Nike Inc. has just opened up 225 Forest, a new retail experience in which all of its action sports brands – including Nike SB, Nike 6.0, Converse and Hurley – are all housed under the very same roof. The store is nestled away right off of Forest, a street loaded with little shops and restaurants, in the picturesque beach town of Laguna Beach, CA. Laguna Beach is known in Orange County as a town that embraces the arts, and the store reflects that with paintings by Dalek, Bob Dob and others which are prominently featured amongst the store’s decor.
225 Forest also features The Workshop, which includes Hurley Heat, Converse Ink and of course, NIKEiD. And like NIKEiD, Hurley Heat and Converse Ink enable the customer to customize both Hurley trunks and Chuck Taylors, both skate and regular. A special edition print was created from Dalek’s work and used on Hurley trunks and Chuck Taylor All Stars, which I thought was a real treat. The transfer set up is quite amazing as well. Image transfers penetrate the fabric in a way that will leave it on there almost indelibly, so you don’t really need to worry about your customized pieces being damaged with wear.
All in all, the space, location and offerings available make it a worth while venture to the coast. You could make a really nice day thing out of it: The beach is right across the street and Taco Loco, who makes the best damn tofu burger in the world, is just a nice 10 minute stroll down Pacific Coast Highway.
The following images come courtesy of BLENDS. I did not have my camera while in Southern California, but Nobu over at BLENDS/Carve was there recently and he captured some good images of the store’s interior.
