The Studio in Hermosa Beach: A Creative Space Built on Community
The Studio, located at 636 Cypress Avenue in Hermosa Beach’s Cypress Arts District, is a queer and woman-owned creative space founded by Jessica Accamando and her wife, Ashley Tull. The venue hosts everything from live music and comedy to yoga, sound baths, and community fundraisers, giving South Bay artists, organizers, and neighbors a welcoming place to gather and create.
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A Journey That Began During COVID
Jessica’s path to opening The Studio started during the pandemic. At the time, she was running her own marketing and communications business, Creative Fish Studio, but set much of that work aside to create HermosaOne, a website and social platform designed to help local businesses reach people in the community during an incredibly difficult time.
That project eventually led the Hermosa Beach Chamber of Commerce to hire Jessica to help refresh and rebuild the organization. She served as its President and CEO through 2024, gaining a deeper understanding of the people who keep the town moving, the businesses that give it character, and the largely unseen work it takes to build a real community.
When she left the Chamber, Jessica knew she was not finished with that work. She returned to her role as a partner at Creative Fish Studio, and she and Ashley opened The Studio before later taking over the art gallery next door, now called Not Shockboxx.
A Space That Is Intentionally Many Things
The Studio is not built around a single use, and that is by design. On any given week, the space might host live music, comedy, yoga, a sound bath, a community conversation, a nonprofit fundraiser, an art workshop, or a private celebration. It is also available to rent for rehearsals, meetings, speaking events, performances, and workshops that need more personality than a traditional event space.
Next door, Not Shockboxx serves as the pair’s contemporary art gallery. Together, the two spaces give local artists, musicians, nonprofit leaders, community organizers, and creative people of all kinds a place to bring their ideas to life. Jessica and Ashley describe their role as providing the space, tools, and connections that let other people show the community what creativity can look like.
The Work Behind the Work
Jessica is inspired by people who have an idea and are willing to put in the work to make it real, especially when that idea brings others together. She is candid that meaningful community work is often invisible, underfunded, and harder than it looks. Volunteers who help with a new project often tell her afterward that they had no idea how much work it actually was.
The achievement Jessica is proudest of is not a title, an event, or a single business. It is the relationship she has built with Hermosa Beach, and the reputation she has earned as someone who shows up, connects people, and helps get things done.
Honoring What Came Before
Two people deeply inspire Jessica’s work: Kevin Sousa and Jessica’s wife, Ashley. Kevin’s legacy is closely tied to The Studio, which was formerly Hermosa Music Company, and preserving the spirit of what he created matters to Jessica and Ashley as they continue building on that space. Ashley inspires Jessica through her curiosity and willingness to take risks, ask difficult questions, and imagine what something could become. Jessica says The Studio would not exist without Ashley’s eagerness to make the leap together.
What Community Means at The Studio
For Jessica, community is more than living near one another. It is choosing to participate in one another’s lives. She describes the South Bay as a place that can look polished and effortless from the outside, but what makes it special is the network of artists, musicians, small business owners, nonprofit volunteers, and organizers working behind the scenes. To Jessica, community means noticing what is missing and being willing to help build it, and showing up for other people’s ideas, not just asking them to show up for yours.
Her advice for anyone considering their own path is direct: stop waiting for permission. Most people tell themselves they should have started when they were younger, had more money, or had more time, but those perfect conditions rarely exist. The advice, she says, is simple. You do not need to know exactly how everything will work before you begin. You just need to take the first real step.
Why South Bay Residents Should Visit The Studio
The Studio is meant to be used. Visitors can attend an event, discover an artist, hear live music, learn something unexpected, meet new people, or bring their own idea to the space. Jessica emphasizes that no one needs to consider themselves an artist or a creative person to belong there. Creativity can look like conversation, advocacy, problem-solving, or simply gathering people around something meaningful. The hope is that people leave The Studio feeling more connected than when they arrived.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is The Studio located?
The Studio is located at 636 Cypress Avenue in Hermosa Beach’s Cypress Arts District.
Who owns The Studio?
The Studio is owned by Jessica Accamando and her wife, Ashley Tull.
What kind of events happen at The Studio?
The Studio hosts live music, comedy, yoga, sound baths, community conversations, nonprofit fundraisers, art workshops, and private celebrations, and is also available to rent for rehearsals, meetings, and performances.
What is Not Shockboxx?
Not Shockboxx is the contemporary art gallery next door to The Studio, also run by Jessica and Ashley.
Do you need to be an artist to visit The Studio?
No. Jessica says visitors do not need to consider themselves an artist or a creative person to belong at The Studio, since creativity can take many forms.
The Studio
636 Cypress Avenue
Hermosa Beach, CA (Cypress Arts District)
Website: studiohermosa.com
Instagram: @studiohermosa.636
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