Shopping Spree

Fashion > Forward: The Grand Opening of the Piazza at Schmidt's

by Felicia D'Ambrosio

This weekend, NoLibs will officially be removed from the Emerging Hip Neighborhoods database and re-listed in the Completely Safe for Nervous Tourists folder. The catalyst? The retail portion of über-developer Bart Blatstein’s Piazza at Schmidt’s complex is finally opening.

From the 26-foot, hi-def TV broadcasting films and Phillies games to the 35 spaces housing boutiques, galleries and assorted edgy retail, Blatstein’s dream of converting a desolate brownfield into a “five-minute neighborhood” has been realized after eight years. He’s got Darling’s Cheesecakes opening a retro diner, The Good Dog crew installing The Swift Half gastropub, and some of the city’s most credible indie designers bolting down their racks and unspooling their bolts.

The Piazza spaces have lured established North-of-Vine brands into new retail storefronts, as well as unknown artists banking on the pedestrian potential of an 80,000-square-foot plaza. Motor designer Kim Montenegro will fit tough girls with her signature laced-and-studded custom denim at Maison du Very Bad Horse (verybadhorse.com), while Carrie Collins of Fabric Horse (fabrichorse.com) will sew superhero utility belts, spats and seatbelt bags for those who pedal a steel steed.

Two local screenprinters are giving their tees their first stand-alone shops at The Piazza. The “Keep Hype Alive” and “Fortune” crewneck sweatshirts by Fresh Melt Water (freshmeltwater.com) could be the motto for Blatstein’s $500 million project. Print Liberation (printliberation.com) is a complete graphic arts company as well as a rad screenprinter — their “You’re Not Dead Yet” ($18) and “Don’t Give Up” ($22, pictured) shirts include inspiration in the price. If something with less coverage and more boning is closer to your speed, Delicious Boutique and Corseterie (deliciousboutique.com) will lift and separate to order.

The hot-pink aesthetic comes to life at two boutique/galleries owned by artists: Amber Lynn Thompson’s Amberella Sugary Sweet Gallery & Boutique and Candace Karch’s Bambi Gallery (bambiproject.com), which is moving out of Fishtown for the more spacious digs at Schmidt’s. Lesser-known, but all trembly with potential, is Mrs. Pleasant (mpvintage.com), selling men’s and women’s vintage clothing alongside prepackaged vegan and vegetarian edibles. 

The realization of the Piazza at Schmidt’s project, which has visitors already hyperventilating over the JumboJawn telly and free outdoor concerts, cements Northern Liberties as the Williamsburg of our sixth-borough city. Now reach for your gas-station sunglasses and hop on your bike, ’cause the free parking that used to be a gimme on Germantown Avenue is over.

Grand Opening of the Piazza at Schmidt’s | Sat.-Sun., May 16-17, 10 a.m.-10 p.m., The Piazza at Schmidt's, Second Street and Germantown Avenue, atthepiazza.com.