Here’s the deal. We want to know what you think about uwishunu.com so we can keep making it a better Philly blog. So, if you take a few minutes to fill out our survey, we’ll enter you to win a night in the uwishunu room at the Westin Philadelphia Hotel.

Go ahead, tell us what you think!

If you’re a regular uwishunu reader, you probably know all about the custom uwishunu room we created at the Westin Philadelphia. Here’s the whole story, but the basic idea is that we gathered more than a dozen Philly artists and designers and asked them to help us turn a hotel room into a work of art. We’re thrilled with the results, and we think you will be too.

To whet your appetite to come visit Philly and stay in the uwishunu room, check out our brand new virtual tour and learn about the hotel experience that Philadelphia made.

Click here for the Hip Hotel Makeover tour. (requires Flash)

Photography by J. Smith for uwishunu.

The Westin Philadelphia
99 S. 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

As you may know, uwishunu has been working with more than 20 Philly artists and designers on what we call our Hip Hotel Makeover. After weeks of hard work, I’m pleased to announce that the uwishunu room at the Westin Philadelphia hotel is fully made over and ready for guests! The room debuted last night to rave reviews, and it was amazing to see the creativity and talent of all those Philly artisans brought together in one place. Nearly every aspect of the room is unique–from the drawer pulls to the shower curtain to the lamps.

Special thanks to Errin Cecil-Smith, who championed the project, and design team leaders R.J. Thornburg and Eileen Tognini, who pushed and pulled all the little pieces together into a work of art. Of course, we hope you’ll call the Westin Philadelphia and book the room for you and your special someone, but in the meantime, here are a few pictures to give you a taste of the hotel room Philly built.

Guests take in the room at Thursday’s opening.

Lead designer R.J. Thornburg takes a moment to savor his creation.

Photographer Jason Smith clowns around with lead designer/curator Eileen Tognini.

Bronze hands created by artist Greg Nangle hold soaps from Philly’s Duross & Langel.

The Westin Philadelphia
99 S. 17th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Photos by J. Smith for uwishunu.

Yesterday we told you about the uwishunu Hip Hotel Room Makeover — underway now at The Westin, Philadelphia. Well, this whole dream is far more complex than I originally envisioned, mostly because we’re trying to involve as many local artisans and designers as possible. Plus, we’re looking at every single thing in a typical hotel room and re-designing or starting from scratch to make sure we offer a uniquely Philly experience.

On that mission, I traveled a few blocks east of the hotel yesterday to check on the room’s “amenities,” which basically means the stuff in the bathroom you can tuck into your suitcase and take home if you really, really like it — items like shampoos and soaps and other cool stuff that smells good.

Duross & Langel, green and natural savoniers of the first order, are making an amazing collection for our uwishunu bathroom, including deeply delicious Cherry Almond hair conditioner and a vegetable protein deodorant with a zesty limon scent that reminds me of freshly bathed children and summer weddings. If you check in, you’ll also get lip balm, shampoo, shower gel and D&L’s Ocean-scent soap, poured and mixed right in the beautiful little cupcake of a shop.

While there I met Steve Duross, co owner with his partner James, and we conferred about custom labels for our collection which will feature the photography of local artist Jenny Lynn, who also joined us for the scentual meeting, together with co-leader of the room design team Eileen Tognini. (Jenny’s also designing our shower curtain but I’ll save that story for later. Hint: think flags and her iconic body imagery.) If you can’t check in anytime soon, you’ll be able to order uwishunu’s custom collection from Steve and James through their website, and if you’re in the neighborhood, it’s a must-stop. You might even stumble in when a soap-making workshop’s in session — maybe you’ll end up making some of our stuff!

When not remaking hotel rooms, Errin Cecil-Smith is uwishunu’s program director.

Photos by J. Smith for uwishunu.com

Duross & Langel
1218 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 735-7075

As you know, uwishunu is all about Philly, especially the stuff that you can find here and nowhere else. If you don’t live here, we want you to come visit - that’s why we created the Philly Like a Local hotel package. But we wanted to go one step further and create a hotel experience that’s as unique and uwishunu as it gets.

I’m excited to announce that on May 31, the Westin Philadelphia Hotel will be unveiling an amazing custom uwishunu room! We’ve gathered some of the finest designers and craftspeople in Philadelphia to totally trick this room out. As a sneak preview, here are some photos documenting the beginning stages of creating the room.

Room 414 is where the magic is happening.

It’s not much to look at (yet), but this bare naked room is a perfect canvas for our designers.

Room designer RJ Thornburg of Bahdeebahdu (left) brainstorms with curator Eileen Tognini (center) and project director Errin Cecil-Smith.

Thornburg’s sketches provide a glimpse of what’s to come.

Stay tuned for more pictures of the uwishunu room!

Photos by J. Smith for uwishunu.com