At the beginning of June, we spent a week in Southern California. Because we’re planning the West Coast Box, our team wanted to make sure we were staying true to our mission to bring you curated surf products we’ve discovered, used, and genuinely stand behind. We stayed in Leucadia, surfed most mornings, and spent the afternoons visiting a list of shops, galleries, and creative spaces that had been on our radar.
Here are a few highlights from our time on land:
Yoki Shop
NEWPORT BEACH, CA
Yoki being Japanese- American, his background as the founder of Maui and Sons plus his keen aesthetic has been a natural draw for us. We've been following his OOTD posts with his daughter on Instagram, so it was fun to finally stop in and meet him and chat.
We picked up a Mucho Aloha sweatshirt we'd been eyeing, along with a one-of-a-kind vintage aloha shirt with a floral graphic screen printed on the back. Love seeing something old made new through creativity.
Daydream Surf Shop
NEWPORT BEACH, CA
This is lifestyle retail done right. Part surf shop, part cafe, part gallery , i.e., a cool place to hang out. We enjoyed iced tea and our favorite find was vintage-style ’Surf Money’ coin pouch. The little plastic squeeze-open kind we hadn’t seen since we were a kids. Completely nostalgic and semi-absurd.
Lou’s Records
ENCINITAS, CA
This was an unexpected stop. Open since the 1980’s. We found Jack Johnson: SURFILMUSIC soundtrack on vinyl and also scored a movie poster with purchase.
Club Paradise
ENCINITAS, CA
We’ve admired Andy Davis’s artwork for years, so we had to stop by his collaborative gallery space. We were thrilled to take home a signed and numbered print and two silkscreen postcards. The kind of souvenirs that are meant to last.
MCASD
LA JOLLA, CA
A local recommendation led us to the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego to see Giants: Art from the Dean Collection of Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys. The exhibition features work by Black diasporic artists. Highly recommend. On view until August 9. As we prepare for The West Coast Box, if there are any brands you think we should know about, send them our way.
