THE JOURNAL
Surfing in Santa Cruz, California. Photograph by Mr Robert Martin/Alamy
Mr John McCambridge, the man behind Mollusk, shows us round his home town.
Mr John McCambridge opened his first Mollusk Surf Shop with his wife, Ms Johanna St Clair, in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset neighbourhood in 2005. It offered a range of alternative (ie, wider, flatter) surfboards as well as the T-shirts that, up until that point, he had been selling with considerable success at various local outlets. Just as the shop soon became more than a shop, mounting exhibitions, live music and attracting a bevy of creative types (as well as spawning two further stores, in Venice and Silver Lake), the T-shirts soon became more than T-shirts. Today, Mollusk offers a range of surf-inspired clothing, from board shorts to relaxed shirting, trousers and other casual staples, most of which are made in Los Angeles and Oakland, California.
Given Mollusk’s well-earned “local institution” status in San Francisco (and the arrival of a new capsule collection, exclusive to MR PORTER, for our Made In California project), we could think of no one better than Mr McCambridge to offer up an insider bucket list for its home city. Scroll down, then, for his tips on how to do San Francisco like you’ve been living there for years.
Shop at Western Relics
Photograph by Ms Sabrina Kay. Courtesy of Western Relics
“A super-curated record store started by a Mollusk alumnus. They have all the bases covered from Tangerine Dream to Dr Alimantado.”
Browse at William Stout Architectural Books
“An architecture and design bookstore in Jackson Square. Located in a brick building that survived the 1906 earthquake, this super-specialised store has just the right academic vibe for gathering inspiration.”
Get coffee at The Mill
Photographs courtesy of The Mill
“A coffee shop/bread bakery in the Divisadero corridor. Owners Jeremy Tooker, Jodi Geren and Tal Mor risk life and limb travelling to far-flung locales to find their magic beans.”
Eat at Outerlands
Photographs by Mr Eric Wolfinger. Courtesy of Outerlands
“An Outer Sunset neighbourhood gathering place for those who enjoy a superb cocktail with their avocado toast. The woodsy build-out is worth the trip alone.”
Visit Ratio 3 Gallery
“An art gallery in the Mission district that has reliably worthwhile exhibitions.”
Go surfing
Photograph by Mr Robert Martin/Alamy
“I like surfing right out in front of our shop at Ocean Beach if the conditions are right. If it’s too windy I’ll take a trip down to Santa Cruz, which has more reliable surfing conditions. The drive from San Francisco to Santa Cruz along the coast is amazing.”