Soaps inside the Center City shop, Photo courtesy Duross & Langel

A pretty cool, free event is going on this Thursday at Duross & Langel in Center City.

From 6-7pm you have the chance to make your own lemon soap to benefit the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation and childhood cancer. The boys at D&L promise to make this a fun-filled hour of lemon soap making and lemon lip balm making demonstrations. All attendees will receive a special lemon cocktail, too! Adults only for this one!

Head over before the event starts to check out some of D&L’s newest items: lemonade lip balm (which you’ll see made at the event); banana kids shampoo (tear and sulfate-free); way shea soap (available through end of March); and ginger grapefruit shampoo.

Have fun!

Duross & Langel
117 S. 13th Street,Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 592-7627
www.durossandlangel.com

You know all those old clothes you’ve got just lying around, maybe crammed in your dresser or on your closet floor? Why not give them a new home, all while picking up new clothes and giving back to the arts?

This Saturday, the Bella Sera Cafe is hosting Swap-adelphia, a clothing swap and benefit for the Village of Arts & Humanities. The event is free, and clothing that isn’t swapped will be donated to the Village’s fashion design class as materials for their upcoming semester.

To learn more about the Village of Arts & Humanities, visit their official website.

Swap-adelphia!
Saturday, February 27th, 2010
3pm – 6pm

Bella Sera Cafe
2146 E Susquehanna Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19125
(267) 939-5178
www.bellaseracafe.com

J Karma Boutique

Tonight, the J Karma Boutique is hosting a fun winter party, complete with fantastic sales, music, and munchies.

The boutique is discounting all of their winter shoes and boots, dishing out savings of 40 to 75% off. You can also preview their upcoming spring line, with one-day-only discounts on new Spring shoes and bags.

Swing by the shop anytime between 5pm and 9pm to take advantage of the sales. And to the join the party, of course.

Shoes & Booze @ J Karma
Friday, February 19th 2010, 5pm – 9pm

J Karma Boutique
62 N 3rd St, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2113
(215) 627-9625
www.jkarmaboutique.com

The Academy of Natural Sciences

Next weekend, the Academy of Natural Sciences is inviting visitors to craft their own jewelry from plants, just in time for the Philadelphia Flower Show.

Participants will meet Jane Kilduff, a judge and participant at the Philadelphia Flower Show, known for her fantastic  nature-inspired jewelry. She’ll share her techniques with guests, and afterwards, class participants can tour the Academy’s George Washington Carver exhibit, to learn how nature influenced him.

Tickets are $30, which includes admission to the exhibits and the class.

Nature Jewelry Craft Workshop @ the Academy
Saturday, February 27th, 1pm – 2:30pm

Academy of Natural Sciences
1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Philadelphia, PA 19103
(215) 299-1000
www.ansp.org

Smak Parlour

This First Friday, the gals at Smak Parlour are hosting a special Valentine’s Day celebration.

Instead of the the usual free wine and cheese First Friday-ers are accustomed to, Abby and Katie will be dishing out Weyerbacher beer and Love Potion shots. DJ The Most will be the scene, spinning through the evening.

Discounts at the shop include half-off all makeup and buy one, get one free on lingerie. Stop by before continuing your stroll down 2nd, but be warned, you may not want to leave.

Smak Parlour
219 Market St, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 625 4551
www.smakparlour.com

Bus Stop Boutique's storefront window

Bus Stop Boutique, my favorite little shoe store in Queen Village, is throwing their first ever warehouse sale this week, all in the name of charity and great prices.

Despite the large selection at the boutique, Bus Stop actually has a warehouse, and it is crammed with winter shoes, boots, and more. The owner, Elena, is dishing out savings of up to 75% off on designer styles from Farylrobin, Terra Plana, Lovely People, F-Troupe, United Nude, and Corso Como.

Best part about the sale? A portion of proceeds will be donated to the American Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund.

The warehouse sale goes down this Thursday, January 28th, and runs through the 31st.

Please note that this sale is not at Bus Stop, but at an old fabric shop down the road (727 S. 4th Street) from the boutique.

Warehouse Sale Hours:
Thursday, January 28th, 11am – 6pm
Friday, January 29th, 11am – 7pm
Saturday, January 30th, 11am – 6pm
Sunday, January 31st, 12pm – 5pm

Bus Stop Boutique Warehouse Sale
727 S. 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 627-2357
www.busstopboutique.com

Bus Stop Boutique's storefront window

Bus Stop Boutique invites you to come get wild and woolly this Friday.

Jurgita Cenkute’s BedHeadSheep will be swinging by the popular Queen Village boutique, bringing her hand-made, one-of-a-kind scarves, handbags, toys, and accessories with her. Cenkute creates her wares using natural, renewable materials. You can learn more about her and her crafts at her official website.

The first hour of the Wild & Woolly will feature a make-your-own teddy bear workshop, during which Jurgita will show guests how to make their own cuddly creation. Space is extremely limited, so be sure to RSVP with Elena (elena[at]busstopboutique.com) if you’re interested. The workshop is free, and all materials will be supplied.

The trunk show starts at 6:30pm. Guests can hang out with Jurgita, and enjoy a class of sangria while browsing her crafts.

Wild & Woolly Workshop & Trunk Show
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
5:30pm to 8:30pm

Bus Stop Boutique
750 S. 4th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 627-2357
www.busstopboutique.com

Sugarcube + Third Street Habit = SugarHabit. Got it? Good.

This Saturday, the two popular boutiques are joining forces for their semi-annual warehouse sale. From 10am until 7pm, the SugarHabit pop-up shop will appear in Rittenhouse Square, adjacent to Parc, right on 18th and Locust.

Shoppers will have the opportunity to pick through over 75 contemporary designers, and save 50 to 90% off most items. This includes vintage wear, accessories, and select menswear. Now you can see why SugarHabit won Best of Philly’s 2009 pick for Mark-Your-Calendar sales.

This is a one day thing, so head over! You won’t get another chance to shop the two stores like this until the Summer.

For more details on the event and for a complete list of vendors, visit Sugarcube’s official website.

SugarHabit Warehouse Sale
Saturday, January 16th from 10am – 7pm

Rittenhouse Square (By Parc!)
18th and Locust, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Sazz Vintage's sign

Starting tomorrow, Sazz Vintage will be selling their entire stock for just $5, regardless of the original price.

The sale runs tomorrow through January 16th, and the shop will be open 11am to 7pm each of those days. The vintage boutique shuts down after the 16th, reopening on Friday, February 5th.

I suggest getting there early tomorrow, before the little Old City shop gets cleaned out. Good luck!

Sazz Vintage Clothing
38 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 923-7299
www.sazzvintage.com

Inside Grasshopper Boutique

Still looking to get some post-holiday shopping done? Stop by Grasshopper today, the earlier the better.

Starting today, the Grasshopper Boutique has permanently marked down prices on a bunch of Fall merchandise and accessories, some items up to 75% off.

Want a sneak peek at what’s in stock? Visit their official website and check out their online store. Happy bargain hunting!

Grasshopper
727 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 925-3959
www.grasshopperproject.com

Inside the Art Star Boutique

This Saturday, January 9th, Philadelphia’s Art Star boutique is welcoming the soft, plush creations of Jenny Harada, Heide Kenney, and Spooky Daddy to their new exhibit.

The exhibition is entitled Sea Party, and with good cause. The works of these three crafters celebrate ocean life, and transform large intimidating creatures (like the giant squid) into soft, cuddly little creations.

You can catch the Sea Party display at Art Star this Saturday through February 14th, with an opening reception scheduled on the 9th. All three artists will be in attendance at the opening.

Sea Party @ Art Star
January 9th – February 14th, 2009

Art Star
623 N. 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 238-1557
www.artstarphilly.com

Inside the Mew Gallery

Next Monday, the Mew Gallery is shutting their doors after three years. Whether it was their wonderful trunk shows or their fantastic exhibitions of local art, Mew always had something going on, and I’m sad to see them go.

Before the boutique closes, the girls are clearing out their stock. They’ll be open through January 11th, selling off their wares, furniture, and fixtures.

So stop by one last time. If you’ve never been there, Mew is one of South Philly’s most charming boutiques, and you should definitely pay them a visit before they close.

Mew Gallery
906 Christian Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
(215) 625-2424
www.mewgallery.org