Author Archives: Michelle

About Michelle

Michelle is a senior at Seton Hill University in Greensburg, PA. She enjoys writing about fashion and shopping and has a new love of traveling after spending a semester studying abroad in Florence, Italy.

Steel of the Week: Yinzer Bingo

This week’s featured Steel of the Week is Yinzer Bingo by John the Craftist. Seen at Boutique 208, you are sure to get a kick out of this unique bingo card if you are from the Pittsburgh area. All the spaces on the card are relevant to the area, such as “Road Work”, “Pothole”, “Terrible Towel”, “Big Ben Jersey”, with some of the more culturally unique ones being ”Pgh Left”, “Jean Shorts”, “Confusing Intersection”, “80s Bangs”, and “Jagoff”. John the Craftist’s products mostly consist of PGH-centric/Pittsburghese greeting cards, along with magnets, keychains, buttons, gift tags, and other small paper craft items. Zodiac birthday cards are also available. All the products are handprinted, handcut, and hand-folded by John the Craftist, who is actually Thea Okonak of Aspinwall.Yinzer Bingo

 

Along with Boutique 208, John’s stockists include The Mattress Factory Museum, The Shop at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts, Wildcard in Lawrenceville, Koolkat Designs in Mt. Lebanon, and Nota Bene in Aspinwall. John also vends at he I Made It! Market events, and this past year sold with Koolkat Designs at the Three Rivers Arts Festival and with Steeltown Etsy at Handmade Arcade.

You can get a first look at new cards by checking out the Facebook page, http://facebook.com/johnthecraftist. This is where you can also find out the next vending location and interact to give feedback or stories about the products you’ve enjoyed!


Have an item you would like featured as our Steel of the Week? Submit to sotw@iheartpgh.com!

Steel of the Week: Custom Chuck Taylors

St. A ConverseThis week’s featured item is a pair of one of a kind Converse Chuck Taylor shoes. Mad Momma Designs on the South Side hand-painted these sneakers. They are being auctioned on eBay with proceeds benefitting The Feast of Saint Anthony Festival Committee. The Feast of St. Anthony of Padua commemorates the life of the patron saint of lost items, a priest, wonder-worker, and doctor of the Church. This is a festival celebrated annually in Pittsburgh and across the country. Most of St. Anthony’s work was done in Italy, which is why Pittsburgh’s festival is focused on Italian highlights such as an Italian mass, homemade wine contest, and spaghetti-eating contest.

If your bid doesn’t earn you these shoes, there is another way to support the fund. Two all-inclusive trips to Italy (airfare included!) are up for grabs by purchasing a $50 ticket that will be based on the PA Daily Lottery Drawing, 7 pm Thursday, December 26. The trip is scheduled for September 13 through 25, 2014.

The auction ends Friday morning, so make sure you head over and place your bid asap!

Have an item you would like featured as our Steel of the Week? Submit to sotw@iheartpgh.com!

CHS Youth Summer Camp

Community Human Services, a nonprofit in the Pittsburgh area, is introducing an awesome new summer camp for 5th and 6th graders. LEAD Civic Engagement will take place over six weeks and introduce these young students to topics such as leadership, science, arts & music, diversity, environment, and government. The camp will venture into the community for miscellaneous activities, but will primarily be located at the CHS headquarters on Lawn Street. This location is ideal for parents dropping their kids off before going to work in Oakland or downtown. Any student in the age range is encouraged to participate in the program, taking place June 24th to August 2nd.  The program is $125 per week, including volunteering activities and a field trip every week. Scholarships are available. Apply soon by visiting http://www.chscorp.org/. Young students will leave the camp with a lot of knowledge and a new appreciation for making a difference in our community! If you need any additional information, feel free to contact Trevor at tsmith@chscorp.org or 412-246-1615.

Looking for a summer program in the area for teens? Look into the Luminari Teen Writers Workshop by going to http://www.luminari.org/Teen_Writer!_Series.html

Shopping Downtown At the Arts Festival

Visitors interested in shopping at this year’s Arts Festival won’t be disappointed. The Artist Market, which runs every day during the festival from 12-8pm, offers many unique items such as wearable fiber, precious jewelry, and other mediums like ceramics, drawings, mixed media, photography, and paintings. Creators of these pieces come from all parts of the country after applying and being selected to participate. Their art is available for purchase right at the event for you to take home.

Once you’ve finished walking around the market, you don’t have to stop shopping. Many other downtown shops will be open, some late at night and during the weekend, while the Arts Festival is running. The downtown area conveniently offers department stores, boutiques, and retail centers in close proximity. You can also stop to eat at Fifth Avenue Place at 120 Fifth Avenue and check out the many retail shops located inside the center. One of their stores, Crystal River Gems, will be offering special deals on handmade jewelry during the festival. Laurie’s Hallmark is also offering free bracelets every Friday in June with any purchase of at least $10. For a full listing of stores in Downtown Pittsburgh, check out this Shop & Dine Guide from DowntownPittsburgh.com. There is something for everyone in the downtown shopping area during the Arts Festival, from apparel, books, electronics, bakery items, jewelry, shoes, and even wine and spirits.

Here is A List of  Downtown Merchants and their Weekend Hours

Saturday Sunday
Artist Market 12:00pm-8:00pm 12:00pm-8:00pm
Added Touch
120 Fifth Avenue
10:00am-3:00pm
Amazing Books
929 Liberty Avenue
11:30am-4:00pm
Avenue
120 Fifth Avenue
10:00am-3:00pm
Boutique 208
208 6th Street
11:00am-8:00pm 11:00am-5:00pm
Boutique la Passerelle
417 Wood Street
10:00am-5:00pm
Broadway Army Navy
909 Liberty Avenue
10:00am-5:00pm
Brooks Brothers
600 Smithfield Street
9:30am-6:00pm
Burlington Coat Factory
339 Sixth Avenue
9:00am-8:00pm 12:00pm-5:00pm
Canadian Fur Company
625 Smithfield Street
9:00am-2:00pm
Carl W. Herrmann Furs
634 Smithfield Street
9:00am-5:00pm
Crystal River Gems
120 Fifth Avenue
10:00am-4:00pm
Debwal
125 W. Station Square Drive
10:00am-10:00pm 12:00pm-5:00pm
Denim Express
439 Wood Street
9:30am-6:00pm
Designer Outlet
311 Forbes Avenue
11:00am-4:00pm
Eide’s Entertainment
1121 Penn Avenue
9:30am-6:30pm 10:00am-5:30pm
Emphatics
301 Grant Street
10:00am-5:00pm
Ends-N-Odds
125 W. Station Square Drive
10:00am-9:00pm 12:00pm-5:00pm
Heinz Healey’s
160 Fifth Avenue
9:30am-5:30pm
Hometowne Sports
125 W. Station Square Drive
10:00am-10:30pm 10:00am-6:00pm
Jos. A. Bank
230 Fifth Avenue
9:00am-8:00pm 12:00pm-6:00pm
Joseph Orlando
606 Liberty Avenue
9:30am-5:00pm
Kountz & Rider
301 Grant Street
9:30am-5:00pm
Larrimor’s
249 Fifth Avenue
9:00am-6:00pm
Laurie’s Hallmark
120 Fifth Avenue
10:00am-3:00pm
Lydell’s
120 Fifth Avenue
10:00am-3:00pm
Macy’s
400 Fifth Avenue
9:00am-6:00pm 12:00pm-5:00pm
N.J. Richetti Fine Men’s Clothing
301 Grant Street
10:00am-5:00pm
New York New York
125 W. Station Square Drive
10:00am-12:00am 11:00am-8:00pm
Oxford Centre Wine & Spirits
320 Smithfield Street
10:00am-5:30pm
Pennsylvania Wine Cellars
125 W. Station Square Drive
10:00am-9:00pm 12:00pm-9:00pm
Pittsburgh Popcorn Company
822 Liberty Avenue
10:00am-5:00pm
Serendipity Accessories
2 PPG Place
10:00am-4:00pm
Social Status
717 Liberty Avenue
10:00am-8:00pm
ToonSeum
945 Liberty Avenue
10:00am-5:00pm
Unforgettable
Oxford Oxford Center
10:00am-5:00pm
WEAR on Market Square
433 Market Street
10:00am-6:00pm