Top Event Picks at DesignPhiladelphia 2014
Hooley Collaborative Coloring Party | Photo by Katharine Friedgen
The DesignPhiladelphia Festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary October 9th through 17th, and it has packed over 120 events, exhibits, demonstrations, and panels into just nine days. We’ve scoured through the schedule to find the best picks from every day of the festival.
Thursday, October 9th
Property Presents: Tales from the Design World
6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Free admission, registration required.
Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch Street
Hosted by Liz Spikol, who, full disclosure, is editor of Philly Mag’s Property blog, this event brings together designers, architects, and urban planners to spill their funniest at-work tales.
Philly Give + Get
7-11 p.m.
Tickets: $5
Johnny Brenda’s, 1201 Frankford Avenue
Bid on special prizes at this live auction, including two-hour classes and unique activities with Philly-based experts in a variety of fields. All proceeds go to Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory.
Friday, October 10th
Celebrate Jewelry + Zen Inspired Design
5-8 p.m.
Free admission.
Scarlet Alley, 241 Race Street
Sip on “healthy” cocktails and chat with designers about how the discipline of yoga has influenced design in the past decade.
Fast Forward >> Philly
6-8 p.m.
Free admission.
Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch Street
In just 20 slides at 20 seconds each, learn about what’s next for Philadelphia’s creative economy from up-and-comers of the design community.
Saturday, October 11th
Hamilton Wood Type Intensive
10 a.m.- 12 p.m.
Tickets: $15-$75
The Common Press at UPenn, 205 South 34th Street
Work with Hamilton Wood Type + Printing Museum director Jim Moran to compose and print an original letterpress print with lead and wood type from the Common Press.
Society Hill Modernism: Architecture Tour
2-5 p.m.
Tickets: $15
Meets at 5th and Market Streets
Join William Whitaker, curator of UPenn’s Architectural Archives, as he speaks on exteriors and interiors of Society Hill structures. The tour concludes with drinks at the swanky Stratus Rooftop Lounge at the Hotel Monaco.
Sunday, October 12th
Old City Fest
12-6 p.m.
Free admission.
Old City, North 3rd Street from Market to Race
In celebration of the neighborhood’s art & design prestige, the festival will have live music, pop-up theatrical performances, and vendors like Smak Parlour, Franklin Fountain, and The Clay Studio.
Make It Denim! Repurposing Denim Workshop
2-5 p.m.
Free admission, registration required.
Philly AIDS Thrift, 710 South 5th Street
Learn how to jazz up plain, boring denim so it’s chic again. All materials will be supplied, or you can BYOJ (bring your old jeans).
Monday, October 13th
Tour of the Rail Park
11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Free admission, registration required.
Meets at The Perelman Building, 2525 Pennsylvania Avenue
Take a 3-mile tour of Fairmount, Spring Garden, Callowhill and more to see Phase One of the former Reading and Pennsylvania Railroads being transformed into a public park.
Design Your Own Vital Sign: A Make + Take Sign Painting Workshop
6-8 p.m.
Free admission, registration required.
Temple Contemporary, Tyler School of Art, 2001 North 13th Street
Try this hands-on workshop in the basics of old-fashioned hand lettering alongside the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program – and take home your own sign!
Tuesday, October 14th
Storefront Challenge 2014
1-3 p.m.
Tickets: $5
Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch Street
View the winners of a citywide competition to give our storefronts a much-needed face lift, part of a partnership between the Philadelphia Commerce Department and the Community Design Collaborative.
Looking at Interiors: Three Perspectives
5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Tickets $20-50
The Cosmopolitan Club of Philadelphia, 1616 Latimer Street
Hear distinguished panelists discuss interior design inside one of the most historic interiors in the city. Tours of The Cosmopolitan Club will be offered before and after the discussion.
Wednesday, October 15th
Hooley Collaborative Coloring Party
6-8 p.m.
Tickets $15-20
Independents Hall, 22 North 3rd Street
Collaborate with other grown-up people to act like a kid again and color in a giant pattern created by local artists. Taste some drinks and bites from Philly vendors, too.
Ciao Bella: Eight Decades of Italian Shoe Design
6-8 p.m.
Tickets: $25
The URBN Center Annex, 3401 Filbert Street
Check out pieces from the astonishing Robert and Penny Fox Historic Costume Collection at Drexel University while curator Clare Sauro walks you through the history of Italian footwear.
Thursday, October 16th
Philadelphia Game Lab’s Immersive Showcase
11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Free admission.
Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, City Hall, Room 116
Explore new games DapperCat, where players use real objects to design game levels to master, and Third Eye, a virtual reality biofeedback meditation game.
StylePop at Dilworth Park
11 a.m.-7 p.m.
Free admission.
Dilworth Park, Broad & Market Streets, West Side of City Hall
This weekly fashion market in the recently opened park features six local designers in unique pop-up stores. There’s no better excuse to shop than supporting local businesses.
Friday, October 17th
The Hatchery Pop-Up Market
12-7 p.m.
Free admission.
Tyler School of Art, 2001 North 13th Street
The Tyler Design Incubator presents its first annual pop-up market, an exhibition and sale of their own designed wares. Promote the next generation of Philadelphian designers and entrepreneurs with your purchase.
Szenasy, Design Advocate
4-6 p.m.
Free admission, registration required.
Center for Architecture, 1218 Arch Street.
Susan S. Szenasy, the legendary Editor-in-Chief of Metropolis Magazine, will sit down with the Director of the Center for Architecture Hilary Jay and architect and writer Joseph G. Brin for a discussion and book signing.
Looking for more events? See the full lineup here or create your own calendar using DesignPhiladelphia’s “My Schedule” feature.
