A laid back, blonde-haired, blue-eyed skater was behind the counter and welcomed us with a quick and warm smile. We looked around the shop which looks like an art gallery, with skateboards on one wall that looked much more like art than something you'd use to cruise the Strand and amazing art by local artists on the opposite wall. They design their own decks in the back of the store and shape their own boards, which is pretty unique for a skate shop.

There are two glass display cases which make up the front counter. In the one to the left, you have everything you need to build a skateboard plus stickers and skateboarding DVDs. The one to the right has hand blown glass art that range in sizes, artfully displayed.

The shop is small with one rack of T-shirts in the middle. They have plans to take over the shop next door and make that the clothing shop but, they have to deal with the psychic that has leased it but, hasn't moved in yet. Maybe she saw their wish in her crystal ball and no, I'm not making this up- I love Hermosa!

I asked our new skater friend Gabe if they ever had any store events, since it had enough space and seemed to support local artists and if they ever had any DJs ;) He said that they are going to start art shows once a month where they will have drinks, music and art.

My brand new skateboard with Independent trucks, new wheels, and a cool Rude Boy grip tape design to match the bottom of my deck totaled $90. They also have a stack of complete skateboards (already built) in the front window which range from $130-$200 and are mostly longboards.