Trickwood gives Ballard Avenue major skate cred

Ballard Avenue continues its rise as the hippest neighborhood in Seattle with the addition of skateboarding store Trickwood. Sandwiched between King's Hardware and Rudy's Barbershop are the stairs that lead up to the established Kirkland boutique's new westside satellite, which shares the second floor with "active lifestyle" store Triple.

The inspiration for Trickwood is simple, says the shop's 28-year-old owner, Steven Baldwin: "I got my first skateboard when I was 14, and basically, this whole thing is a continuation of the dream."

One wall of the boxlike shop is dominated by rare and highly desired Nike SBs (that stands for skateboard, and no, I didn't know that either). SBs are instant collector's items, featuring limited-edition styles and colors created by guest designers that range in price from $60 to $200. "When a new shoe is hitting the shops, it's really fun," says Baldwin. "We'll find 20 kids sleeping outside our store in sleeping bags."

As for screen tees, Baldwin stocks the shirts he thinks are most likely to be conversation starters. "The more ridiculous the graphic, the better it sells," he says, pointing to a shirt with a lion shooting laser beams out of its eyes. "Whatever is the coolest of the cool to a 15-year-old, that's what we have." Stacks of bold, graphic, trippy designs from Diamond, L.A.-based The Hundreds, and Rogue Status fly off the shelves at $30 each.

Trickwood's selection of skateboards ($54.99 each) caters to Northwest enthusiasts, and includes boards from Krooked and Seattle's own Manik. Some are limited editions and hand numbered, and a departure from the boards you'll find in mall shops.

On a recent visit, Baldwin showed me a Krooked board designed by Mark "the Gonz" Gonzales, father of modern-day street skateboarding. "He was the first guy to do the rails," explains the affable Baldwin, who wasn't the least bit intimidating -- even to someone like me, who has about as much skate cred as Tootie Ramsey.

Stone-age skate Betties and Barneys who put the "old" in old school will feel right at home at Trickwood, too. During my visit, two buttoned-down 40-something chaps who long ago traded their SBs for Hush Puppies came in to look at Motorhead T-shirts and wax nostalgic about the days when they were rad.

They may have heard about Trickwood's selection of mint-condition, $10 issues of Thrasher magazine from the late 1980s and early '90s. "The older guys love them," says Baldwin. "They remember the stories, and they share them with their kids who are into skateboarding."

With Trickwood, Baldwin has already accomplished what he set out to, and discovered a happy benefit along the way: "I want to show that skateboarding is cool, artistic fun. That's my whole deal," he says. "And plus, I never have to grow up."

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