Entries categorized as ‘seen on the street’
I was stranded at work last night and decided to walk around the neighborhood while I waited on husband dearest to rescue me. The snow was coming down pretty fast so I decided to warm up a block into my little stroll at Open Books, a new independent, not-for-profit bookshop in the heart of River North. Super cozy and filled to the brim with books on every subject under the sun, it was the perfect little oasis to watch the flakes come down.
Open Books doesn’t just sell books– they teach folks how to read them. A literacy program for children and adults is in the same building. If you’re looking for a good volunteer opportunity in Chicago, they have an orientation coming up in March. Sign up here. If you’re looking for a great read and are sick of going to Borders or Amazon, buy local and shop here.
Hardcovers were around $8 and softcovers, $5. I got a new copy of Black Betty by Walter Mosely and am so looking forward to settling down with a cup of tea and Easy Rawlins tonight.
Open Books
213 West Institute Place
Chicago, IL 60610
(312) 475-1355
Categories: seen on the street · urbanisms
219 E. Martin Luther King Boulevard, Los Angeles, 2006.
“But we must see that the struggle today is much more difficult. It’s more difficult today because we are struggling now for genuine equality. And it’s much easier to integrate a lunch counter than it is to guarantee a livable income and a good solid job. It’s much easier to guarantee the right to vote than it is to guarantee the right to live in sanitary, decent housing conditions. It is much easier to integrate a public park than it is to make genuine, quality, integrated education a reality. And so today we are struggling for something which says we demand genuine equality.” Dr Martin Luther King, Jr 1968
North Warwick Avenue at West North Avenue, Baltimore, 2001.
9330 Broadway, Los Angeles, 2007
Mount Elliott Street at East Warren Avenue, Detroit, 1998
All images by Camilo José Vergara. Slideshow found here.
Categories: seen on the street
Tagged: martin luther king street art, MLK day
Please donate to Haitian relief today.
We all have Haiti on our minds today. Thanks to Jeanine at AphroChic, I’m happy to be participating in a Day of Action with other bloggers around the country with posts on Haiti’s unique contributions to art, culture, fashion and design.
Haiti has a vibrant, rich arts history, not just in world class galleries and museums, but in the streets of Port-Au-Prince as well. Haiti’s Tap-tap trucks are a shining example of this.
Tap-tap trucks are used as mass transportation in Port-Au-Prince. Bright, elaborately decorated and often with Christian slogans, their name comes from the noise made by tapping the body of the bus to get off. They are decorated by their owners and privately owned, leaving for a destination only when full. Shouting ‘alé’ gets you on, and you say ‘mesi chofè’ to get off.
You can donate directly to Haitian relief through a number of organizations. Habitat for Humanity is addressing shelter solutions for low-income families. Please consider them in your donations today.
More Places to Donate
Architecture for Humanity
Red Cross
UNICEF
Yele Haiti
Fifteen other bloggers nationwide are also participating in this day to action, with posts on Haitian arts, music, design and culture. Visit them today!
PS I am also participating in AphroChic’s auction for relief today. Please bid on one of the nifty aprons you liked so much! I know you want one! I’ll link it when it’s up.
Participating Blogs
A Life More Fabulous
Bay Area Style File
Design for Mankind
Hammocks & High Tea
It’s Oh So Grand
Jodine’s Corner
Lindsey Lou
Makeunder My Life
Nuvany Nice
Simply Grove
Single Bubble Pop
Styleture
Tam + Sam
The Cubicle Chick
Categories: personally speaking · seen on the street
Today, I apprenticed with photographer Temi Kujore. He taught me how to use his amazing Nikon D700 and even let me screw around with different lenses and flashes. The results will be posted this week, when Houston-transplant Sydnye Allen’s new Hyde Park apartment is featured in Real Homes. We took a little break from the exhausting work– I was on tippy-toes for a lot of it and definitely wore the wrong jeans for contorting myself into all those crazy “must get the shot” positions– to have our portraits done by Temi in the alley. Thanks, Temi!
Categories: midwest is best · personally speaking · seen on the street
ipsento's new back room
Ipsento is my favorite coffee shop in Chicago. They roast their own beans and make a mean latte and their staff are all super friendly and knowledgeable about their business. Their heart is in the right place as well; they not only purchase beans directly from farmers at 25% above the fair trade price, but they’ve also helped develop cooperatives for coffee growers.
love the light fixture
Last night Ipsento opened up their back room for the first time. Almost everything in the room is constructed from doors and old window frames found in Bucktown alleyways and the results are fantastic. There is much more than what is pictured but with it being fully occupied on its first full day open, I didn’t want to be crazy lady with the camera phone. More photos of Ipsento soon. If you’re in Chicago stop in and prepare to be addicted.
bench made from old doors and a window frame coffee table
Categories: seen on the street
Tagged: diy light fixture, ipsento, old door bench
1925 w hubbard street, chicago
I spotted these rusted old garbage containers as planters on Chicago’s Near North Side yesterday. Pretty creative and green idea.
Categories: seen on the street
