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Local Business: Handcrafted Heaven

Nice Things Handmade carries on a tradition in South Phillyby Claire Connelly
Saddened by the recent closings of some of Philadelphia’s favorite specialty shops, Elissa Kara made a bold move. In February, the local artist and restaurant veteran opened Nice Things Handmade, a boutique gallery on booming East Passyunk Avenue.

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Intersections: Color Wheels

Mural Arts sets its sights on the city’s lunch trucks

After a while, Philadelphia’s omnipresent lunch trucks can blend together, fading into the backdrop of the city. Enter the Lunch Truck Project, a Mural Arts Program bringing vibrant colors and eye-popping designs to our city’s mobile meals. 

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Trick My Truck: The city’s Mural Arts Program brings a colorful flourish to recycling

One of the most striking things about the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards Program launch was the trucks. Wrapped in vibrant, colorful patterns, the hulking behemoths were belle of the ball. That’s all thanks to a partnership between the Streets Commission, under the guidance of Clarena Tolson, and Philadelphia’s Mural Arts program.

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Handmade Holiday: Glass Blowing

This year, create your own ornament
Featured Studio: Hudson Beach Glass 26 South Strawberry St.
A combination of science and art, glass blowing may seem like an unattainable and exotic skill. The technique, which involves inflating molten glass into a bubble using a blowpipe or tube, can be a bit intimidating. But, at Hudson Beach Glass, the

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Handmade Holiday: Pottery

Play in the mud, make unforgettable gifts
Featured Studio: The Clay Studio 137-139 North 2nd St.
The Clay Studio's ground floor houses a vibrant gallery of pots, mugs, jewelry and decorative items produced by expert artisans, but the building also hosts three floors of studio space, with artists hard at work. Open since 1990, the studio offers

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Handmade Holiday: Knitting and Sewing

You are 90 minutes away from knitting your first scarf
Featured Stores: Loop 1914 South St. / Spool 1912 South St. 
Craig Rosenfeld worked in property management before opening Loop in 2005. “I had been knitting for a few years and was looking to make a career change,” explains Rosenfeld. The colorful storefront on South Street

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Dumpster Divers

Trashing South StreetFor an entire year, Burnell Yow! went out every trash night, rummaged through people’s garbage and made a collage of what he found. Fifty-Two Collages in Fifty-Two Weeks is the result of that effort, and it’s hanging up in a brand new gallery space on South Street.

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