about camaraderie. I stopped by the Italian Market in South Philly because, well, above all other labels, I consider myself a street photographer. I’ve always been an observer – as a high schooler, I stayed on the sidelines of the party and watched others. I’m introspective, but in a good way. So, my photographs represent that side of me. With my camera, I observe and document the world around me. So, back to the Italian Market. As I was getting in people’s way, trying to get the right shot, a meat packer standing outside his shop asked me, “You don’t look like you’re from around here. Where are you from?” I snipped, “No, I’m from West Philly. Forty-fifth and Spruce.” His smart remark was, “Ahhh.”
Putting aside the minor hullabaloo, that meat packer wasn’t attacking me, he was protecting himself and his neighborhood. I could see that there was a bond between South Philadelphians, and I can relate and understand. We live in a global world and because of the Internet, we connect with people in various countries instantaneously. A Benedictine Brother from Lithuania emailed me a couple of weeks ago about making a turtleneck for his robe / scapular. Lithuania! My heavens (pun intended). This globalization is cool, but also kind of scary, so I understand keeping the world a small place as much as you can. For the meat packer, it was knowing everyone on his block and for me, it’s connecting with the like minded people – sewers. Lauren said that she would elbow a woman for the sake of getting her hands on silk linen and you know what? If I were there, I’d elbow that woman right after her. Twice. Maybe three times. Just like the folks in South Philly, we sewers can get down and dirty. You wouldn’t want to know what kind of fight I’d put up for 4 ply silk. I might be skinny, but I can become pretty mighty in the name of good fabric.
