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Patricia Blakely – The Deal Maker

portrait by Mark Likosky “In the best of all worlds, we could buy local at competitive prices, growing jobs and the local economy.”— PB Sometimes we need a little help from our friends. It’s a simple idea that inspired the creation in 1854 of the Merchants Fund, which was there to step in and help

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1 min read

Young at Art: Queen Village Art Center offers art for all ages

Along with offering art classes for adults, Queen Village Art Center also provides a bevy of classes to teach the little ones to think outside the box.With four studios outfitted for sculpture, ceramics, painting, and more, Queen Village Art Center is a wonderland of art-making. The hallways double as gallery spaces, showing off students’ work.

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1 min read

Nurture by Nature: Eviama Life Spa pampers your body and your planet

Enviama Spa owner Penny Ordway turned her passion for promoting human wellness and eco-living into the city’s first green spaPenny Ordway faced a dilemma: She was passionate about her human wellness work, but the spa where she was employed regularly used processes and products she found questionable. She wanted to be a good employee, but

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1 min read

Wheel House: West Philly bike shop expands to a second location

Firehouse Bicycles, which is co-owned by Monica Pasquinelli, above, and Sam Davis, primarily sells refurbished bikes—keeping them out of landfills.Every neighborhood deserves a great bike shop—one with grimy, committed mechanics, affordable new and used bikes, and fast service. Firehouse Bicycles, at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue, has been West Philly’s bike shop since 2001. Monica

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1 min read

The Rice Harvest: Geechee Girl cuisine is both Lowcountry and local

Valerie Erwin, who owns GeeChee Girl Rice Cafe, wanted a restaurant that offered something distinct, so she chose a staple from her Southern background.A veteran of notable Philadelphia restaurants such as the Commissary, La Terrasse, Roller’s and Jamey’s, Valerie Erwin had long thought about opening a restaurant, especially in her own neighborhood. But 10 years

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2 mins read

Market Driven: Mariposa Food Co-op expands its role in the community, along with its retail space

Bull Gervasi, Mariposa's expansion project manager, at the new co-op location.Food co-ops are hardwired to work with others—other co-ops, other businesses, their neighbors. It’s part of their founding principles, their bylaws and their DNA. When Mariposa Co-op expanded to a nearby location after 40 years in business at 4726 Baltimore Ave., they quintupled in square

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7 mins read

Two Scoops: Ice cream shops whip up tasty concoctions using local ingredients, but that’s where the similarities end

Some of Little Baby's non-traditional scoops.Philadelphia’s ice-cream history just keeps getting richer. Already home to Bassett’s, America’s oldest ice cream company, and the birthplace of “Philadelphia Style” (an ice cream that does not contain eggs), our city boasts two unique, independent businesses that are philosphically similar, yet quite distinct from each other. Little Baby’s Ice

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2 mins read