On a quiet block in a neighborhood nestled between Rittenhouse Square and the Avenue of the Arts is a curious little shop. Omoi (meaning “thoughts and ideas” in Japanese) is one of Philly’s finest little retail stores. Elizabeth Seiber opened the shop in 2006 as a way to introduce Philadelphia to different cultures through products and as a way to break new brands in the U.S. “I’ve always been fascinated with other cultures – my family has some wonderful and unsual collections from around the world, and I guess I just naturally did the same thing.”

After studying in Japan for the second time, Liz decided to come back to Philly bringing some of east along with her. For over half a decade now, customers have been drawn to her heavily-curated “zakka” shop–a small type of store in Japanese retail culture intended to be packed with brilliantly alluring little treasures.

“I discovered that Japan was the holy grail for collecting. Not only do Japanese artists and companies make some incredible pieces to covert, but they also dominate in the wide world of curating.”

Omoi’s selection of accessories, apparel, home goods and stationery has earned its reputation of being an excellent gift shop, especially amongst the geeky and eccentric crowd. Liz tells us that zakka shops are a mainstay in Japan, with emphasis on every items that may be small in size but have a good quality, feeling and design. “… the idea isn’t to be a shop about Japan, but more like the kind of shop you would actually see in Omotesando or Umeda.” Liz states.

Frequent patrons may notice some recent arrivals in the realm of designer stationery, which has been a popular sell on the website. New to the shop this season are “DAYS Collection” pens, pencils and notebooks, along with tons of new masking tape colors. For the non-stationery geeks, Liz has made mention that the Omoi folks are currently obssessed with playing cards from IDEA, a Japanese home and design company. For lovers of t-shirts from SEIBEI, Omoi is also happy to share that they’ve recently restocked.

All in all, Omoi continues to grow both in-store and online. So be sure to visit the shop on Pine Street, OmoiOnline.com or check out their Tumblr for their thoughts and musings.

Stick a fork in us, we’re done… looking for the perfect Valentine’s Day cards, that is.

Partycake, a Conshohocken-based greeting card start-up launched in early December, is rolling out their second batch of handmade greeting cards just in time for February 14. With lines like “You + Me = Sin” and “I’ve been hit by Cupid. Call the police,” how could we resist?

From the minds of local designers and PhilaMade members Brandon McNeely and Paul Nazarchyk, the line of “crudely concepted, tongue-in-cheek cards” provide all the sharp wit of your favorite e-cards, but with the benefit of locally-designed and beautifully-printed paper.

“It gives us a chance to step away from the computer screen, reconnect with doing print work and laugh for a couple hours. We feel that the effort put into a original, hand-crafted card has more of a personal impact than receiving a .jpeg in your inbox,” says co-founder McNeely.

The designers first explored the idea after a collection of jokes and sketches posted on Nazarchyk’s blog. The Kutztown University grads started sketching, and put out a modest first run of holiday cards – snarky notes about Christmas hangovers or a limited knowledge of the Jewish religion – to great success last month.

Partycake cards have a simple concept: crude, witty characters on quality recycled paper, with an emphasis on craftsmanship and passive aggressive humor. The founders also hope to “restore the hand-made touch lost in most communication today,” adding hand-stamped and personalized thank-you notes for every customer.

The next line of holiday cards are now available online at Partycakecards.com, featuring just the right kind of sexy/crude/passive-aggressive humor to make us laugh and hope our Valentines feel the same way.

Jennifer Hall, who many of you might know as that cute girl from Whipped Bakeshop with the R2D2 bike helmet, is at it again… this time, crafting some seriously adorable Stormtrooper leggings. How’d she make these? Check out the details on her blog.

I designed the stamp and printed the leggings, but I didn’t use the proper fabric paint. Instead, I used acrylic paint with some corn starch mixed in to increase its opacity. I think fabric paint would have been better; they have a little bit of a hand-printed rustic look (which I actually love), but we’ll see if the fabric paint brings more awesomeness to the table.

It does Jenn. So much awesomeness. You can scope out a ton of photos on her blog, and I highly recommend you do.

Oh and Jenn, if you’re reading this… please stop. Our nerdy hearts can’t take much more. *sigh*

Stormtrooper Leggings @ Philly Rawr Blog

The incredibly skilled folks over at NextFab Studios have announced their second annual Project Challenge, dishing out a $1000 prize (you heard me), to the most popular project submitted to the contest. Here’s some more details from their website:

It’s a $1000 prize for what you’ve wanted to be working on all along. Don’t let that project you’ve always dreamed of working on become another New Year’s resolution you wish you had fulfilled – you can do it now, and you can make it here.

Projects should have some physical, material component to them – something that can make use of NextFab’s tools and services – but otherwise don’t be shy! Art, science, invention, or the amazing but inexplicable – all are welcome.

The contest runs through January 6th, and you can submit your project through NextFab’s official website. All entries will be hidden from the public until January 7th, when the voting begins.

How’s it work? You’ll be able to share your project with friends, family, coworkers… anyone and everyone you think might give you a vote. The project with the most votes on January 20th wins. So yes, this is a bit of a popularity contest.

The winning project will be awarded in person at NextFab’s 2nd Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, January 21st.

For more information, hit up the NextFab website. Good luck!
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It’s time for our annual Geekadelphia Gift Guide! Hooray!

This year’s guide features a wealth of local wares. From boutiques in Rittenhouse & Northern Liberties to online Etsy shops, bakeries that whip up Ron Swanson cookies to stores in Chinatown that sell copyright infringing paper lanterns. The guide is pretty diverse, dishing out a little bit of everything from a number of Geekadelphia contributors.

Have a look and enjoy. If you have any of your own picks and suggestions, please do leave them in the comments with information for our readers. There are tons of great local shops and artists here in Philly. Buy something nice from them, would ya?

Happy holidays.

@ericsmithrocks: Looking for something handmade and original? Stop by Sara Selepouchin’s South Philadelphia boutique (and online store), Girls Can Tell, where she crafts wonderful, screenprinted housewares and other super cute things, from journals to prints, tote bags to one-of-a-kind greeting cards. For more information on her wares and the boutique’s hours, visit her website.

For those of you with geeky friends that adore vinyl toys and limited editions t-shirts, there are two fantastic shops you should visit that AREN’T Urban Outfitters… Omoi and Jinxed. Omoi, a favorite Geekadelphia window shopping haunt, is located in Rittenhouse Square, and run by Geekadelphia megacrush Elizabeth Seiber.

If you’ve embarrassed yourself swooning over Liz as much as we have, you can also check out Jinxed in Northern Liberties. The former South Street shop now houses a wealth of repurposed vintage artifacts for hip home decor, from old trunks to point-and-shoot cameras from the 1930′s.

And speaking of cute housewares and collectible prints, you may want to check out Hello World in Rittenhouse Square, or its sister shop Hello Home in Washington Square West. Two great local shops you should certainly spend some time in.

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@allieharch: Whipped Bake Shop. You had us at meat tornado, with your Special Edition Ron Swanson Cookie Gift Box . From the bakery that made Geekadelphia’s epic Battlestar Galactica cake, you’ll find cookies expertly created in the image of the manliest man on earth. Plus cookie steaks.

Secret Lovers. These mega-soft cotton tees from Secret Lovers are so perfectly Philly, I bought half a dozen as gifts for friends. We put a jawn on your jawn so you can jawn while you get your jawn on.

After spending a good chunk of my paycheck to pre-order the new Kindle Fire, I’m leaving the accessories work to you, secret admirers. Rouge Theory make snug-fitting cases for every gadget imaginable, in fabulously graphic fabrics. OMG BABY OWLS.

Check out NomNow and their posters. I’d use this poster as my workday pick-me-up, reminding me to get off Facebook and start creating something beautiful.

Duross and Langell. They make Honey Badger Don’t Care soap! Leave it to a specialty soap store in the gayborhood to make this meme into a reality. (seen here: http://twitpic.com/6mhxo9)

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@mikeyil: Philadelphia-based artist, Britt Miller recently started making her paintings, as prints, available on Society6.com. — She specializes in colorful impressionist/post-impressionist artwork inspired by her surroundings, animals, and life in Philadelphia.

Ed Hall, also based in Philadelphia sells prints of his stunning, modern vector-based artwork. His style is vibrant, filled with visual movement and very modern. He specializes in a combination of detailed illustration as well as repeating patterns compounded with a sharp sense of color.

Rachel Goldfarb, of Rachel Shoshana Jewelry creates one-of-a-kind handmade rings, earrings and necklaces. She specializes working with sterling silver and gemstones. Her work is unique, classy yet has a hip appeal.

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@Danthefan: Support local film and buy a membership for a friend to Philadelphia Film Society.

Signing up at the Best Boy / Best Girl level ($150), you score admit-1 to all year-round filmadelphiaEXPERIENCE screenings, discounts & advance sales for Film Festival tickets, badges & events, discounted admission to all PFS special events throughout the year, one Film Festival 6-Pack (good for 6 regular film screenings during the Festival), and way more.

Scope out some details, here.

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Photo via The Jawn

@PhillyGeekMary: For the furrier members on your holiday gift list, head over to Chic Petique at Liberties Walk for all of your dog and pet needs.

The staff is always warm and helpful, and be sure to say hello to Maesha the store cat! My kitty Flip “Bryz” Roswell personally recommends the wet food brand of Tiki Cat and the Yeowww! Catnip Banana. Chip Petique also boasts the Street Tails Animal Rescue program and the “aPAWthecary,” natural medical solutions for your pet.

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@Saint_Jon: Science geeks are notoriously difficult to shop for during the holiday season. Sodium and potassium need to be stored in kerosene. Dissecting frogs preserved in formaldehyde is smelly and messy. Forget about the process involved in getting a gas container full of hydrogen.

That’s why I go to Spectrum Scientifics in Manayunk. They have all the safe science stuff that won’t land you in jail or on a watch list. I’m getting a wooden trebuchet perfect for office cubicle warfare. Or I may invest in an army of robots to defend my cube. I should probably pick up a planetarium for my niece. Spectrum Scientifics has something for the physics, life science, or electronics geek of any age.

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@ChrisUrie Philly’s tittleandlobe sell awesome awesome looking decals for your oh so stylish macbook. You can get elements from the periodic chart, the silhouette of Don Draper from Mad Men, or a simply a hand written word. Get this one and let people know who you really are.

Bridget McCafferty-Chodak has the graphic tees that you need… if what you need are Probe Droid and AT-AT shirts. Get one for yourself and one for a friend. You can reenact the Hoth battle when it snows! Just don’t hit the person wearing the Probe Droid shirt too hard with a snowball, they might self-destruct.

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@bionicbigfoot Do you have a retronaut in your life? If so, here are some gifts that will blow their minds.

First up, from Chinatown’s mesmerizing Shanghai Bazaar (1016 Race Street) comes a paper lantern emblazoned with the images of Optimus Prime, Megatron, and, for no good reason, Spider-Man. This copyright-infringing wonder is a steal at $1.89, and is certain to give anyone on your shopping list 1980s flashbacks.

And speaking of the ’80s, Brave New Worlds’ Space Invaders magnets transport the timeless videogame from the arcades to your refrigerator. Each blind box toy costs $3.99 and includes two magnets.

And while at the store, pick up Jeffrey Brown’s Incredible Change Bots Two. This sardonic skewering of the Transformers is one of the funniest graphic novels in recent memory. It will run you $14.99, put can you really put a price on hilarity?

Here on Geekadelphia, we love us some It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. The bizarre and hilarious show shines a wacky spotlight on our fine city, and several of us have openly admitted to having a man crush on Charlie Day.

Me? I love the show so much that it has become a traditional gift. Christmas, birthdays, Valentine’s Day (if the lady is a keeper), Easter… you bet your ass you’re getting a season of It’s Always Sunny on DVD.

But as the amount of friends who now own It’s Always Sunny grows, I find myself in trouble. What do I buy them? There’s no way I’m going to pick up some tacky poster off South Street or some lame merch at FYE.

So, I’m off to Etsy.

I’ve rounded up my favorite It’s Always Sunny Etsy picks below. Have a look, and enjoy all the creativity.

1. It’s Always Sunny Pixel People: “Join The Gang at Paddy’s Pub! Featuring Dennis, Mac, Dee, Charlie, and Frank, our stitched tribute to “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” is a quick and easy project for fan in your life (or for you, that’s cool too)… this listing is for a PDF file of the pattern.”

2. Philly: Come for the Crack T-Shirt: If you’re going to get a douchey South Street t-shirt, might as well get one that’s screened by hand. Right?

3. Kitten Mittons Print: A print inspired by one of my favorite episodes. “9″ x 12″ portrait of Charlie Kelly of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia by Lila Gonzalez. Give it to your sister. Put it on your wall. Impress your friends and relatives. Intimidate your cats.”

4. You Pullin’ My Dick, Bro: Hilarious embroidery, one of my favorite quotes from the show. Honorable mention also goes to this Wild Card, Bitches! needlepoint by the same Etsy seller. Well done.

5. Danny DeVito Colorful Print: Have Frank hanging in your living room.

6. It’s Always Sunny, Biblical Style: “The cast of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” find themselves in biblical times involved in the Nativity scene! The Three Wise (Mac, Charlie & Dennis) bring a cheesesteak, Philly blunts and beer to Baby Jesus (Frank) and the Virgin Mary (Sweet Dee).”

7. Dayman Wood Print: “Archival print mounted on an 8″ x 10″ stained Birch wood block.” Just missing the Ah-AHHHHH.

8. The Nightman Cometh Poster: “An 11×17 poster for THE NIGHTMAN COMETH, inspired by IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA and designed by Mark Welser.”

9. I’m Gonna Go Pop My Cateyes In Buttons: “A one inch pin with a standard pinback setup… black font on a golden yellow background.”

10. The Dennis System Print: While not the best designed of the bunch, every man should have the D.E.N.N.I.S. system close at hand, for reference.

Know of any I missed? Leave ‘em in the comments. I have shopping to do.

Welcome to this week’s Geek of the Week, where we highlight the fun and creative people of our city. This week we share a few words with Jenn Hall, local artist. By day, she’s a pastry artist at Geekadelphia favorite, Whipped Bakeshop. Though, her work spans multiple mediums.

So, Jenn, we happened upon you on account of your awesome R2D2 helmet (which we’ll touch upon later) but what can you tell me about yourself in general?

I think I’m really just like any other nerd out there; holed up at home waiting patiently for the zombie apocalypse, day dreaming about how bad ass it’s going to look when I kill like 27 zombies in less than a minute. You know, pretty typical stuff.

Presently, I’m a 25 year-old artist who calls Philadelphia home. I majored in printmaking at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and then went on to study art and geology at the University of Pennsylvania. If there’s an educational path that primes one better for a nerd-tacular artistic career, I don’t know of it.

I work at Whipped as a pastry artist, which has been a great avenue for all my creative energy. I love coming to work and being pleasantly surprised with a chance to make such things as a Buzz Lightyear fondant cake topper, for example.

Tell me a little bit more about that sweet R2D2 helmet you’ve got. How did you make it? Did you start off with some sort of simple one and paint it?

Initially, it was the ugly duckling of helmets. It looked pretty jacked up before I did my fairy godmother thing to it. It was an odd, dark maroon color and it had been used as a rental helmet, so it had sustained damage over time. Long story short, I did a lot of spray painting and clear coating.

Did those mad pastry-decorating skills assist you in creating this awesomeness?

While I owe a lot of my pastry decorating skillz to stuff I’ve learned at Whipped Bakeshop, I think for this project I used my own mad artist skillz, which is really the force that binds everything I do. That said, it actually is comparable in size to a lot of the cakes I work on at the bakery. While I was measuring the different components, I thought to myself, “I feel like I’m measuring pieces of fondant for a cake right now.” I guess if I ever make an R2D2 cake (Would someone please please please order an R2D2 cake, PLEASE?!) I might think to myself, “I feel like I’m making a helmet right now.”

Seems like you’ve got some pretty awesome creative talent across the board, what else do you do?

While not at the bakery, I’m extremely devoted to my own amorphous art career. I definitely have artistic ADD, some days I’ll be drawing/illustrating, some other days spray painting an R2D2 helmet or custom shoes and others I may be working on a sewing project.

Swoon away, nerd guys (and gals).

Left: Rachel, Top Right: Charm Necklace, Bottom Right: Bubble Necklace

Today’s Geek of the Week features Rachel Goldfarb, local jewelry designer and friend of Geekadelphia. We’re taking a look into her life of modern day silversmithing.

So Rachel, how long have you been making jewelry? How did you get started?

If you asked my mom she would tell you I have been doing jewelry type things my whole life. I guess I didn’t properly start until about four years ago when I learned to silversmith. I started to make jewelry for friends and family and then I applied to a craft show to see if I could get into it. To my surprise I did and then my business started!

Where do you draw your inspiration?

For the most part when I am trying to come up with a new design I begin to play with things in my studio. I just start to tinker. I feel like by having fun with my materials I kind of rediscover them and it leads to interesting designs.

Where might the general public be able to purchase some of your wares?

Right now, I have an Etsy store (www.rachelshoshana.etsy.com). I also have my work in a whole bunch of local stores in New York, Pennsylvania as well as New Jersey. By far, the online store has been the best way to get a whole bunch of people to see my work all over the world. I had this great opal ring that someone from Paris, France bought. That made my day!

What’s been the best experience that you can recall from working on this sorta stuff?

I know it is so cheesy but I really love my customers. I love when people see my jewelry for the first time and fall in love with it. You can see it slowly creep across someone’s face and they just have to have something you made. It is really one of the greatest feelings. Then having people come up and say either someone bought them my work as a gift or they bought themselves something and that it makes them feel great to wear it. I mean what is better then that?

Any tips for people interested in developing such a craft?

I feel like you have to totally love and be behind your work at every turn. Jewelry is a really over saturated market and you have to know what you do is exactly what you want to be making. It is hard work to do this full time but at every turn I love my work. In the end that is what it is all about.

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Readers, I’m sure you may have already noticed that her last name and geek-killing good looks might be familiar. Well, she’s sister to none other than Anna Goldfarb of Shmitten Kitten. Talent and creativity clearly run strong in the Goldfarb clan.

At any rate, sure to visit Rachel’s Etsy shop and check out her awesome work or you could stop by one of the following local locations: VIX Emporium in West Philly; Joyeful Boutique in Elkins Park, PA and Dandelion in Ardmore, PA (Suburban Square).

Like any good geek, I enjoy thoughtful things. As both a lady and art school grad, this obviously includes the most interesting of interesting art and jewelery. And I like an artist that allows me to find a sweet pendant ring and then get my man a matching set of Superman cufflinks. So, naturally, you can understand why I have a crush on Etsy’s Comic Salvage.

Oh, and double props to the artist for being from my hometown zip code. We’ve both probably spent more of our time and money than necessary at Jester’s Playhouse.

Be sure to send Sue of Comic Salvage some love on her Etsy homepage and browse about!

Comic Salvage
www.etsy.com/shop/comicsalvage

The two week event will feature various activities ranging from film screening and open mic nights, to mini art festivals and panel discussions.

Of particular interest to you Philly geeks, is the event on the 4th. On June 4th from 10am – noon, Art Sanctuary will host ‘Thinking in Pictures: Writing for Graphic Novels, Comic Books, and Cartoons‘. Afterwards there will be an outdoors festival that will feature an appearance by Brian “Deka” Paupaw.

A more detailed description of the events below.

Even the most well-drawn comic book heroes wouldn’t be memorable without great dialogue to weave the story together. Four of the foremost writers, illustrators, and historians in the comic book world will discuss the importance of black writing in comics and graphic novels. Panelists include Alex Simmons, writer of over 20 juvenile mysteries; Jerry Craft, the creator of the award-winning comic strip Mama’s Boyz; comic writer and exhibitor Dr. William Foster; and noted artist and illustrator N. Steven Harris; with Maurice Waters of Blackscifi.com serving as moderator.

From there, folks can head around the corner to the all-day outdoor festival on Cecil B. Moore Avenue, between Broad St and 13th St, running from 11:00am-5:00pm. The 1:00pm-4:00pm time block is for young people, with young adult author readings, bucket drumming, breakdancers, and the opportunity to meet awesome extreme sports snowboarder Brian “Deka” Paupaw.

The comic book writing panel will be held at Temple University in the Ritter Hall Annex. Both the panel and outdoor festival are free to the public. Be sure to check out the Art Sanctuary website for further information.