Today Philadelphia is having a huge party to celebrate the Phillies winning the World Series, which started earlier today with an extremely long parade beginning at the square and going south down Broad Street to the stadiums. I was lucky enough to have the chance to watch the parade, and the amount of people who participated was absolutely astounding. As the parade passed people, they would just join in, and it became a huge mass of people walking to the stadiums. It was one of the coolest things I've seen!
Here comes the beginning of the huge crowd!
They're here!
This went on for hours. Just amazing! It's a day for parades!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 31, 2008 3:42 PM
Happy Halloween! I hope everyone has a fun way to celebrate and have a big hurrah before winter arrives!
Here at the home office, we are happily enjoying a number of festivities, including an adorable doggy costume parade thrown by our sister brand, Anthropologie! I went over and had a look, and there were so many cute little costumes! I snapped a few pictures; check them out!
Here comes the parade, led by a cute lobster and a football star!
A cute little bat!
Detective Pug is looking for clues...
Meanwhile Hula Dancer Pug gets ready to dance!
Here we have a great big bumble bee!
...And a little tiny bumble bee!
Last but not least, my personal favorite doggy costume, the Phillies Phanatic! So cute!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 31, 2008 11:47 AM
Spookshows.com just added a collection of vintage poison labels to their collection of Halloween images. You can download a zip file with high quality images and can do with them what you wish. The site suggests cutting them out and putting them on cocktail glasses for your Halloween party!
"Anoka, Minnesota is believed to be the first city in the United States to put on a Halloween celebration to divert its youngsters from Halloween pranks. When Anokans awoke to find their cows roaming Main Street, their windows soaped and their outhouses tipped over, they decided something had to be done."
"Anoka has always worked to keep a family spirit alive in its Halloween festivities. Activities have included pillow fights, a kangaroo court, fireworks displays, royalty coronations, concerts, dances, window painting contests, house decorating contests, celebrity appearances, costume contests, style shows, story-telling, races and, in the 1960s, a snake dance that took long lines of participants in and out of area businesses and homes."
Sounds like fun! Check out the site for more history and some cute old photos.
The other day I spotted a little cardigan I hadn't seen yet on our website, and I think I'm in love! Check out the Colonel Sparkle Cardigan and all the colors it comes in below!
Above, the cardigan is shown in Olive Heather.
Here is the cardigan in Charcoal.
Finally, the cardigan in Blue Heather.
I just love this sweater! I think it is so cute! Which color do you like it in best?
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 30, 2008 11:07 AM
Meet Porter! He is the doggy of our Web Production Manager, Kate, and a very popular guy around the office!
Name: Porter
Nicknames: Porter Pie, Porter Pup, Puppy Love, Porty, Little Dog, Little Man, Al Jowlson, The Most Tragic Dog in the World, Mister Dog
Breed: Lab with a smidge of either pointer, border collie, or something spotted
Likes: Every dog he sees, chasing his feline roommate Franny, stretching after a nap, making his mom feel guilty with that sad puppy face, grandma & granpa's house, sleeping in bed with his humans, carrying and eating sticks
Dislikes: Walking past the dog park without actually going in, going somewhere he doesn't want to, watching his mom walk away, having to be inside the office and not out with his buddies in the play yard
Favorite friends:Agnes the dog, Guaya the dog, his ladies at work, Casey the person, his grandpa Ken
How did you meet? We've wanted a dog forever and after buying a house we finally had the space we needed. We met Porter on the first official day of our search and went back to the shelter three times that week to make sure he was really "the one." The minute we got him home I felt 100% certain he was.
Anything else you want to share? Although I haven't quite figured out how to live my normal life with a dog around, he really is such a good little boy. Everyone tells me they can't believe how calm he is, and he's so sweet with everyone - kids, elderly people, tiny dogs, everyone! Sometimes it's really hard to resist the temptation to just cuddle him all day, I just love him so much!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 30, 2008 10:39 AM
Check out this fun horsey that showed up outside of Building 543 today! He is so festive and perfect for the season! The horse was bought at a charity pumpkin auction!
Those googly eyes crack me up!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 29, 2008 5:13 PM
Heidi over on My Paper Crane made these amazing gingerbread skeleton cookies. They look so cute and delicious. The recipe is vegan and can be found on ChooseVeg.com.
Meet Alissa, one of our Assistant Wovens Designers! I wandered over to her desk today, and was thoroughly entertained by all the cool stuff she has there!
The little matchbox with the "3" on it says "Fosforus" across the top. I don't know why, but I think that is neat! :)
One the left of the nail polishes is a little tiny cake! It's so cute! It was a birthday gift to Alissa from another of our Wovens girls, Pattra! Alissa also really loves the envelope in the back because it was made for her by her boyfriend.
Do you see the cute little birdies sitting along the top edge of her desk?! So cute!!
The woodcarving was made by Alissa and her boyfriend.
These are crazy computer speakers! I love them! They were a gift from her mother.
You might recognize the picture in the middle from our Halloween video- it's Alissa and her little brother dressed up for Halloween!
Hooray! Thanks for sharing Alissa!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 28, 2008 1:00 PM
I love the looks of this book shop in a greenhouse in the garden at The Wapping Project, a hydraulic power station that's been converted to a contemporary art space and restaurant.
The architect writes:
“As an only child I lived in my books and still have every one of them. I also ran a shop in a dis-used hen house at the bottom of our ramshackle back yard where I sold jars of soapy water to myself and imagined who I would be" smiles Wright. "Now I’ve made a tiny glass bookshop with a coal fire, selling the most beautiful books, where everyone can browse and imagine who they might become, while others watch them through the glass and imagine who they are.”
Check out a complete article on the space on Dazed Digital.
As many of you may already know, the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team has gone to the World Series! They have now won four games, and need only one more win to be the World Series champions! Tonight, they play at home here in Philadelphia, and tonight could be the night! Excitement is at a fever pitch, and everyone around the home office has been showing off their Phillies spirit! They all look really cute too!
Yes, that is her ticket to the game tonight! She is one lucky girl! Go Phightin' Phils!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 27, 2008 12:20 PM
How great is this photo? Pairs of wellingtons being inspected in 1939!
The New York Times published an article this week called "The Fashion Report of 1920" about the current popularity of classic, utilitarian clothes, like the Hunter wellie.
Check out Hunter's Original and a short Festival version on FreePeople.com
As you might have noticed, we are really getting in the mood for the Halloween Season here at Free People! It's so much fun!
We went around the home office and asked people to tell us about their most memorable Halloweens. There were so many cute and hilarious stories - have a look at our video and see for yourself!
Don't forget to check out our latest B15 Threads as well! Luren from our Visual Display Team shows us how to make the cutest tutus!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 24, 2008 1:41 PM
Hooray! We have a new Free People wallpaper for you, and it has a super cute Halloween-theme, made for you by our graphic designers! I have it as my desktop right now!
Go here to download it, and be sure to check out our desktop wallpaper set on Flickr for more fun FP wallpaper!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 24, 2008 1:25 PM
Blog reader Alyssa covered this jewelry box with images she found in old Free People and Anthropologie catalogs. It's so pretty! Thanks for sharing, Alyssa!
Halloween in Philadelphia always brings talk of the Eastern State Penitentiary, a creepy old historical prison where they do a haunted house every year.
Right now you can also view an exhibit called Ghost Cats by Linda Brenner. The work consists of a series of white cat sculptures, representing the colony of cats that lived on the prison grounds until the closing in 1971.
This last week in Philadelphia it finally started to get genuinely cold outside, and I imagine it has probably gotten at least a little bit cooler everywhere else too! With the cold weather comes outerwear in various guises, and there are quite a few different ways of keeping warm!
One way to keep warm is by wearing a cute coat, like our Parker Plaid Overcoat, shown here in charcoal.
I saw these ethereal pictures of Tokujin Yoshioka's exhibition in Tokyo on Lark About, and though his natural crystal chair is amazing, what I was really taken with was the crystal-like and smokey stuff hanging from the ceiling! It looks so pretty! Tokujin has more info about the exhibition on his website, and I found a really cute interview with him right here on DesignBoom!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 23, 2008 3:13 PM
Do you believe there's treasures in the ocean? This video by Angus and Julia Stone is so cute. The paper marionettes remind me of our blog header! Have you ever clicked on the curtain tassel? Try it out!
I went around the office today and asked "What is your favorite song right now?"
Here are the answers I got, with links to Youtube or Myspace where you can hear the song. I learned about a lot of artists I had never heard before, as well as re-listening to some old favorites!
I love these benches that look like scrabble trays, with pillow letters! They remind me of playing scrabble with my parents as a kid, and losing terribly, haha! The pillow letters would be fun by themselves too! The benches were designed and created by Stephen Reed for the lobby of a company in London. When I was browsing his site, I also saw these really cool alphabet paperclips! A very fun idea!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 22, 2008 10:24 AM
I've posted one of Ann Wood's castles and a boat before, but this one was made for Halloween! Ann constructed this cardboard wonder for the window at the Lower East Side shop Johnson (you can see it in person until Halloween).
Check out her blog for some detail shots and to hear about the hidden ghosts and enchanted horse!
I really loved these ideas about the sculptural nature of crochet. Wunderkammer on SuperNaturale explores how crochet stitches are not unlike pixels in the way that they are individual elements making up the whole. The artist also points out how technical or organic a crochet can be.
I really love the "CURVE + DECREASE" specimen. That says it all for me!
So beautiful with the autumn leaves! This nest house was designed by Gerard Moline for Droog. The concept is that you can construct this shelter and use materials from the natural surroundings to complete it. Create your own experience that relates to how the animals are connected to their natural surroundings and gain a better appreciation of your own.
Do you love to create and craft? Do you have a favorite craft project? Is there something you've made that is so wonderful that you want to show us how? We would love to see it!
We're looking for all the Free People girls out there to send us their favorite craft projects!
Send us your project with pictures and step-by-step instructions at blog.freepeople@gmail.com! Be sure to include your name, town, and website or blog if you've got one!
We will be trying our hand at the projects ourselves, as well as sharing some of them with you on the blog! Think of it as an internet crafting party!
Check out the craft projects created by RubyEllen and NinkyBink if you need inspiration!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 20, 2008 5:34 PM
It's getting very autumnal outside, and here at the home office, that means it's time to paint pumpkins! People from all the brands got together this afternoon and painted pumpkins which will be auctioned off to raise money for the Children’s Scholarship Fund of Philadelphia. The fund provides tuition assistance to help Philadelphia children, in K- 8th grades gain access to safe, high quality schools. We had such a blast painting pumpkins! Some of them turned out to be real works of art!
Yay autumn!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 20, 2008 4:13 PM
Did you hear that song in Leanne Marshall's final show on Project Runway?
Well FP girl Meredith is in love and has this to say:
"His name is Nathan W McKee and I bought his song on etsy (what a cool idea is that??!!!). I was going to wait to buy his EP in full when he puts it out soon but at $1.20 I didn't see a reason not to just buy that now because I HAD TO HAVE IT.
It make me all giddy and happy listening to it, especially since it's called Cookie Breath!!"
A hearty congratulations to our Free People Fashion Illustration Contest winner, Tuesday Mourning of South Pasadena, California! Hooray!
All of the entries we received were so special, it was really really difficult to pick a winner! You guys are an exceptionally talented bunch, and we had never gotten so many gorgeous illustrations by email and snail-mail before! Thank you so very much to everyone who participated! We truly enjoyed seeing your work!
Since we loved all the entries so much, we are currently in the process of saving them all in a set on our Flickr account, so be sure to check them out!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 17, 2008 11:11 AM
Well, first off I would like to apologize for the lack of a poll last week, and a late poll this week! Last week I am afraid I didn't notice it was Thursday until it already had become Friday! (I'm so embarrassed!) Then this week I wondered if the polls had perhaps become obsolete - but now I am happy to announce the return of the Thursday Poll in full force, due to popular demand! Hooray! Next week we will be back to normal, with the Thursday Polls showing up on Thursday!
For our fun little Friday poll this week, I wanted to ask you all about jeans, since lately I have been thinking about jean fits. It seemed to me that for a while, flared jeans went 'out' and skinny tight jeans were the only style that was 'in.' But lately I've noticed jeans of all styles and fits are coming 'in', and I love the variety!
Shown below are our FP Skinny Denim Jeans, which are a good example of the skinny & straight fit.
Artist/designer Thomas Voorn has created this series of "Garment Graffitti" writing messages in candy colored clothing. As the folks at Refinery 29 pointed out, it might remind you of all the pieces of clothing you've lost in your travels. Kind of makes you imagine all of our lost clothes have found each other, and banded together to send us these messages!
Many of you already know what a huge fan I am of Elsa Mora- her wonderful personality, and her artwork! I am a regular reader of her fabulous blog, so you can imagine my delight when she recently introduced her new, additional blog, which is all about paper-cutting! (One of her many skills.) On it, you can find many of her papercuts, all organized by category, as well as all kinds of information about the art of paper-cutting! Of course, as you can see above, my favorite part is browsing all of her paper-cut work... wow! So delicate!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 15, 2008 2:55 PM
A friend of Free People recommended I check out this great company that donates part of their proceeds to the Louis Animal Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to placing animals that have not yet found their humans in loving homes.
Found My Animal sells these beautiful leashes made by New England rope makers, the strong rope being a great alternative to leather. The leashes also feature bronze hardware and brass tags stamped with FOUND, and each is numbered to keep track of the number of animals that have been helped.
Check out their site for more info and pictures of cute doggies!
The Hand Drawn Map Association is a collection of user submitted maps and diagrams drawn by hand. How amazing are these? I love the idea of archiving something that is typically discarded...
Have some of your own hand drawn maps and diagrams? You can submit them to the archive!
I saw these on Kiosk, and I just love the seller/creator's description about them... Clear lollis made in the traditional way with a candy mold, molds which are 100 years old; the maker has a collection of 300 of them. How fast your pour the lollis determines how clear they will be, clearness = perfection.
Colors: clear, red and green. The tradition was brought to America by German immigrants who historically produced them at Christmas, hanging the little ones in the tree.
We chose these forms to represent Massachusetts, the state we focused on for this first collection: windjammer boat = boat = the Mayflower, bear = black bears = the Berkshires, squirrel = the famous black squirrels of Westfield. Flavor = Sugar Beauty = 100%!
Haha! I love it! I want to see what molds they will pick for the rest of the states for sure!
If you want to possess these tasty suckers for yourself, visit their spot on Kiosk.
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 14, 2008 11:30 AM
Lusitania makes the cutest little felt-wares! She was featured on Penguin & Fish so I had a look at her Etsy, and now of course I have quite the colorful felt wishlist - especially the little pins and the yellow coin purse at the top!
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 14, 2008 11:22 AM
These interesting photos are from a project called Bird & Leaf by Riitta Ikonen and Anja Schaffner. I can't put my finger on what it is that makes me like them so much. The scenery? The leaf costume? I'm not sure, but I really enjoy these. See the whole set right here.
Last week was very exciting here at Free People, because we opened our first We The Freestore! Many of us from the home office were able to pop up and check it out, and our Design Director Doub snapped a few pictures to share with you! I can't wait to go and see it for myself!
Don't forget our ongoing Free People Style Event! Show us your Free People style!
We've been collecting pictures of you and your friends wearing Free People and putting them in an uber-cute set on our Flickr!
Email us your pictures of you and your friends wearing Free People at blog.freepeople@gmail.com! Be sure to tell us your name and where you're from!
xo
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 13, 2008 11:57 AM
Thanks to My Love for You I got the heads-up that Tracemyface Design is having a sale! Check out her Etsy for great deals on posters, prints, and jewelry featuring sweet designs like those shown below! I'm loving the cuckoo clock and the deer, of course...
Posted by pruitt fpgirl on October 13, 2008 11:15 AM
