Immigration: Councilman Mark Squilla Helps Serve Immigrant Communities
Councilman Mark Squilla is the councilman for the First District in Philadelphia City Council. Squilla is the representative for several Philadelphia neighborhoods such as Chinatown, Kensington, Bella Vista, Northern Liberties, Fishtown and Port Richmond. A native of South Philadelphia, Squilla has been engaged in public service for close to 30 years, serving on the Philadelphia Democratic […]
Fishtown: Owner Vipul Patel Opened The City’s First Legal Marijuana Dispensary
Behind tinted storefront glass and an intercom-locked door, lies Vipul Patel’s vision: spotless walls and slick flooring, flanked by flat screen displays and colored bleach-white, with a painstakingly grown ivy backdrop behind the front desk. Restore does its best to subvert the stigma and stereotyping around marijuana culture, at least superficially, a move that Patel […]
Fishtown: Meet The Man Behind the Sound of Philadelphias Music Scene
Brian Hamilton, the founder of smallsound/bigsound, says his business was started by accident. He spends his days designing and building guitar pedals from a loft in Fishtown, but did not always think of his passion for music as a business. From a young age, Hamilton had an interest in music and sound modification. Hamilton started […]
Local Music: Marley McNamara Builds Community Behind The Scenes
Marley McNamara turned her passion for music into a career. McNamara became involved with the Philadelphia music scene through a job tending bar at World Cafe Live. From there, McNamara began booking small shows at the venue. She built friendships with people and started booking shows full-time. McNamara took her music career further and began […]
Fishtown: Yoga Instructor Strives for Deeper Impact Through Practice
Contrary to its name, the wild ride that comes with owning Grace & Glory Yoga Fishtown is not always a smooth or graceful one for Brittany Everett. The yoga studio at 2220 Frankford Ave. is home of the Philadelphia location, the other Grace & Glory is found in New Jersey, and opened in 2015. Everett […]
Fishtown: Joe Primavera Building Community One Music Lesson At A Time
After graduating from Temple University in 2008 with a degree in music, Joe Primavera taught private guitar and piano lessons throughout Philadelphia and parts of New Jersey. Shortly thereafter, he founded Philly Music Lessons, working out of a small recording studio in the basement of his Fishtown home. Soon after hiring a few close friends to teach […]
Fishtown: Get Up’s Gettin’ it in the Park
Anyone who has been to the Electric Factory in the Callowhill neighborhood has seen local artist Get Up’s creations on the walls inside. The 31-year-old Kensington native has been creating street art in the city since 2012, after living and working in Oakland for six years. Get Up is not only a street artist, he is a musician and […]
Fishtown: Tapping Into The Life Of An Irish Evil Genius
Trevor Hayward left his home in Ireland and came to the United States in 2007 to continue his education. He is now the co-owner of Evil Genius Beer Company, which opened March 8, 2017 on Front Street in Fishtown. Hayward, 33, lived in Portmarnock, which is near Dublin, for the first 23 years of his life. […]
Fishtown: Recording Studio Quietly Making Its Name In Variety Of Genres
Spice House Sound opened its doors in Fishtown two years ago, and has been quietly building itself since then. A studio partially owned by Alex Santilli with the intention of providing high quality services, Spice House has worked with a large variety of artists. “Even in rock there’s a huge variety of different-sounding rock records, […]
Fishtown: ‘Men Can’ Campaign Issues Invitation to Join Effort to End Domestic Violence
Based in Fishtown’s non-profit organization Lutheran Settlement House, the Men Can (Prevent Family Violence) Campaign is an initiative to address domestic violence throughout Philadelphia. By providing education, garnering attention and taking new approaches, Men Can is trying to change culture by getting to the roots and core of the abuse. Traditionally, domestic violence prevention has been a […]