Bookworm
written & curated by katie winkler | photos by lucas hardison & melissa mcfeeters
What do you do for the literati on your list? You gave them all Snuggies® last year. Well, Philadelphia has no shortage of cozy bookstores to spend a little quiet time on your shopping spree. Complete the scene with a blanket and cup of tea and you’ve just made winter somebody’s favorite season.
#1: Leverage: Strengthening Neighborhoods Through Design The Community Design Collaborative highlights 20 of their 600 projects from the past two decades to show how design is bringing positive change to Philadelphia neighborhoods. $24.99 at AIA Bookstore
#2: Rishi Loose Leaf Tea Bags Easy to fill, chemical-free, fully biodegradable natural tea filters made with cellulose and manila hemp. $5 at Cook
#3: Urban Apiaries Honey Made by city-dwelling honeybees, this honey is labeled by zip code. $5-$10 at Milk & Honey Market, Green Aisle Grocery, Fair Food Farmstand
#4: Organic Fair Trade Teas These loose leaf teas from Cook come in blends like Earl Grey and Chamomile Medley. Bonus: The tins are reusable. $8 at Cook
#5: Fabric Horse Bag This handmade backpack pairs old-school class with a durable and water-resistant waxed canvas and cordura fabrics. Allow three weeks for custom orders. $78 at Fabric Horse (other Fabric Horse products found at Bicycle Revolutions, Firehouse Bicycles and Bell’s Bike Shop)
#6: Blanket Woven from alpaca wool fibers by families in the tiny village of Katakora, Bolivia. Ten Thousand Villages sells the villagers’ work and offers product design assistance. $195 at Ten Thousand Villages
#7: Coffee Mug Ceramic mug by Ken Beiler, a member of the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen-Haverford Chapter. Microwaveable and oven-safe. $16 at VIX Emporium
#8: MoonSpoon Cherry wood honey spoon with decorative carvings and flame-blackened edges designed by Pennsylvania makers Jonathan and Julie Spoons. $18 at Pennsylvania General Store in Reading Terminal Market
#9: Wooden Bookmarks Crafted from high-quality scrap hardwood, these bookmarks by Beacon Bookmarks (Beacon, N.Y.) feature original drawings and prints from vintage rubber letter stamps. $7 at Art Star Boutique
#10: Little Otsu Weekly Planner No ordinary planner, each weekly spread features a different drawing to inspire organization. $18 at Art Star Boutique
#11: No Click Mechanical Pencils Lead drops automatically during writing. Made from recycled paper and recycled rubber. $4.99 at Big Green Earth Store
#12: Glasses Case Keep your glasses cozy and protected in one of these Philly-made cases hand-sewn from recycled materials. $12 at Samantha Moore on Etsy
#13: Peg and Awl Bookends Made of oak reclaimed from old shipping crates, painted with milk paint and finished with tung oil. Silhouettes come from profile shots of infamous female criminals. $60-$75 at Peg and Awl on Etsy
#14: Library Book Notebooks Overdue Industries takes cast-off books and gives them new life as journals filled with recycled paper and bound by recycled steel. $18 at VIX Emporium
#15: David Copperfield Find your favorite bookworm a special read at one of Philadelphia’s fine used bookstores. Wooden Shoe, Brickbat Books, Bookspace, Book Trader
#16: Seeds of Discent A novel about rebuilding cities greenward in the face of America’s failing economy. Written by Nic Esposito, a Philadelphia urban farmer. $20 at seedsofdiscent.com
#17: The Meowmorphosis The latest in the remixed classics series from Old City’s Quirk Books, The Meowmorphosis features Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, but with a man-sized kitten. $12.95 at Headhouse Books
