Over the past three days, I feel like I’ve completely rediscovered (and fallen back in love with) the Bay Area. Thanks to Kate, we’ve fully immersed ourselves in Oakland and the Sunset and Richmond areas of San Francisco, and I couldn’t love them any more. When I first moved to NYC, I spent at least a few years trying to rid myself of my beach-hometown tendencies (flip flops, shorts, the word “dude” and a love of all things “surfer”), but now that I’ve spent some time in Sunset and have met the amazing people behind the surf culture/shops happening there, I feel like I’ve found a new home away from home.

One of the shops we enjoyed most on this leg of our trip was a visit to the original Mollusk Surf Shop. Amy and I have a Mollusk close to us in Williamsburg, but this is the “flagship” shop, so to speak. I will share more pictures soon, but one of the things I loved so much about this particular shop was the fine art and print selection. Although I couldn’t afford them, I wanted to take home just about every one of Alex Kopps’ pieces. Alex lives in the area and creates (among other things) these amazing paintings on wood. I love how wave and surf imagery seem to find their way into his work without feeling overtly “beachy.” If I could scoop up a handful of these pieces, I’d be a very happy girl. You can check out more of Alex’s work right here or in person at Mollusk* on Irving in San Francisco (if you live vaguely near this shop, it’s definitely worth a visit).

*Mollusk also has locations in Venice Beach, Brooklyn and a soon-to-open annex in The Mission.

More images of Alex’s work are after the jump . . .

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