Wednesday, May 6, 2009

BUST Magazine Craftacular and Art Star Philly


Did I ever tell you, I fell in love in Philadelphia? It's true I left N.Y.C. and tried something new, went to school and met my soul mate in a public speaking class...I guess you can say the rest is "history" and the future.
Philadelphia is haunted. There are spirits and grimy tales everywhere around the ex-industrial city. Unfortunately historic and colonial Philly is plagued with bad management and issues of crime, so there are just warehouses, factories and empty turn of the century homes abandoned and decaying. However, the greatest testament to this city of spooks is The Divine Lorraine Hotel.
After my husband, and Clarke Park, I fell in love with this place. It's abandoned and stands isolated on Broad Street. If you look at it for too long, you will become entranced.

I'm sure that when corruption forces the locals to leave and city officials and realtors decide to gentrify that this beautiful and unique structure will be turned into luxury condos or knocked down, but I only hope that the Philadelphians will fight for it...and knowing many Philadelphians, they will. Boomer, who is like my brother, told me to ask his mother about what this place was like, and although she was just a child when it closed down, she told her mother's tales of its shine.

I would do many insane things to get inside this place. To get the key tags, the escutcheons, and just walk through the ghostly hallways and spider webs.
Why all the talk of Philadelphia?? Well, I'll be at the Art Star Craft Bazaar on May 30-31 (memorial day weekend) @ Penns Landing.

I can't wait to catch up with my peeps and walk around another haunted neighborhood, Northern Liberties, a friendly way to say the beginning of North Philly. If you ever want to see another spooked out hood try Kensington...you've gotta look at that place with a certain kind of eye to understand what I am talking about. You can almost see the steam rising above the abandoned factories off of Allegheny Avenue and down by Frankford Ave. You can just feel the grit, no women in corsets with wigs and Victorian lockets...work and workers, immigrants and natives building lives, legacy and a nation on creating things.


Next Sunday, May 17th...I will be at BUST Mag's Spring Fling in Brooklyn. I've added all these events to the calendar on the website. Love Love Love!!


*Thanks to Prof. Jas. Mundie on Flickr.com for this beautiful photo of the hotel. I found this artist's stream through google and am now inspired.

3 comments:

Frankie said...

Take lots of photos at BUST please! By the way, your unisex range is gorgeous! x

Michelle.Renee.Art said...

I wish I could come to your show!

Michelle.Renee.Art said...

I wish I could come to your show!