Oaklandish - the beloved locally focused clothing company, slash community advocate - opens its first permanent retail store and community space in July at 1444 Broadway.

Located literally in the Heart of Oakland, the building’s former name, the space will embody the spirit of Oaklandish: delivering fresh ‘n local clothing and ‘crafts and curiosities’ to the people of Oakland while bringing the community together with artists, performers and events.

A permanent store has been the company’s goal ever since the closing of the Oaklandish Gallery and Folklandish Library in Jack London Square in 2005. The clothing will be designed, hand screen printed and sold in the heart of downtown Oakland. However, its presence at Farmers’ Markets and street fairs remains uninterrupted.

The store plays a new role in the company’s path - the owners aim to make it a physical hub of the original Oakland culture they have propagated over the years.

“This is our dream to make this new space a real center for pro-Oakland arts and culture,” Nick Mueller, general manager at Oaklandish, said.

Permits pending, the space will host artists, performers and the like to sing praise to the city they love and the people who live there. All this builds on the foundation of community support the company built over the years. The company's Oakland Innovators Awards, grants given to “organizations and individuals doing pioneering work in our community,” demonstrate its commitment to community. Not to mention the 10 percent of revenues that go back to deserving nonprofits.

Another piece of news stretches beyond Oakland city limits and across the country - the development of the ThereThere brand. Mueller envisions the brand to be “for other ‘second cities’ what Oaklandish has been for Oakland.” Often times, San Francisco gets a disproportionate share of the love in the Bay Area. Oaklandish is changing that for Oakland. And ThereThere is changing that for other second cities across the country.

Mueller expressed excitement at the strong reception in cities like Portland, St. Louis, Atlanta and Philadelphia - a far cry from the New Yorks, L.A.s and Chicagos of this country.

The philosophy is everybody deserves local love and ThereThere spreads that message. But for us in Oakland, we continue to pour our souls into our city, as will Oaklandish. Now there is a permanent storefront to add to the armada of roaming street rigs, further embedding Oaklandish in Oakland’s evolving culture. As Nick Mueller said, “There's only one Oakland, only one Oaklandish home.”


Oaklandish
1444 Broadway
Grand Lake Famers’ Market, every Saturday
List of other retailers available at oaklandish.com/retail