
A Pioneering Beachside Family Invites Us In
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by Photographed my Maria Del Rio
If waking up and inhaling beach air is the stuff of your dreams, then you might just say Johanna St. Clair is living the fantasy life. The mother of 9-year-old Nina is the co-founder of the pioneering S.F. brand Mollusk Surf Shop, a brick and mortar store on the West Coast that also creates an in-house collection of surfboards and wares for men, women, and kids. Here, the creative mama (who also counts herself an artist) invites us into her home, which is just a short walk from the Pacific in S.F.’s buzzing Ocean Beach ‘hood, and talks motherhood, work, and cutting the clutter (or at least trying to).
- "Our place is pretty eclectic, it's definitely warm and not fussy. And it's small, only 850 square feet." Johanna wears a Mollusk Surf Shop baseball tee and APC jeans. Nina wears a Mollusk Surf Shop tee and Zara boots.
- "We bought it in 2001 and it was practically the smallest house available at the time. If I knew then that we'd spend so many years here I might have held out for a view, but I love it and we're only two blocks from the beach."
- "I love our neighborhood. It's full of friends and lots of cool little businesses. Our shop and office are just a few blocks away. I moved to San Francisco with John in 1993. Our business is heavily influenced by the DIY art culture that we found here in the 90s."
- "All our nice things were made by friends. Our bed and record shelf were built by Luke Bartels, our stereo was handmade by our neighbor Jordan, and our art is by friends like Kanoa Zimmerman, Rachel Kaye, Thomas Campbell, Kyle Field, Serena Mitnik-Miller, Nat Russell, Jay Nelson, Jeff Canham, and Barrett Gentz. I also really love the piano that we got for Nina last year. It had to be hoisted in through the kitchen window, one story up. She plays it all the time and we have nightly family jam sessions (I stick to the tambourine)."
- "I guess what I think about most is keeping the clutter under control. If I let myself go our house would be full to the brim. So, my decor philosophy is 'get rid of it!' But you can tell by the unfortunate total lack of minimalism that our natural tendencies are the opposite."
- "It's a beautiful, walkable, diverse city, with a lot of interesting culture and good food."
- "It's not too hard to imagine living in L.A. where the surf is better and there is even more music and art than in San Francisco. But I don't think we're going anywhere. We're pretty comfortable where we are."
- "My favorite smells are wild herby smells of the country. The beachy smell of our neighborhood is really notable. And the smell of sunblock and wetsuit rubber, which is the smell of contentment. Personally, I remember the woodsy, wildflower smell of my grandfather's cabin in Vermont. I think Nina will have a lot of the same associations with my mother's house in Maine—wild berries and flowering grasses." Need a new signature scent of your own? Check out Method's new air refresher line, including Beach Sage, here.
- "When I was young I made my living modeling and I spent my time painting. But John and I aways dreamed of a brand and a retail business. We talked about it all the time."
- "It's really difficult to take risks and try new things in an already established neighborhood, especially in an expensive city like San Francisco. So, I'm not surprised that so many interesting business have sprung up out here. It's cheaper and it's an underserved community. I'm surprised more people don't take advantage of the opportunity!" Johanna sketches Nina at the kitchen table.
- "So many people have contributed. Mollusk is an amazing community project. One amazing thing is the caliber of musicians that have played at the parties we have. Like the Ah-La-Las just played for the opening of our Silver Lake shop!"
- "I don't think of Mollusk as BIG exactly. Our office has just five to seven people in it, depending on the day, but we all work hard and wear a lot of hats. We get a lot done."
- "I sometime feel that parenting and working means that I'm not doing my best at either, but I get so much satisfaction out of both roles."
- "Our Spring 2015 collection! I'm really proud of it."
- "Our bedroom is all about our bed. I like to sleep with the windows open because in the morning you can hear the waves breaking at Ocean Beach two blocks away. Housekeeping tip: Put dusty plants in the shower!"
- "Luke Bartels is one of the talented craftsmen at the Woodshop, which is closeby. He does amazing things with joinery and recycled wood. I feel very lucky to have it! When he was putting it together he told me some story about where he sourced the wood, but now I forget...maybe it was a fallen tree on a ranch run by nudists?"
- This gorgeous piece by artist Rachel Kaye ain't too shabby, either.
- "Nina's room is stuffed with stuffies and books. I found her curtain at Thrift Town."
- Nina: "I like my bed. It's really cozy, and the light is nice. Also, I have a bookshelf behind my bed."
- Nina: "I like riding my bike, drawing, talking, cooking, singing, doing my hair, sleepovers, writing in Japanese, reading, and eating."
- Nina: "I would like to be a famous singer or a landscape designer or both."
- A rad and simple bathroom set up. Too pretty not to take a picture.
- "We had a baby and opened the first Mollusk store at the same time (Nina was 3 weeks old when we signed the lease), so my life changed a lot all at once. " The dreamy back deck.
- "I love all the learning and growing: Learning to hold a toy! To walk! To read! To read Japanese! Unfortunately it all adds up to growing up, which is a great tragedy. Nina's in the 4th grade already and I can't believe it." Johanna wears a Mollusk Surf Shop dress and jacket. Nina wears Keds.
- "It's hard to let go when Nina wants independence. I recently let her have a sleepover in the backyard in a tent. It went against all my natural instincts, but she needs to be allowed to grow up and have some freedom."
- "Lots of my friends are having their first baby now and they expect brilliant advice. But I have no idea what to tell them other than breastfeeding is hard and babies get diaper rashes. And talk to your baby and play with them. How to get enough sleep? I never figured it out."
- "My mom friends are really important to me. We're far from our families, so I couldn't have gotten through the early years without other moms to lean on and learn from."
- "The basic outline is exactly the same: Trying to do it all, working hard, healthy food, the beach, art."
- "Reading to Nina was my favorite. I read Nina endless picture books and all the classics like Roald Dahl and The Little House On The Prairie books. Nina mostly reads to herself now, but I'm currently reading her Sense and Sensibility. We always have the best conversations when we read together."
- "On weekends we go on bike rides in Golden Gate Park and draw the trees. Or we have family beach days in Bolinas or Santa Cruz. She is so smart and conscientious. She's constantly surprising us. I love her creativity—her drawings and stories. I love her excitement." The downstairs guest room.
- "I draw. I used to paint, but I got sucked completely into our business and I couldn't keep it up. I find that I get a great deal of satisfaction from drawing and it's so much quicker. I like the immediate gratification."
- "I grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and living in San Francisco has only reinforced my preppy-hippie tendencies. My staples are my APC jeans, Keds, and a white Mollusk tee."
- "Steven Alan has been really good to Mollusk. He was an early fan and invited us to be in his showroom before we even put together a collection. Clare Vivier is a designer friend who I admire for her laid-back glamour. My old sewing teacher, Ali Golden, has an amazing line and store in Oakland, and I'm always impressed by Gravel & Gold, I love that they offer their amazing fabrics by the yard!" A quick peek at the kitchen.
- "I like Conifer, Reliquary, and the General Store in San Francisco, but I'm so busy that I don't shop much. I mostly wear Mollusk." Johanna and Nina outside their store, Mollusk Surf Shop. Johanna wears a t-shirt by Mollusk and an APC skirt. Nina wears Gap jeans.
- "My nights out are usually to see a friend play guitar at a pizza place or go to an art opening, so those outfits aren't much more glamorous than what I wear during the day."
- Nina: "I like working at Mollusk. I fold t-shirts and dust stuff, and my parents pay me $10 an hour."
- Nina: "Golden Gate Park. I love riding my bike there, and before four o'clock you can get delicious hot dogs at one of the hot dog stands."
- "Working with my husband John. He's so much fun and so smart, I'm glad I get to spend so much time with him. And learning about clothing—working with the factories and mills has been amazing. " To learn more about Mollusk Surf Shop, click here!
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The picture at the top of the page is the only one where we can see Johanna completely barefoot. She does look like she has nice feet. She has a nice simple barefoot style.