Lower Lawrenceville

Bike Pittsburgh comes to Lower Lawrenceville!

2010-01-29T15:48:00.000-08:00

We just wanted to take the opportunity to welcome our newest neighbors, Bike Pittsburgh.

Bike Pittsburgh is located across the street from Doughboy Square; you can read more about it here.

Bike Pittsburgh is now located at:

Bike Pittsburgh
3410 Penn Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15201

Welcome to the neighborhood, Bike Pittsburgh!

Happening this weekend - December 3-6

2009-12-02T11:03:00.000-08:00

I've been a little lax in updating this for a while, but a few important updates:

1) The Joy of Cookie Tour is this weekend. Many of your favorite Lawrenceville destinations will have cookies and more to try out. Get more info at: Lawrenceville Corporation or Facebook

2) Riverside Design Group is having its annual seconds sale this weekend. Details:

It's the 8th Annual Riverside Design Group warehouse sale to benefit Persad Center; just in time for holiday entertaining and gift giving!

50% of all sales will support Persad Center's counseling and education programs. Items for sale will include:

Riverside Design Group - dinnerware & artisan glass - riversidedesigns.com

Plates With Purpose™ - gifts that give back - plateswithpurpose.com

Vessel Studio - modern glass art and ornaments - vesselstudio.net

Perlora - All U Can Handle accessories - perlora.com

Creations by Ulani - handmade artisan jewelry - creationsbyulani.com

Toffee Taboo - indulgent chocolates - store.allingoodtasteproductions.com

where Riverside Design Group's Warehouse

3441 Butler St, Pittsburgh PA

when Saturday, December 5 9am - 4pm

Sunday, December 6 9am - 1pm

Be sure to come by to check out these events. Many Lawrenceville retailers will have sample cookies and other fun promotions as part of the weekend!

Artist Studio tours this weekend!

2009-10-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

The Lawrenceville Artists Studios Tour is this coming Saturday. Lots of great artists are involved including Tom Mosser and others in LoLa.

Here are the details; hope to see you this weekend.

A million reasons to love lawrenceville

2009-09-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

A few months after James and I opened Dozen Bake Shop in Lawrenceville, we sold our house in Regent Square and moved just a few blocks down from Piccolo Forno on 38th St. Because we started looking for the house in the winter, we didn't really have a good sense of what life would be like on our block or really even what Lower Lawrenceville would become in what has been just a little over a year.

This morning, as I ate my roasted veggie omelette at Coca Cafe, I was thinking about how great it is to live in a neighborhood with so many great destinations well within walking distance. I think Lower Lawrenceville is one of those unusual places with small number of really great businesses. I think that when you look at the food and retail offerings, all of the businesses are really great at what they do.

Shelly at Elements has a really great eye for vintage wares of all scale as well as other locally made art and art objects; Kristen at Obannon has unique, one of a kind area rugs and you'd be surprised at how affordable some of them are; Divertido is a great place for fun but never tacky, unique gifts and wares - something for everyone and great for the people who have everything; Pavement, Accezzorize and Sugar have great local and unique fashion and accessories. Equita has a wonderful store and matching online presence if you want to make sure your purchases are ethically sourced and produced!

And what I find most exciting is the changing food scene in our neighborhood. In the past few months, Tamari has opened its doors to rave reviews (their sushi is great!) and Round Corner Cantina has great cocktails as well as the best tacos I've had since moving here from Chicago over three years ago. Espresso A Mano has great coffee and lattes (I haven't had their cappuccino lately, but Matt knows what he's doing, so they're great, no doubt!), and of course Piccolo Forno is a great spot when you want fresh, quality Italian food. Oh, and I may be a little biased but I think you'll still find the best desserts in town at Dozen.

What I think is so amazing is that all of these places are a five minute walk from my front door. It no mere coincidence that so many great businesses have opened up near each other, nor is it any surprise to me to see our neighborhood bustling at 9 pm on a week night. Somehow I don't think I'm the only person who thinks that Lower Lawrenceville has something great to offer everyone.

I really didn't start writing this blog post as a promotion for the neighborhood. What you're seeing here is gush of someone in love with what's right outside his door step. And there's more here, too, including Jeffrey Smith Studio (where James gets his hair cut... I'm a little thin on top), Allison McGeary Creative (event design), Greybox Theatre (a really neat black-box style theater and event venue), Nancy Mosser Casting (who is casting extras right now for the new Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal movie), Artemis (which is the first and last place you should look if you want to renovate or update your home in an eco-friendly manner), BE Galleries (have you been inside? you need to go check it out!), Radha for everything from yoga to horoscopes, Frankie's (just walk by some day around lunch time for a whiff of their grilled onions), Asian Influences (fine art, furniture and antiques) and T's Upholstery (a great selection of fabrics as well as wonderful re-upholstering).

If you've never visited our neighborhood, come check it out. If you've missed one of the spots on my long list, please come back. This is a great neighborhood - one with a rare collection of locally owned businesses that really know what they're doing - and worth the time. It's one of my favorite reasons for living here.

Sugar Boutique: Spring Soiree

2009-05-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

This Friday night and all day Saturday at SUGAR in Lawrenceville! Meet the designers of Brooklyn-based Feral Childe. Treat yourself to something truly unique while supporting women entrepreneurs and designers.

Feral Childe's playful silhouettes and curiously elegant tailoring gained a devoted following, at home and abroad, among young and old, traditionalists and renegades. Today, Feral Childe is represented by independent-minded stockists who display Feral Childe clothing and accessories among their rarest finds.

FERAL CHILDE is Brooklyn-based and locally produced. From the silk-screened original textile prints to the sewing and finishing of the garments with sculpted resin buttons, FERAL CHILDE is made in New York.

Asian Influences: Second Annual Sale

2009-03-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

Asian Influences is having its Second Annual Sale. The dates are Thursday, March 19th through Sunday, March 22nd. Selected items from their five Galleries include furniture, ceramics, lamps, artworks and objets d’art. Many items have been discounted 15%, 25%, and 50% off their original prices. You can preview many of these pieces on their web page: www.asianinfluences.com

Please stop by and see their wonderful inventory. Hours for the sale will be Thursday 11am to 8pm, Friday & Saturday 11am to 6pm, and Sunday 12pm to 4pm.

Shady Ave Magazine: An Issue All About Lawrenceville

2009-03-08T16:03:00.000-07:00

Be sure to check out the latest issue of Shady Ave Magazine.

The new issue features many of our neighbors in Lawrenceville - including the great shopping, dining, art galleries, and other great features of our area including the new Children's Hospital.

Check out Shady Ave on newsstands now.

Saturday Stroll

2009-03-06T13:31:00.000-08:00

Visit Butler Street every Saturday this Spring and Summer as it comes alive with shopping, eating, and strolling your local business district. With new restaurants opening this Summer, your options will range from omelettes at Coca, Italian at Piccolo Forno, Sushi at Tamari, desserts at Dozen, and several more to come. Word on the street is Tex Mex at the old Sufak's bar.

Shopping begins with a visit to Equita, then down to Accessorize, Allison McGeary Floral, Pavement, Divertido, Sugar, Artemis, Obannon Oriental rugs, and vintage chic at Elements.

And no stroll would be complete without a visit to Be Gallery and Aardvark Art Bazaar.

Spotlight: T's Upholstery

2009-01-09T16:46:00.000-08:00

In this "Spotlight" feature, we'll feature one of our local residents, businesses or other community member. We hope this will give you an idea of the wonderful range of people and places you'll find when you visit Lower Lawrenceville.

Our first "Spotlight" features T's Upholstery Studio. T's Upholstery Studio draws in visitors from around the region looking for the best in custom upholstery and more. Inside their beautiful space, you'll have the opportunity to browse plentiful cases, shelves and walls of upholstery and other fabrics as well as a carefully chosen selection of gifts; small, mostly vintage furniture and other goods.

We thought you should know more about T's Upholstery Studio, so here's our interview with Cindy Kaufman:

LoLa: How long have you operated T's Upholstery?
Cindy: Since 1998 when we were located at 4020 Butler Street in Central Lawrenceville.

LoLa: How long have you been in Lower Lawrenceville?
Cindy: We moved to LoLa in 2002.

LoLa: What kind of Upholstery do you do?
Cindy: Residential and commercial in addition to custom building furniture and cornices.

LoLa: What kind of services do you provide to your customer?
Cindy: We provide custom window treatments including curtains, blinds, shades, and plantation shutters.

We also custom make duvets, dust ruffles, tableskirts and throw pillows; basically any type of sewing for the home, office or institutional setting. We offer decorator consultations and are known for our outstanding customer service. We carry a wide selection of designer fabric, trim, and new and vintage furniture and accessories. T's Upholstery Studio is also a great source for gifts: baby, new and vintage china, linens,buttons,and aprons. Tea Forté specialty teas are very popular with our customers and are stocked year round.

LoLa: Why do you think the LoLa neighborhood is becoming such a trend-setting neighborhood?
Cindy: We are so fortunate to have such beautiful architecture to house an eclectic and fashion forward mix of boutiques and cafés clustered within a few easily walkable blocks an Butler Street. The quality of goods sold and food and drink provided make LoLa a trend-setting destination. We are so happy to be a part of it!

You can visit T's Upholstery Studio at 3611 Butler St. Call them at 412.687.1988 for hours and more information.

LoLa Businesses win City Paper Best Of!

2008-12-10T08:31:00.000-08:00

The following LoLa businesses won Best Of 2008 in the City Paper:

Divertido: Editor's choice, "Best hipster alternative to The Sharper Image"
Sugar Boutique: 1st place, "Best Boutique"
Pavement: 3rd place, "Best Shoe Store"
Piccolo Forno, 1st place, "Best BYOB Dining" and 2nd place, "Best Italian Restaurant"
Coca Cafe, 3rd place, "Best Brunch";
Dozen Bake Shop, #2 "Best Bakery", #3 "Best Desserts", #3, "Best Chef" James Gray

Thanks to all the readers who think we are the best in Pittsburgh!

Interview with Mary Moses

2008-12-06T17:43:00.001-08:00

Mary Moses is a long-time resident of Lower Lawrenceville. We asked Mary to share her story with us:

I have lived in Lawrenceville since I was seven. I must be honest and say that I left when I got married and moved back after my divorce. The years that I did not live here I missed Lawrenceville. I missed city life and being able to walk where I needed to go. It has always been a good place to live. It is convenient for me because I do not drive and can get most places from here in good time.

I have seen changes in the neighborhood and I think that they are terrific. I can walk to many places to eat and shop in my own backyard. We have events both annually and monthly that are interesting and bring people into our neighborhood. I think that events like the house tour, art all night and the cookie tour have really put Lawrenceville front and center.

I really don't like the word "trendy" is sounds too temporary. Like a fad or something. I like "up and coming." We may have been down before but it is getting back to a vital neighborhood. We have many residents with vision and hope for our neighborhood. The possibility of new businesses and neighbors is exciting.

I would like to see more areas for recreation in the neighborhood. I also would like to see improvements that make several places more inviting - green spaces, lighting, open air parklets. We do need a grocery store but it doesn't have to be a traditional grocery store. Trader Joes or Whole foods I think would do fine in Lawrenceville.

I have many memories of life in Lawrencville. I remember when I used to skate on the pond in Arsenal park. I remember going to the movies at the Arsenal theater on Bulter Street. I remember shopping on Bulter Street with my aunt. I don't think that any of these memories are unique but they were my life as a child in Lawrenceville. As an adult in Lawrenceville it was a good place to raise my boys. I got involved in neighborhood groups when I came back to Lawrenceville. It is a way to give back to the neigborhood. As I said before it is and always will be a good place to live.

Thanks to Mary for sharing her story!

Welcome to the Lower Lawrenceville Blog

2008-12-06T17:23:00.001-08:00

Thanks for stopping by our blog. We'll have new content here soon. Look for stories featuring local residents, business owners, and other community members.