Archive for the ‘Mundane’ Category
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“first lady of fabulous”
Object: Mighty Michelle Shopper ($11.99)
Location: Essene, 4th b/t Bainbridge and Monroe sts.
Background: The bag is made by Blue Q, a Pittsfield, Mass. novelty designer/manufacturer that produces bags, tin banks, lamps, hand sanitizer, and lots more, including a pack of “I Kissed A Republican… Read more
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1950s delivery truck door
Object: Door from the delivery truck of restaurateur/chef Marcie Turney‘s grandfather’s restaurant
Location: In the basement of one of Turney’s 13th Street restaurants
Background: Turney has this and an original sign from The Spot, opened in the 1950s in Ripon, Wisconsin, in storage. One day she … Read more
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Utz cheddar cheese snacks
Object: barrels of Utz cheddar cheese snacks
Location: SuperFresh, Society Hill (glowing orange in the early spring sunshine)
Background: I didn’t realize Utz and Snyder’s — two of America’s major snacking enablers — were in Hanover, Pennsylvania until I drove there to report on Emeco, manufacturer … Read more
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vintage “Practical” shoes
Object: vintage shoes
Location: storefront on Girard Ave., b/t Kraftwork and Johnny Brenda’s
Background: I’m out of my element with this one — I’m not a fashion person. But I couldn’t help but stop and snap, more for the branding and copy on the box than for … Read more
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our newish street signs
Object: street sign
Location: Front and Queen sts.
Background: I’ve been thinking a lot about typefaces, especially civic typefaces, since reading a few articles about Chatype, the proposed civic typeface for Chatanooga, Tennessee. (If you haven’t heard about it, two typeface designers teamed up with two brand … Read more
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“twitter” truck
Object: Buttercream cupcake truck
Location: various (check Twitter)
Background: Buttercream was one of Philadelphia’s first “twitter trucks,” i.e. the uniquely 21st-century version of food truck that looks more like what you might see in an episode of Portlandia (artisanal food, hipster-y branding, active social media presence) … Read more
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tomato pin cushion (& twine)
Object: tomato pin cushion (& twine)
Location: e Bond’s bookmaking studio, Fishtown
Background: E’s a graphic designer who was inspired to make her first book more than 10 years ago when she planned a trip to Kenya and couldn’t find a book to bring along that lay … Read more
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red brick
Object: a red brick
Location: everywhere
Background: In Philly, red brick is synonymous with history — with Independence Hall, with the Georgian and Federal-style row homes and townhouses in Society Hill, Queen Village, and Rittenhouse. The first brick house was built here in 1684, and by 1690 … Read more
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catholic school
Object: amateur sign
Location: N. Front St. beneath the El in Fishtown, Feb. 15
Background: With its all caps and block lettering, this sign is like the thousand protesters who marched through Fishtown on Monday night to attempt to reverse the death sentence for St. Laurentius, … Read more
