story by Samantha Wittchen | photos by Albert Yee WHILE PURSUING an industrial design degree at the University of Cincinnati, Carrie Collins had an epiphany: She was making waste. “You’re being trained to design trash,” says Collins, acknowledging that industrial designers are often employed to create short-lived consumer products destined for
Morestory by Jaclyn Hardgrove“The first time we tried to sell our [bird]houses in public, the customers knew more about birdhouses than we did,” admits Matthew Borgen, co-founder of Recycled Rowhouse. Borgen and his partner Monica Giacomucci started cobbling birdhouses from found wood as gifts for friends and family. But after that initial attempt
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story by Liz Pacheco | photos by Alyssa Robb When college friends Anna Bario and Page Neal reconnected at a wedding a few years ago, the pair discovered they shared an interest in creating sustainable jewelry. At the time, each had an independent jewelry label, but in 2007, decided to forgo
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story by Molly O'Neill | portrait by Chris Crisman AT PEG AND AWL, stories bring products to life. Every découpaged candleholder, leather book necklace and sturdy wooden caddy proudly reveals the source of its reclaimed materials. A chalkboard tablet is reborn from oak bleachers of the century-old Liberty High School in
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story by Liz Pacheco | photos by Albert YeeDRESSED IN BOW TIES and early twentieth-century-style suits, Ryan and Eric Berley—owners of the ice cream saloon Franklin Fountain—talk about their second time-tripping sweets business, Shane Confectionary.
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Last Friday, Mayor Nutter made perhaps what is his strongest commitment to American workers and business owners. The Mayor signed a non-binding order creating a Philadelphia-, Pennsylvania- and American-made preference for all commodity and work bids. This means that when the City is putting an office together, they’re giving preference to locally-made items, like paperclips,
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Weinstein won first place in PHS’s City Garden Contest l Photo by Ken Weinstein Trolley Car Diner and Trolley Car Café have long-been great places to grab a milkshake and burger, but owner Ken Weinstein is doing more than satisfying the local sweet tooth. Both his diner and café are proudly serving up sustainability programming
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story by Michael Holahan | illustration by Andy Hood
As a shopkeeper in the Reading Terminal Market, any busy day is a good day. But after 25 years at the Pennsylvania General Store, my favorite is the day before Thanksgiving. The energy inside this more-than-a-century-old public market is unlike any other time of year. Thanksgiving is
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Image via images.google.comThe Philadelphia City Planning Commission is working on their Central District Plan and wants your input. Join them at two public meetings this month to discuss how the City’s downtown and surrounding neighborhoods will develop in the next 10 years. The meetings will be interactive to allow participants to help set priorities for
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story by Liz PachecoWhen Bill McKibben published The End of Nature in 1989, it was the first book aimed at educating the general public on climate change. Since then, McKibben has given lectures, written books, penned articles and led countless campaigns to raise awareness and inspire action on climate change—this includes a
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