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Philly Finds Vol. 11

The final glimpses of fall are upon us, friends. Anthropologie in Rittenhouse already hung up their holiday decorations a week after Halloween – let’s chilllllllll on that. I thought I’d sneak in one more Philly Finds post before the official start of the holiday season and the non-stop playing of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree. Side note: I think I’m becoming a bit of a Scrooge in my old age, bah humbug.

I have a suspicion this will probably be the final Philly Finds of 2019 (!). With that being said, I’d love to get some feedback on this series, and if there’s anything else you’d like included in it!


Cotoletta Fitler Square – best chicken cutlets in the city

Growing up in an Italian family, I’ve been around a chicken cutlet or two in my day. The thinner the cutlet, the better. After hearing multiple rave reviews of Cotoletta in Fitler Square, my family and I had dinner there one night and were not disappointed. Two of us ordered the chicken cutlet, which comes with rigatoni on the side (because no cutlet is complete without some macaroni and gravy action). If you’re looking for a cozy Italian Sunday night dinner, this is the place.


Story Slams with First Person Arts

Consider me a new fan of First Person Arts after attending their ‘Grand Slam’ this past weekend. Ten competitors, who made it through several rounds of story slams, had five minutes to share real life stories, which aligned with the theme of the evening. The stories shared by participants were both hysterical and heart-wrenching – it was the definition of “I laugh, I cried”. After learning about the programs they offer and how they are involved in the Philly community, I left even more in awe:

“First Person Arts’ Applied Storytelling programs can take many forms — from a workshop that helps participants to make sense of trauma in their lives, to a raucous public program that celebrates life and laughter, our work always reflects the specific truths of the communities that we work with.”

To get an even better idea of what they do, check out their YouTube. It’s an awesome organization.


Vintage Finds at Raxx Vintage Emporium on South Street

I’ve found myself willingly getting lost amongst the 80’s concert-t’s and 70’s era tops at Raxx quite a few times. Spend an afternoon here getting lost yourself, especially if you’re in need of a sweet vintage Eagles letter man jacket. You’ll even find quite the assortment of home decor items, such as mirrors, portraits, mosaics (like the one I picked up below) and yes, even human teeth.

Offsite at The Filter Club

Your girl found herself at the opening of Art @ Offsite at The Fitler Club. This program supports Fitler Club’s mission of identifying and supporting high impact opportunities to create a diverse community of civically engaged, philanthropic leaders. 

“The program is made up of two different initiatives. The first is Artists in Residence, made up of 19 artists who have loaned their work for a period of twelve to twenty-four months. All of the Artists in Residence are either from Philadelphia, currently live locally, or have strong ties to the city. Many are teachers at Philadelphia’s finest art schools, including The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University, and The University of the Arts.” 

While Offsite is only open to members, there will be public tours on the first Thursday of each month to showcase Art @ Offsite to non-members.

Thank you for having Positive Publicity – your party was dope.

Philly Artist to Follow: Subnormal Child

I love artist Lauren Schwind’s feminine, cosmic pieces. Simply put, she’s one of my favorite Philly-based artists to follow on the ‘gram.

View this post on Instagram

My favorite drawing so far for @thestresslessco. Making peace with grief. I also wanted to take this opportunity to share what has been coming up for me with grief. And this season of death, life, death. Scorpio season is potent with lessons this year and has been bringing up a lot. Mostly about letting fear and expectations from others has been dictating how I make my choices. I have been thinking about how this is especially the case when I look at my relationship with my father. How fear and shame of not being good enough came from how he treated me and how that has influenced my romantic relationships especially early in my adolescent life. I have had to mourn the loss of time and of self. Time that feels wasted hating myself and harming myself with drug use and alcohol and self mutilation. Having to make peace that what was and allow myself to grieve so I can move forward. Even now I am just in another stage of discomfort over discovering self worth. Am I worthy of being successful doing what I love or am I reduced to being unhappy in jobs I don’t feel good in for the rest of my life? It’s tricky reprogramming what is said or shown to us. That’s the thing that comes up. Because my father taught me my worth was in my output. It was important to have a job and do art on the side. Because artists are a waste of time. You have to work hard to making a living and I tried to suffer for my art to show how hard I was working and thus worthy. I have had this come up a lot and I have to acknowledge it to heal it deeper. I have spent too long not feeling worthy. And even as I push forward into action to heal what was done it’s not as though I am even through it. I am still having to come to terms with things as I unlearn. It’s not that my dad wasn’t a good person it’s just part of the experience. He was hurt so he hurt me and did so unknowingly. He did his best but in the end what we are here to do is evolve what wounds have been placed in front of us by our lineage. And so here I am. Trying to do that. It’s part of my purpose and struggle. And I’m just trying to make peace and learn from, through, with it. . . . . . . #tarotcards #stressless #natural #peace #draw

A post shared by Lauren Schwind (@subnormalchild) on

Gather Group

I want to give a big thank you to everyone who attended the first-ever Gather Group panel last month! It was a great turnout, filled with insightful conversation. Follow Gather Group on Instagram to stay updated on their future events.

Bonus pic: Philly Fall moment in the Art Museum area

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