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A band of intertwined, small businesses and local makers are what’s kept South Philly yarn shop in business for 17 years

Stitched together by their mutual love of yarn, it’s a group of local makers and entrepreneurs that make the shelves of the South Philadelphia-born yarn shop Loop such a unique place to shop, according to the store’s co-owner Laura Singewald. Loop works with three to five small businesses in Philly—local vendors that either dye yarn

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3 mins read
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Sustainability remains the motivation behind this Black, Indigenous and woman-owned home floral studio

When Snapdragon Flowers owner and designer Tolani Lawrence-Lightfoot  first became a mom she longed for a flower shop where she could bring her children to smell fresh flowers and take home bouquets. For a while, she had just that on Baltimore Avenue. Though their West Philadelphia storefront closed its doors during the summer of 2019,

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3 mins read
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Video: Philadelphia Businesses and Organizations are Building a Circular and Sustainable Textile Industry

Watch how organizations like Fabscrap and All Together Now PA are supporting sustainable clothing designers like Lobo Mau increasing textile recycling to build a circular textile industry in Philadelphia. Read the full cover story here. Grid and Fabscrap are also hosting a live panel discussion on the cover story on Jan 19th, register here.

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1 min read
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With the addition of Fabscrap, Philly’s textile industry moves closer to circularity

Lindsey Troop is the regional manager for Fabscrap Philadelphia. Photography by Drew Dennis. Fashion Forward By Samantha Wittchen Jordan Haddad sat in his 1,800 square-foot studio in South Philly’s BOK. The waste was piling up.  His local sustainable fashion company, Lobo Mau, had been saving fabric scraps from all of the clothing it designed and

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13 mins read
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Temple grad starts seed keeping business, honoring their cultural significance for farmers of color

Amirah Mitchell , founder of Sistah Seeds. Photography by Drew Dennis.  Ground Work by Jenny Roberts Amirah Mitchell has known she wanted to be a farmer since she was a 14-year-old intern with The Food Project, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit devoted to building sustainable food systems. “That’s kind of when I caught the farming bug,” Mitchell,

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4 mins read
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Germantown gallery captures unseen beauty and celebrates Black people

Steven CW Taylor founded Ubuntu Fine Art, displaying his photography from Philly and on international travels. The Beholder Story and photography by Jenny Roberts Massive, glossy photographs line the walls at Ubuntu Fine Art in Germantown. Each image serves as a portal to another time and place, says gallery owner and photographer Steven CW Taylor.

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3 mins read
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Skill sharing app offers people and organizations an easy way to build community capital

Ying Founder and CEO Karla Ballard loads the app. Photography by Drew Dennis. Swipe for Service By Nic Esposito Karla Ballard’s journey to founding the skill sharing platform Ying is a tale that traverses the country and beyond, from Germantown to Barbados, from Wilmington to the West Coast. Born and raised in Germantown, Ballard’s upbringing

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4 mins read