk.
Check out the other Mollusk stores in LA & NY, or visit their online store at www.mollusksurfshop.com
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