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And so it begins.

• South Willard in LA has Bernhard Willhelm, Lutz, Hussein Chalayan, A.P.C., Veronique Branquinho, Ann Sofie Back, Alexandre Herchcovitch, Oumi, Band of Outsiders, Rag & Bone, Patrik Ervell, Rachel Comey and Bless 50% off beginning today. We'll be there.
• Footcandy in St. Helena and online has fall shoes 30% off.
• The closing sale for Debout Shoes in Studio City (LA) lasts until December 28th.
• Fishs Eddy in NYC has white dinnerware 25% off through January 8th.
• Smak Parlour in Phili has clothing and accessories on sale for 25-60% off.

Minima has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the store's in Philly we've mentioned up to this point. It's not, we're guessing, owned by enterprising creative young people. Because such people don't tend to open stores where more than one item is priced in the sub-compact car range. But we just had to steal a moment to display this glorious chandelier. It's a one of a kind piece created by Lyn Godley and it was inside Minima's window when we walked by. It's even more stunning in person, when you get a feel for just how large it is. So, if you're in Philly and want to get a feel for modern furniture/lighting design at its most audacious, take a walk through Minima.

What would a new urban promised land be without a graffiti shop? Rarebreed opened a few months ago in the South Street neighborhood of Philadelphia. The store covers street culture/graffiti culture in all its permutations. Books cover everything from subway art to hip-hop albums. Grafitti DVDs are lined up in the dozens.

Art Star is one of those stores we inexpicably missed on our last visit to Philly. But thanks to the wonders of online shopping, we can still peruse their cheerly selection of artist-created wares. We've seen a few of these types of shops in our day and Art Star has executed the concept to perfection. They're picky enough to not let any old handmade item in their shop, but don't take themselves too seriously at the same time.

Besides what we've shown there are also a ton of artist T-shirts and hoodies, prints and original art. The store also holds monthy art shows. But, really, who doesn't these days :).

We heard this statement in passing we don't remember where and it sort of stuck in our minds. Sure statements like this are as ridiculous as "gray is the new black" but there's a certain nugget of truth there. As rents are rising in Brooklyn or LA or SF, artists, designers, musicians, creative young people in general are settling in places where they can afford to live and have a shot at owning a business or a home. We've heard Portland, we've heard Baltimore and we've also heard Philadelphia mentioned time and again.

The "new" Philadelphia has naturally filtered into some interesting shops opening up in the past couple of years.

Vagabond

With a growing base of talent in the area, why not take advantage of it? Vagabond does just that, combining clothing from local designers, their own line of knitwear and clothing, select independent brands from around the country and some funky vintage for good measure.

Smak Parlour

Opened just last year, Smak Parlour is all about in-house creations. The aesthetic is fashionable punk: girly cuts, colors and patterns messed up just so.

Ubiq

For the guys (mostly), there's Ubiq. The shop is sneaker boutique executed to perfection. The building is from another era. The interior is a white-walled gallery with a wall of shoes from brands big and small, domestic and foreign. Like you doubted it for a second, the shop also plays host to art shows from urban artists.

We'll be talking about more stores in a few future posts that we'll link here later.

Update 7/4: And here they are:

• Art Star
• Rarebreed
• Minima