Philadelphia

Now that I'm home (in what I've deemed to be a nod to our return to the Northwest, Seattle drizzled rain last night as we stepped off the train, after a solid week of reportedly gorgeous weather), I'm back to blogging! We stopped in Philadelphia for a day and a half so I could interview for a design position with Anthropologie at their headquarters in the Navy Yard. More on that in a moment. For now, let's begin with a large image of a delicious sandwich I had at a lovely restaurant called Marathon, right around the corner from the equally lovely hotel Anthropologie put us in. Right after we finished eating, it downpoured.

We spent the evening dodging in and out of stores to avoid the rain (and were drenched anyway).

The next morning I got up early for a two-hour interview with seven designers at Anthropologie. Their headquarters is literally the most beautiful campus of buildings I have ever, ever been on—each one is a converted warehouse, all glass windows, exposed brick, wood floors, reclaimed and restored furnishings, beautiful couches and chairs, eclectic art and installations, and plants. The entrance to Athropologie's own building (there's one each for Anthro, Urban Outfitters and Free People) featured a table laid with knick-knacks, fabric, and little plants in terrariums. Behind it was a rickshaw, and above beautiful hanging lamps. The third floor is part warehouse, part design studio—so the designers work surrounded by racks of clothing samples, fabric swatches and mannequins. It was literally heaven. The recreational building features an indoor pond filled with fish and marked with mossy statutes, a cafeteria straight out of Martha Stewart Living (think white gauze curtains to separate picnic table "rooms", and large glass pitchers filled with raspberry lemonade), and an elevated gym. I wish I could have taken more photographs, but I didn't think it was appropriate, as I was there for professional purposes...

The interview itself went smoothly too (luckily!). I was rather intimidated by all the talented designers and managers I met, but once we got to talking I calmed down a bit. The interview was for a position on their web and interactive team, and one day after my visit they actually offered me the job. I won't talk about this too much, but as some of you know I had planned to attend Rhode Island School of Design this Fall (literally in one month)—so, given these two incredible opportunities, each with it's own advantages and disadvantages, I spent one torturous week deciding between the two. In the end, I've chosen to attend RISD as planned (if you want to hear more about my decision-making process for whatever reason, feel free to email me). It was very, very difficult for me to turn Anthropologie down—they're a wonderful company and team that I plan to stay connected to. If any of you have the opportunity to work for them or even visit their headquarters in Philly, do it! Definitely!

Images including me by Chelsey Scheffe. All others and editing by me.

The rest of our time in Philadelphia (just one afternoon) was spent walking around the city, enjoying the large-scale murals, historic buildings, carriages, frozen yogurt, little cafes, the Liberty Bell, and a funny encounter with a flamboyant, charming restaurant owner named Vinny.

Next up—Washington D.C.!

Cheers,
-C

P.S. On my last city post, an anonymous commenter requested that I include images of my sister because I always mention her. I just wanted to take a moment to say that there have been photographs of her in every single traveling post—look carefully, because we really do seem alike to the untrained eye (the curse of being a twin). To spot her, watch for squarer glasses, darker hair, and no bangs.