Lancaster City Renewal Driven by Stores Like Re:Purpose

Re:Purpose Thrift Store

Last night I found a store in downtown Lancaster that exemplifies the energy that is renewing the city. It is called Re:Purpose and it calls itself an “upscale thrift store.” Their formula is to buy the choicest second hand clothes, merchandise them in a smart way and sell most items for under $10. The effect is an appealing collection of clothes at rock bottom prices offered in a cool environment. It is located in the new artMARKET at Building Character at 342 N. Queen St.

iPhone: Resisting its Siren Song

iPhone’s marketing pitch is beguiling. With just the flick of my finger tip on its polished screen I can do so much. I can get directions to a restaurant. I can stay in touch with friends. I can even make a video. I want one but I resist.

Flyfishing and Craft-Brewed Ale

Elk Creek Copper Ale

How much can craft-brewed ale improve a flyfishing trip? A lot. It can improve a tired Pennsylvania town, too.

Penn’s Creek runs out of a cave in Center County, Pennsylvania and its upper reaches snake their way through steep, forested hills east towards the Susquehanna River. It is home to large brown trout and it is my favorite place to fly fish, especially in October. In October, the fish are active in the cool water and late afternoon sun stimulates hatches of caddis flies which the brown trout rise to eat. The hills are bright orange and the sky can be the deepest blue.

Lancaster Pennsylvania: Rise of the Creative Class?

Mural on East Grant Street

Richard Florida, in his book “Rise of the Creative Class,” says that “access to talented and creative people is to modern business what access to coal and iron ore was to steel making.” He goes on to argue that place is critical in attracting creative people- they want to live in places with a high quality of life, and where they live, business will follow. Is Lancaster, Pennsylvania one of those places?

Fig: Advertising with a Social Conscious

Fig

In the 15 years that I’ve lived in Lancaster City (PA), the downtown has been transformed from a dull and disappointing city-of-yesterday into a vibrant, cultural hub. A major factor in this transition has been the growing art scene. And interestingly, with the growth of art, has come the growth of business. A symptom of this, and perhaps even a cause, is Fig.

Twitter Matters

I conducted a poll at the last meeting of the New Tech Meet Up of Central Pennsylvania. I asked: “Does Twitter mattter?” The majority (58%) said yes. This poll was conducted as part of a presentation and discussion at the last New Tech Meet Up at the MapQuest offices in Lancaster, PA on September 14.

Greenpeace Hijacks Dove’s Brand Message in Parody Video

"Dove on Slaughter"- Greenpeace Video

Social Media puts great power in the hands of individuals who know how to use it. Here’s a case where Greenpeace dealt a powerful blow to Unilever in response to its environmental impact.

Old Navy: Fun Brand, Cheap Clothes

As we walked through the front doors of Old Navy yesterday my daughters, ages 11 and 12, were excited, bordering on giddy. The purpose of our visit was to return three pairs of jeans that my son had purchased last week for $19 each. After one wearing, one pair had a four inch tear and another had a two inch tear. My son, age 15, was bored and skeptical, but that may have had nothing to do with Old Navy. I was annoyed by the remarkably poor quality of the jeans and bracing for an argument with the cashier.

Why Skaters Buy Vegan

Organika and Friends

“Organika’s cool. The skaters are vegan.” said my 15 year-old son as we shopped for t-shirts at Zumiez. He promptly grabbed a tourquoise Organika shirt with a toucan on the front and put it in his shopping bag.

 Shopping for clothes with this hardcore street skater (as opposed to a “vert” skater) is an excercise in discernment- which stores and brands are sell outs and which aren’t. Zumiez is a sell out because it’s a chain and it’s at the mall. Nike is a sell out brand becasue “their skaters are in it for the money.” Emerica’s cool becasue the guys that skate for the Emerica team are not sell-outs. And of course Organika’s not a sell out becasue the guys are vegan. As a student of branding, this is fascinating to me.

The Death of Newspapers and the Future of Journalism?

Since March 2007, 12 US daily newspapers have died according to the the website Newspaper Death Watch (www.newspaperdeathwatch.com). And others are on the ropes, including The Boston Globe and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Of all the drastic economic changes recently, this tops my list of most depressing. I don’t want to think about a world where we get “news” only from blabbering cable pundits.