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We're thrilled to support Oakland Feather River Camp, one of The Town’s oldest and most cherished community programs. Feather River camp, located in the Plumas National Forest, is Oakland’s only overnight summer camp.  The camp has provided outdoor experiences for Bay Area youth and their families since 1924. Generations of Bay Area residents have participated as campers, then as counsellors in their teens, and then again as parents bringing their kids to family camps. The camp strives to be accessible to all Oaklanders, including those most impacted by systemic inequities. In 2019, the camp raised over $70,000 for camper scholarships and provided 440...

The Bay Area soil grows exceptional graffiti artists, DJs, jewelry makers, educators, clothing designers, and 3D animators. But it’s a rare person who can call themselves all of these things. Oakland’s Vanessa "Agana" Solari Espinoza is one such individual. Agana is an East Oakland graffiti artist and a member of a women’s artist collective called Few and Far. She’s also an emcee, a 3D visual effects animator, a jewelry maker, and an activist. She describes herself as a “multi-dimensional contemporary mural artist.”  Her murals have transformed the Oakland landscape, bringing vibrant life back to overlooked urban spaces. Firmly rooted in...

Girl Mobb x Oaklandish collection brings a female perspective to Oakland street style. Girl Mobb creates challenging aggressive murals on broad social themes, such as the relationships among women, the state, and the natural environment. Her signature graphic style can be seen in her fine art pieces and in her public works projects, executed primarily with spray paint. Grim reapers, hot pink lips, tanks, recently a Lisa Simpson holding a spray paint can and studs are used symbolically and take up space in a cartoonishly fun graphic style. Originally from Cincinnati, Girl Mobb made Oakland her home in 2008. Since...

Nina Wright, also known as Girl Mobb is an Oakland-based artist, muralist, printmaker, and teacher with a BFA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.  She’s known for saturating The Town with dozens of challenging and aggressive street art murals that explore broad social themes in her bold graphic style. Executed primarily in spray paint, her art commonly features grim reapers, hot pink lips, skulls, and power symbols like tigers and fists. Nina moved from Cincinnati to Oakland in 2008 and has become well known for both for her art and her teaching and mentorship.  In 2017, she founded...

I didn’t grow up in Oakland, but The Town was always close by, molding my character, sparking my dreams, and pulling me home. I was raised in Hayward and Fremont, just beyond The Town’s official boundaries. If you’re from here, you know that Oakland’s energy radiates beyond lines drawn on a map. The attitude, the lingo, the personality. East Bay communities imbibe both Oakland’s complexities and charms.  Growing up, decisive milestones often happened in Oakland. It’s where I attended proms and took my SATs. My high school graduation was at the Paramount Theater. At sixteen, as a newly licensed driver,...

We’re so incredibly thrilled to bring you these tees featuring the art of Jesse Hernandez in our limited edition Urban Aztec X Oaklandish Ancient Roots collection.  Jesse is a Bay Area visual artist known for his diverse, colorful and impactful illustrations which straddle and explore the juncture between urban graffiti and ancient indigenous culture. His art builds on cultural legacies and established visual languages to generate intricate new insights that are both striking and refreshing. He executes in an astounding variety of formats including street art murals, tattoos, video games, comics and collectible toys.  He’s worked with some of America’s...

At Oaklandish, we get inspired when we are able to honor and support local heroes who personify our town’s underdog spirit. So we’re super stoked to celebrate the Laney Eagles, Oakland’s grittiest sports team, with our Laney X Oaklandish collection. The Eagles recently showed the world what it means to be “Laney Built” on the fifth and final season of Netflix’s popular documentary series “Last Chance U.” The series examines the struggles and triumphs of junior college football teams.  Laney was chosen by the “Last Chance U” producers, from among thousands of junior college football programs around the country, for...

As a small business, we know the importance of supporting other small, independent businesses especially during these times. It was amazing being toured by Alex and Alicia and seeing the process of such an iconic cookie being made by hand the same way as it was decades ago. And it’s happening right here in Oakland. Alex and Alicia are now running the longest-running fortune cookie factory in Oakland (established in 1957), and one of the the oldest Oakland Chinatown businesses period. Oakland Fortune Cookie Factory, creating delicious cookies, preserving generations of culture, history, and craftsmanship while adding modern touches. Take...

We're stoked that Oakland Roots Sports Club announced yesterday that they will be joining the USL Championship for the 2021 season. The USL is the largest and fastest growing professional soccer organization in North America with teams throughout the United States and Canada. Roots will represent The Town across the country and around the world with matches on ESPN+, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.“We are excited to join the USL Championship in 2021,” said club Chair Steven Aldrich. “Playing in the Championship is a great opportunity for Oakland Roots to continue our journey of using soccer as a force for social good. We...

Khalil We started our clothing line called Oak Boys in 2013 to foster inclusion. We wanted it to be hard and have an edginess to it.  There’s always been a lot of Oakland merchandise out there but most of the time it just says “Oakland.” Our stuff is different. Our merchandise has got wild statements like “I wanna die and live Oakland.” Fantasy things, ideas that are hard to imagine, and ones no one else is gonna make. That was always our motto. I love turning up on it like that.  When I was younger I couldn’t afford the stuff...

We've got another hitter here! Cop yours before this Highlighter limited-edition collab sells out! We are so glad we get to work with the team at Champion to come up with these great combos of Champion assets and Oaklandish style! These Reverse Weave jogger and pullover sets in Black and Oxford Grey are everything you need for these quarantine days and nights. Model: @mayne_bchillin, shot by @54ghosts.

Here are just a few of the images from Dustin O. Canalin's 'Ball Harder' vol.2 project. For the full gallery experience, visit here. Check out our accompanying merch collection too!

If there’s a bright side to boarded-up storefronts in downtown Oakland it’s street art. We wanted to support Oakland artists and small businesses and so decided to commission an art piece at our flagship downtown store.  We contacted the legendary Del Phresh, Oakland’s first Graffiti King and member of the TDK crew, a collective of local aerosol artists. Del was one of the first Oakland graffiti artists to expand his work to other Bay Area cities. His versatile style crushes it in the streets and his work was featured in the book Spray Can Art and appeared on a local...

In 2018, Rafael Casal and David Diggs wrote a poem about police violence and the intersection of race and class set against the backdrop of Oakland. They read this spoken-word piece that says, in part: “How perfect does a black boy have to be before we mourn him? How quickly must a neighborhood vanish for us to notice?” We originally released this design when Rafael and Daveed's film 'Blindspotting' premiered. It remains an accurate index for how little we have progressed as a country. 100% of profits from the sales of this shirt (profit defined in this case as everything above the hard...

When you watch Thomas play, you’ll abandon any doubt he was born to do this. Catch him crushing it on the big stage or here on Lakeshore Ave. Thomas Pridgen started drumming when he was three years old. By age nine he won the Guitar Center Drum-Off, and a year later he was the youngest recipient of a Zildjian endorsement in the company’s 400-year history.  When he was fifteen he was the youngest musician to ever receive a 4-year scholarship to Berklee College of Music. Throughout his teenage years, he did studio sessions with Bay Area Gospel artists and was...

This Friday, January 10, 2020 join us at Oaklandish Downton (1444 Broadway) for a celebration of Basi & Drew Banga's new EP entitled, "Shake The Scene." Basi & Drew Banga, both born and raised in Oakland, are bringing a new sound and energy to the forefront of the Bay Area music scene. They will be performing their new EP as well as releasing limited edition "Shake The Scene" shirts in collaboration with Oaklandish. This event also features fellow Oakland Natives, Meleswave, Ajai Kasim, and Siri Seiko. The show starts at 7pm and will be wrapped up by 9pm. We promise you...

A look back at First Friday, April 2016. With DNas and Dion Decibels, featuring Beejus, RBC Bugzy, G Maly, and Rexx Life Raj. Photos by Amir Aziz.

My experience coming up in Oakland has been an interesting journey. There are people who love me and support me, and others who dislike me and are not supportive at all. But, I’ve been living here for almost 22 years of my life and love my city. My journey as a drummer was very tough. I started playing drums at age 2 and I’m 21 now. It’s tough is because it’s all about who you know. I don’t wanna move down to LA to get gigs and I think I should be able to gig in my own city. Another...

From the course to the street, Oaklandish family member, Kellen Knick, crushes freestyle motorcycle stunt riding. Catch him out and about or at one of his shows rocking it in Oaklandish.  Video by @DirLuisMontoya Oakland is the land of innovators, mavericks, and rebels. A hotbed for social movements and culture that has transformed the world. Oaklandish Unchained video series continues this proud tradition by celebrating the people of The Town. Watch More > Oakland Unchained

I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with Oakland.  I found myself leaning towards the violence and negativity that surrounded this city in the early 2000s. It wasn’t a conscious choice. It was more like a survival tactic.  When I grew to an age where I could be more conscientious of my actions, love and healing came to me. I began my healing process in Oakland and began to rid my mind of the negativity around me.  Slowly but surely, everything started to make sense. I was no longer clouded by anger, hatred nor hostility. Even better, I realized that had...