This May’s Junto will explore the dynamics of Creative Communities. The panelists are John Freeborn, one of the founders of the gallery and art collective Space 1026, Olive Prince, dancer, choreographer and part of the Choreographers Project at Susan Hess Modern Dance, and Sara Selepouchin, Etsy Teams Coordinator.
I will moderate the discussion which will begin at 7pm. Food and drink at 6pm.
On April 1, 2005 we registered punkave.com.
In honor of our 3rd birthday, please join us for some cake (or mini cannoli) and some beer/drinks.
April 1, 2008, 6pm
P’unk Avenue
1168 E. Passyunk Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Today I start my “one thing for sale” project.
The concept is simple. I will choose one thing to sell in our storefront window on E. Passyunk Avenue. I will type up a description of the object and post that in the window and on this blog. It remains for sale until someone buys it in person. I will post a picture of the person that buys it holding the object and I will ask them to update me on the objects future home (not required). Along with the thing, you get my typed description.
I see this as an opportunity to create connections between people through the sale of a good - a more human way of exchanging things.
It is a comment on how and why we buy things. It is a comment on patience. It is a way to encourage reuse. It is a defense of simplicity.
Equally important, it will help me find a good home for things that no longer serve my needs.
The first object for sale is my Rolodex from Rolling Stone (with some contacts still in there).
The post-it in the window reads:
For Sale: Rolodex $5.00
Gently used. Lifted from Rolling Stone office. Still contains some contact information.
Lovely device, but less useful to me due to advent of address books on computers. Playing with it reminded me of some of its advantages. Rich tactile experience. Easy to add business cards. Physical size forces you to edit regularly. Will still work in an energy crisis (when you need it most.)
Inquire within or window.punkave.com
(That is the first time I used a typewriter to type a domain name.)
If you need a rolodex, please come by.
The other day our good friend, Mike Fleming, did yoga with us and then set up some lights and took pictures of us in the studio. We have been meaning to post them here, but before we had a chance our team has grown again.
You can now find Tom Boutell hanging out with us during the week. Tom created the original WWW FAQ, which continues to be a frequently-consulted “how-to” resource for web developers. Tom was the originator of the gd library, as well as the PNG image file format. At RealNetworks (then Progressive Networks), Tom was instrumental in the creation of RealAudio 1.0, the first streaming audio solution for the web. He has recently written a number of Facebook applications and has expertise in social media programming.
The coolest part of this story is that Tom is someone we have been hanging out with for years at Benna’s Cafe since he lives only a couple of blocks from the studio. We have been thinking about adding another developer to our team for a couple of weeks. When I ran into Tom last Wednesday at Benna’s when I was hanging out with my kids, he mentioned he was looking for work. By Thursday night at 10pm, Tom agreed to join the team!
Chalk another one up for Jane Jacobs’s belief in the value of spontaneous interactions in the city.
If you have visited the studio in the last couple of months, you might have heard me get all dorky about our radiators.
They are not new.
They have been there all along except for a short vacation to Matt Brader’s sculpture shop where they were sandblasted.
The detail that has been revealed in the big one next to the window is breathtaking.
OK. Maybe not breathtaking, but certainly worth a look.
Stop by and take in the glory of our radiators.
We remain committed to sharing what we view in our window… even if it takes us 2 months to post it!
Not sure why someone thought it was a good idea to park 1 inch from our building, but I was not about to complain.
Let us take a deep breath, hold it, and dive into the last month.
John Benson joined us as a half-time employee, his other half spent professing to UArts students and producing interactive projects with EGwrk.
We consumed a few dozen cannoli (Termini being the prevailing producer, Polito’s and Ianelli’s closely trailing).
Earlier this week we received our new letterpressed business cards from Chad of One Heart Press in San Fransisco. Chad and Geoff were classmates in grad school and partners in Trolley Studio, a predecessor to P’unk Avenue.
Geoff fought an epic week-long battle with data storage and (ultimately) won. With the assistance of Chris Matta and SuperDuper his computer is going back to Apple today, his new one on the way.
Last night I discovered our upstairs tenent Collin’s collection of classical music, next week will bring a wonderful mix of Rachmaninoff, Shostakovitch, and Schoenberg.
Today we practiced Kundalini yoga, which culminated in a ten minute crab walk around the studio and meditative air punching.
Annnnnnd exhale.
Welcome to the P'unk Avenue Window, a blog with a view.
P'unk Avenue is Geoff DiMasi, Alex Gilbert, Rick Banister, Johnny Benson, and Tom Boutell.
