Trace Shop
Come for the cool wares — like cement-and-geode planters or Lord Jones CBD — but stay for the pillar of Marny Baxt’s business: the art. The former talent management exec dreamed up Trace after the passing of both of her parents, when she was faced with sorting through their personal art collection. Baxt wants to connect the community with creatives and make it easy to obtain and custom-frame one-of-a-kind works. 80 Rittenhouse Place, Ardmore, PA 19003, thetraceshop.com.
Cactus Cart
Cactus Cart. Photograph by Jeff Fusco There’s nothing more Philly than a couple of punk kids rolling around town with a cart full of cacti, just like rag-and-bone men of yore. The Cactus Cart pops up on weekends at varying corners of South Philly, and the offerings are just what you need to spruce up your space: vibrant, spiky succulents planted in retro sugar cannisters and old beer cans. Plus, the cacti come in all shapes and sizes to fit on any windowsill or bookshelf. instagram.com/cactuscart2020.
Room Shop
Take the fantastical vibe of Willy Wonka, mix in some wild Alice in Wonderland-type proportions, add a dose of Y2K nostalgia, and you’ll get something like Shelly Horst’s small-batch accessories brand. Her appointment-only Bok-based company whips up statement-making satin bags and whimsical hair accessories like huge satin scrunchies, clips with supersize bows or sweet rosettes, and giant “cloud” scrunchies made from puffs of billowing organza, each one a delightful piece of fashion magic. 1901 South 9th Street, room 315B, Philadelphia, PA 19148, roomshop.us.
The Shop at Puttyworld
Goo, slime and putty obsessives, take note: At this new shop, you can mix up custom putties, play with giant blobs of neon yellow and cotton-candy-scented glop, and occasionally get a glimpse of inventor “Crazy Aaron” Muderick. 700 East Main Street, Norristown, PA 19401, puttyworld.com.
Carl's Shoes
Don't be scared off by the how should we say this? practical footwear in the windows, or the nagging sense that you've arrived here via time machine. The Carl's repair team expertly handles everything yes, even your Loubies and will have them back on your feet in about a week. 27 West Main Street, Moorestown, NJ 08057, carlsshoes.com.
Shop Sixty Five
One look at owner Linda LaRosa, always outfitted in a rocker tee, leather jacket and ripped skinnies, and you'll want to be her — or at least crib her style. Luckily, she provides the building blocks at her boutique, which stocks Rag & Bone jeans, IRO leather jackets, Thomas Wylde tunics, Dannijo jewelry, and everything else you need to look like one of Rittenhouse's most discerning shoppers. 1921 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, shopsixtyfive.com.
Eaves Boutique
If you think Main Line fashion is all Lilly Pulitzer and J.Crew, you havent been to former Urban exec Susan Ahns one-year-old whitewashed Wayne boutique, where Rag & Bone shares rack space with A.L.C. and Clover Canyon. Her beachier picks from Antik Batik and Ace & Jig will make you want to beeline your newfound badass-ery all the way to Avalon. 105 North Aberdeen Avenue, Wayne, PA 19087, shopeaves.com.
Love & Honey Fried Chicken
Learning to make perfect fried chicken is easy – all it takes is a decade of practice and a willingness to spend the rest of your life in pursuit of one thing. Lucky for us, Todd Lyons made that sacrifice, and he and his wife, Laura, showcase the results in this little takeaway spot on the ragged edge of NoLibs, serving excellent plates of chicken, drizzled with a kiss of honey, to an ever-growing legion of fans. 1100 N Front St, Philadelphia, PA 19123, loveandhoneyfriedchicken.com.
Quinta Brunson
Quinta Brunson, creator and star of Abbott Elementary / Photograph by Corina Marie/August It could have been a colossal failure: a workplace comedy (as if we haven’t had enough of those) set in an under-funded Philly public school (not an apparent great source of laughs) and broadcast on network TV (something people have been watching less and less of). “Oh my God, I really hope people like it,” Abbott Elementary creator and star Brunson told us just after the show’s debut on ABC in December. Well, they liked it. They liked it a lot. Thanks to the comic genius and marketing savvy of Brunson, who was raised right here by a mom who taught in those under-funded schools, the show proved a runaway success, earning well-deserved comparisons to The Office and killing it in the ratings — and making her an icon in the process. The show’s now been renewed for a second season; look for it on September 21st.
Ready-to-Drink Cocktails
ALCO canned cocktails. Photograph courtesy New Liberty Distillery Lansdale’s Boardroom Spirits founder Marat Mamedov says he noticed the rise of malt-based seltzers, knew canned cocktails would be the next big trend, and started canning a Moscow Mule. Made with the distillery’s Brazilian-ginger-root-infused vodka, the effervescent drink is not too sweet and totally refreshing — a tough balance to strike in a can.
“When you have a clean canvas to work with, which the vodka offers, you can let the other flavors shine through in a bigger manner without off-putting notes,” says Mamedov.
ALCO, one arm of Kensington-based New Liberty Distillery, canned classics like vodka soda and gin and tonic with the brand’s own spirits plus fresh ingredients — tonic from century-old soft-drink company Natrona Bottling Company and real lemon and lime juices.
Others in Philly didn’t go so far as to can their concoctions, but they found creative ways to get them into eager drinkers’ hands this past year (well, while to-go cocktails were still legal), including Paul MacDonald at Friday Saturday Sunday and Eddie Adams, head bartender at Bar Hygge. Drawing on the ingenuity that makes them stand-out drink-makers even when we’re not in the midst of a global pandemic, both bartenders figured out how to keep the cocktails coming.
Adams made a steady stream of seasonal punch, which he offered in single-serving pouches or large-format glass bottles. Those came with a bottle of club soda plus a special mix of raw sugar, salt, lavender and coriander so you could rim your glass at home — a fancy touch in not-so-fancy times.
At FSS, MacDonald didn’t limit himself to any specific cocktail but instead bottled (or poured into a single-serving plastic cup) pretty much everything on the menu, except, he says, for the swizzles, which rely on packed-down pellet ice, and the egg-white drinks, which depend on that freshly shaken texture. “Fulfilling off-menu or bartender’s-pick requests has always been a big part of our cocktail program, so I did my best to keep that up when possible,” MacDonald says.
A grateful, slightly tipsy city salutes these libation innovations (and hopes the politicians in Harrisburg get their heads out of the cooler long enough to sign a permanent to-go-cocktail bill).
Shop Sixty Five
If Barbie were a local girl, her Malibu beach house would be a Margate mansion, she’d drive a Range Rover instead of a convertible, and she’d scoop up Barbiecore staples like Paris Texas peep-toe mules, frilly Bronx and Banco frocks, and baby-pink Liselle Kiss metallic leather handbags from Linda LaRosa’s outpost down the Shore. 8411 Ventnor Avenue, Margate, NJ 08402, shopsixtyfive.com.
Head Start Shoes
You don’t survive 40 years of corner retail by skimping on design, quality and customer service, and that’s exactly why this mainstay — filled with Italian-leather durable-and-a-little-something-extra heels, boots and flats — soldiers on. 126 South 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, headstartshoes.com.
Cake Life Bake Shop
The story has an adorable beginning: Two besties quit their jobs to bake all day, together. In Chapter Two, they win Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. And the ending? This new cafe in Fishtown, where you can grab a cup of coffee and a sausage roll in the morning and a slice of cake (lemon-thyme with honey goat cheese frosting, maybe) any other time of day. 1306 Frankford Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125, cakelifebakeshop.com.
Butcher's Sew Shop
Because we can't take another Pinterest-fail, there's this studio (located in a former butcher shop) where you can learn sewing and pattern-making in multi-week courses taught by instructors who are patient, cool, and so not your grandma. Teacher Amalia Petherbridge is a fan favorite. 800 South 8th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147, butcherssewshop.com.
Head Start Shoes
Every shoe in this stalwart's cobblestone-friendly footwear collection almost entirely handmade in Italy is capable of handling years of city stomping, and has a cool Euro-girl flair. 126 South 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, headstartshoes.com.