About Us
Seaweed and Gravel 1144 North Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, CA. 92024
Hours 11am - 6pm Tuesday-Sunday (Closed Monday)
Established 2012 Seaweed & Gravel is s retail extension of the collective conscious of non-conforming-never-grow-up-weirdos. We feature new and vintage apparel for men and women, moto riding gear, surfboards, accessories, home goods, bonsai trees and more.
At the grand opening it just so happened Dave met Brady Young, a young custom motorcycle builder in the area. They decided right away that their collective efforts would be a great fit for the shop and the brand. "We wanted to bring affordable custom built bikes to motorcycle enthusiasts". Brady was already known for his distinct Cafe Racer style motorcycle builds, he just needed organization and a brand to build around it. Brady set the standard for the "brat / cafe" combo with his CB550 "Black and Tan" builds.
Seaweed and Gravel is also a clothing brand recognized all over the world. We make a full cut and sew line including raw denim, canvas workwear pants, leather riding jackets as well as a full tee, fleece and cap line. We also make some unique accessories for riding like tool rolls, deer skin gloves and fleece lined bandanas, etc.
Brands in Store: Parallel Stance, Weston Jon Boucher, Bradley Mountain, Sun & Loom, Sea of Seven, Allview, Van Royke, Lightning Bolt, Tobacco Motorcycle Gear, Pack Animal Bags, Motorosa Riding Gear, Talmont Leather, Nine One One, Hot Rod Surf, Sunset Surfboards, Everything with Love, Biltwell, Crap, Ensea, Sad Eyewear, Rebelle for Kicks Jewelry and more... !
Leucadia is maybe a bit of what California truly is, a small taste of what it used to be, and nestled next to its tiny red, white and blue post office is a shop that’s bringing back the heritage of the makers and adventurers that settled this coast. Seaweed and Gravel is a self proclaimed “collective consciousness of non-conforming never grow up weirdos,” meticulously crafting and curating everything from vintage clothing to bonsai trees, with an apparel industry professional turned shop owner as their leader and visionary.
David Patri spent twenty years working in the apparel industry before going out on his own and opening Seaweed and Gravel. During those twenty years he grew “tired of watching retailers control the destiny of clothing design.” He witnessed again and again how hard it was for fresh voices to be heard in the ready to wear clothing industry, because large retail brands control what is produced and how clothing shops operate.
During those twenty years of hard work and growing frustration he collected and curated a stock of vintage paraphernalia that he drew inspiration from professionally and connected with personally. His collection grew to include vintage clothing, hats, belts, boots, artwork and various odds and ends from times past.
In 2012 finally the season was right and he left his job in the clothing industry and moved back to the golden memory of a town from his younger years when he would surf the summers away at Beacons, Grandview and Stone Steps, the sleepy little town’s epic surf spots. Years resisting the corporate world, stripped away as he built his own shop, which he had the freedom to fill with his own private collection, connecting with a tribe of likeminded makers, artists, surfers and wandering adventurers.
“The best part of the shop is the community. When we have pop up shops, or we have meet ups here and different events, the community comes out and is a part of it. They integrate and want to be part of what’s going on here. It all came together pretty naturally.”
The tribe grew beyond Leucadia as Dave organized motorcycle rides across the California coast, inland to the desert or climbing up through the neighboring mountains. Bikes are at the center of all that is Seaweed and Gravel. Never afraid to throw all of his loves together, Dave includes rebuilt vintage bikes next to lace dresses, hand painted surfboards next to boots that walked the California soil decades ago and bonsai trees fill the patio out back of the shop. He throws entire parties and sets up pop up shops to honor special bikes built. The store hums with energy as artisans, chefs, and flea market collectors spread across the parking lot with the new bike set in a place of honor before the front door, boys staring bug eyed and men talking shop around each new masterpiece.
As this collective developed, Dave added small local brands to his stock of vintage and handmade goods. He knew from experience how hard it is for them to gain a piece of the market or find opportunities to connect with the community. What he couldn’t do in the corporate world he began doing on his own, making a way for individuals and small companies who want to create according to their own vision, crafting goods in their own state and country.
I thought of Seaweed and Gravel as a throwback to the days when California was first settled by rugged men and women who brought their passions with them and made a place and a name for themselves – People that brought only their heritage, skills and dreams on a journey to make something new. As I watched Dave craft hats that could have been worn by one of those first Californians I asked him if he was aware that he was part of a larger movement of handmade craft in this country. I asked him if he is trying to reclaim what has been lost, and I asked him how he had gathered this collective.
His was the most innocent and authentic of answers… “I’m just doing what I love, and people who love the same things just keep showing up.” He tells me how the intersection between his own personal life and the larger movement of artisans is just a happy coincidence. And as for his hats, Dave said he couldn’t find what he wanted to wear or sell in his shop so he decided he would just have to start making them; the most genuine of reasons for a maker to create an artifact.
A man and a hat. Boys and their motorcycles. Dresses that have danced many years ago. We long to run free and remember our heritage, we wish to belong and hear the music play. We can step aside from the malls and corporate chains and we can make our dreams of simple pleasures. We find freedom in all the bits and pieces saved. I’m standing in “The House of Miraculous Recovery.” And he is teaching himself something that a grandfather never showed him, but old books and fellow craftsmen have preserved and it’s his turn to feel the felt turn under his hands, to make a covering, a piece of personality, a living, a way of life.
Written by Sharon McKeeman for Drift Journal
Seaweed and Gravel
1144 North Coast Highway 101
Encinitas, CA. 92024
See you soon!