It's a bit counterintuitive why society makes fun of hipsters. We're definitely guilty of it at the Weekly. Besides the obnoxious ones who wear headdresses at Coachella, what's wrong with wanting to eat healthy, local food and shop small business? Heaven forbid these hipsters care about helping the local economy and our environment! On a corner in Long Beach, you'll find a dry-goods general store (yeah, we still have those! Who remembers Oregon Trail?) that encapsulates all the good things about this current trend.
Orn Hansen gets its name from Robby Roda's mysterious family folklore. “My grandfather's family are from Sweden, and their last name was Hansen,” he explains. “One day, someone in their family did something very heroic, and so the king put 'orn' in front of their name. It means eagle and gave honor.”
Roda's friendly voice and modest store carry that history through today. The location is minimalist, with white walls and unfinished woods, bringing the focus to the high quality of the products. It sells only American-made items, 60 percent of which come from Southern California. With the exception of ladies' denim, it's all menswear, messenger bags, some accessories, and home and paper goods. As of late, there's some curated vintage, but Roda plans to move into all new products. Right now, Orn Hansen has outdoorsy coats from Pointer Brand, boots from Chippewa and a handful of organic grooming supplies—you know, for beards and such. Perhaps the most notable manufacturer featured, though, is Railcar Fine Goods, an Arcadia company that makes its denim in-house.
Though Orn Hansen has been open a mere five months, “We're killin' it over here,” Roda says. But he also wants his store to be sustainable. “We [the U.S.] do everything in excess, and for me, what it comes down to is growing as organically as possible. We wanna be responsible with what we're doing, grow with the demand, and support the local community.”
Sounds awesome. So, perhaps the only thing we can tease Roda about are the sweet axes he sells in the shop. There's so much wood to chop around these parts. . . .
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