With its wood floors, minimalist displays and Andy Warhol-painted skateboards hanging on the back wall, Handplant is far from your average O.C. skate shop.
Owner EG Fratantaro, marketing manager for industry biggie Sector 9, opened the shop last month at 1025 S. Coast Hwy.
The small shop dedicates one wall to a skate artist, with 100% of the proceeds going to the featured artist. Right now, it's showcasing the photography of Jorge Salas, who lives in Dana Point, and is hosting a celebration for him May 27.
Kris Markovich, a pro skater and painter, will be featured beginning June 2.
Fratantaro, 42, calls it half skate shop, half art gallery — a fitting mix for the art colony that makes national news for its skateboarding community.
A skateboarder since the age of 8, Fratantaro said he thinks the full-service skate shop is filling a "missing void" in Laguna Beach.
Inspired by walking the streets of New York City, Fratantaro said he didn't want Handplant to be like shops of his youth, where you could barely walk without hitting a display.