lifestyle

“It’s not just because it’s cool again. … It’s all really functional,” said Chris Furlacher, who stopped into BlackBlue during the most recent cold snap to get something warmer than his Filson Packer canoe hat.

The 25-year-old, who used to shop at J. Crew, said he started paying attention to not only the way his clothes looked, but also how they withstood the wear and tear of his frequent fishing and camping trips, as well as time he spends at outdoor beer festivals promoting his family’s craft beer business.

Guys like Furlacher have helped keep Red Wing’s boot factories running at full capacity, despite the hundreds of thousands of construction workers who were laid off during the recession, said company spokesman Peter Engel.

“Red Wing work boots have been made the same way for 50 years and they last forever,” Engel said. “There’s been a tremendous bump in sales from the Japanese, Europeans and young urban hipsters.”

Urban hipster. That’s not a term welcome by most male fashionistas when describing the urban lumberjack look.

“We’re not hipster. We don’t go ‘glamping’ with Champagne in the woods,” Moore said. “We don’t go around posing with axes just because.”

Although they could if they wanted do. Axes will be on hand this weekend at NorthernGRADE.

 

Aimee Blanchette • 612-673-1715