“Customers can come in by appointment for one-on-one time, but if a kid wants to come in with 10 friends, we can accommodate them,” Benzinger said
The Workshop is in the back of the upstairs loft behind the young women’s clothing area, which has one of the store’s four dressing rooms.
Young men’s clothing, denim, art books related to surfing and some toys to intrigue younger customers and another dressing room are on the mezzanine level. The dressing room’s exterior and interior papered walls were painted by Jason Maloney with large scale versions of the snake and elephant logos he designed that are also used on the store’s bags.
The store was designed in a laboratory on the Costa Mesa Hurley campus by architect Michael Neumann.
It is a mix of industrial and rustic, with a nod to ecology that will gladden the hearts of environmentalists.
Reclaimed plywood was used on the stairs and throughout the store. The store’s biodegradable bags are made of tapioca.
The original brick walls and wooden flooring upstairs were salvaged and incorporated into the design.
The store’s décor can only be described as “eclectic,” with antique-styled chairs juxtaposed with contemporary tables made of recycled sticks.
But the most eye-catching feature is the colorful, two-story tall, acrylic-on-wood painting by James Marshall, commissioned by Hurley for the store.
Marshall, also known as Dalek, made his mark in the art world with “The Space Monkey.”
Surf-related art is displayed on all three levels of the store.
And everything is for sale.
