POSTED: Monday, August 9, 2010, 7:40 PM
First Friday continues to outshine each every other day of the month (
Carolyn Huckabay knows what's up) and Fri., Aug. 6 in Old City was nothing short of epic with plenty of threads, drinks and
oral clay demonstrations for all.
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| Nyidera Edwards |
| Liz Burt and Maggie Copeland |
Brand new, one-of-a-kind boutique
Franklin Square popped its cherry on Friday, celebrating with a live DJ, kegs and wine, and non-stop Italian cuisine catered by the good folks next door at
La Loconda Del Ghiottone (130 N. 3rd Street, 215-829-1465). Owners
Maggie Copeland and
Liz Burt (pictured above) have worked with countless Philly seamstresses and designers to compile their goods in addition to their personal,
It's Already Been Broughton. "What sets us apart from the others is our well-edited selection of reworked vintage items and our price point. Almost everything is priced under $200," says Copeland. The former
Foley and Corinna handbag designer adds, "
We're keeping things local because we want to see more made and produced here."
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Customers can also purchase pieces from Burt's jewelry line
In House. "I do this because I want to create youthful and fun but, timeless pieces that can be passed down," Burt says. Not only is the merchandise reworked, but so is boutique's layout. Much of the hardware was
salvaged and restored from shipyards including, a ship door, anchor chains and wooden trunks. Other metalwork and fixtures are courtesy of Leo Razzi and wooden fixtures are by Anthony Clark and Eliot May.
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Just up the block,
Third Street Habit (153 North 3rd Street, 215-925-5455) was celebrating its sixth birthday with
buttercream goodies and bubbly. "We have grown into our own and grown with our customers, developing a more cohesive and defined aesthetic," says store manager
Liz Pizzo about the boutique's evolution. Known for its selection of local brands, like Astrid, and unattainable international designs such as Parisian line
Isabel Marant, Third Street is launching an e-commerce site at the end of this month to lessen the headaches of their customers, and themselves. "What really propelled the online store was the snowstorms, first foremost. But we've also been receiving a bulk of phone orders since the launch of
the blog," says owner
January Bartle. "In its six years, the shop has become the hub of independent boutiques while many others have closed down. We have the biggest concentration of independent fashion in the city with a solid inventory and a bulk of everything".
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| Nyidera Edwards |
| Kozma with her work, "The Hunter" (right) and "Love's First Kiss." |
Luxury furniture and mattress store
Hollandia International (149 N. 3rd Street, 215-923-2616) kicked off the night featuring its second local artist,
Kelly A. Kozma in its monthly art exhibition. The recent Moore graduate leaves room for interpretation in her paintings and aims to introduce art to non-traditional audiences by expanding from typical galleries and utilizing a variety venue spaces; even bars. "Colors and patterns are ever-changing. I apply those elements, along with shapes and let them speak for themselves," says Kozma.
"
There's no name and there's no label. You just see an image.". She and Hollandia's showroom manager, Steffan Sklaroff are both in favor of hanging pictures above the showroom beds because it allows clients to visualize what the art will look like in their own rooms. Kelly will also be featured at
Dirty Frank's (347 S. 13th St., 215-732-5010) on Aug. 12 and The
Midwives Collective & Gallery (1241 Carpenter St., Ste. #2, 609-828-2048) on Sept. 10th.
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| Nyidera Edwards |
| Radland's women's designs |
This Friday also marked the night of
Topstitch Boutique's (54 N. 3rd St., 215-238-8877) launch party for its collaborative line of
Radlands women's designs, with plenty of potion and snacks to go around. The predominantly male brand has introduced three new styles, handmade in Philly and a few limited pieces, which will be exclusively sold at Topstitch.
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| Nyidera Edwards |
| Steve Cleff's Fluid Beauty |
In more artsy news,
Steve Cleff was in attendance to launch his solo exhibition titled, "
Fluid Beauty: Streams of Consciousness." The exhibit features women in a collection of works with dramatic, colorful and aquatic sceneries. Cleff hopes the imagery of collection will enable viewers to "learn more about their thoughts and stream of consciousness and connect to their own limitless imagination." His work will be on display and available for sale through Sept. 30th.
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| Nyidera Edwards |
| Alicia Crosby |
And for the grand finale of an eventful night,
Hana & Posy (35 N. 3rd St., 215-733-0505) featured staff member
Alicia Crosby in their store display window for an exhibit appropriately entitled "
RAW." Onlookers gawked and snapped photos as Crosby
orally constructed a clay sculpture while blindfolded, plastering the window with remnants of
clay and saliva. If Play-Doh was potentially harmful to ingest, I'd hate to imagine Alicia's digestive system. Not to mention that cute white dress.
RUINED! I guess art is truly sacrificial after all.
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| Nyidera Edwards |
| Alicia Crosby |
