The Philly Swap-Tastic Recap!

Yesterday I checked out an awesomer-than-awesome swap event  in my old college stomping grounds — the 215 — Philadelphia!

The Event? Philly Swap, organized under the national Swap O’ Rama Rama umbrella. This year, the event celebrated it’s third birthday at the Philadelphia Naval Yard. With a new venue, atmosphere and lots o’ space, the event was bigger than ever — welcoming swappers, silk screen printing services, a VIP-only section complete with free hemming, hair cuts and massages — plus all the feel-good vibes and do-good action that comes FREE! with participating in an event that supports local business, fashion and the DIY community.

So what’s a swap, anyway?

The Idea & Takeaway: Swappers cleaned out their closets — detoxed,  organized and felt revitalized. They brought their unwanted & unworn duds to the Philly Swap for a chance to swap for the style of strangers. A small entrance fee was all it cost to enter into a paradise of UNLIMITED swapping!

The Benefits Were Three-Fold: Philly Swap motivated swappers to remove clutter from their closets, bring that clutter to the swap and in exchange for their do-good actions, get some fresh feel-good fashion in a 100 percent sustainable, swap-tastic way.

I was so excited to be a part of the action yesterday – especially because the organizers of the swap were old friends from my college days in Philly. Big thanks to organizer Michelle Freeman for inviting me to partake in the event as a VIP stylist!

Keep on reading [and looking!] for a full recap of the event — and check out my pre-event recap from last week and for more info. on how you TOO! can host your very own swap event for friends, family & fresh, fun fashion.

The video below is just a sneak peek of the footage I caught behind-the-scenes at yesterday’s event … check back later this week for the full episode of SDV-TV @ Philly Swap!

xx, SD

I took a break from styling swappers to relax in a, uh, pile of swap finds! I’m actually sitting in the kids section so I didn’t take anything home from this particular pile … but scroll on down to see what awesome swap finds I DID find!

Philly Swap // October 3rd, 2010 from Sammy Davis on Vimeo.

The evidence: This is what an organized swap event looks like! Here’s the sneak peek … check back later this week for the FULL EPISODE! Lots to share and experience with me at the Philly Swap .. if I could do it all over again I would ;-)

So check this: It must seem ridiculous that I’m sitting next to a pile of broken umbrellas, right? Well, check out this site Recycling Zychal to understand why I’m doing just that … and check the picture below for the full deets!

So the full deets? Those deceased umbrellas are found by Taryn & Erin, the founders and partners behind Philly-based Recycling Zychal.

They retrieve those oh-so-sad dead umbrellas from the trash, street corners, back alley corners … you get the picture! on stormy days and in essence, take those lemons and make ’em into delicious lemonade by stripping them of the water resistant material and making … you got it! Water resistant hoods. Taryn founded the company by retrieving these dead umbrellas to turn ’em into water-proof vests for her dog. Now they’ve branched out into hoods and can/bottle cozies, too.

I’ve heard a lot about silk screen printing. I’ve even thought about launching my own “Healthy Fashion” T-Shirt using a local silk screen printer to Philly or NYC. But the honest-to-goodness truth? I’ve never seen the silk screening process performed today! I’ve totally been in the dark … until yesterday! When I saw the light!

Above, Jeremy demonstrates how he “prints” the screen onto the shirt. Philly Swap came up with the ingenious idea to recruit the services of local silk screeners, including Jeremy’s company, Derisory Designs, to add designs to the swapper’s cotton tee finds.

I grabbed an extra large tee and turned it inside out to give Jeremy the white space he needed to add this BEAUTIFUL bird. The name? Frank. I know …. that’s what Jeremy said when I asked ’em!

Derisory Designs also offered — get this — a heart design. But this isn’t just any ole’ heart. This is the real McCoy — you could probably teach science class using this image, it’s so on point!

I had to grab a pic with the as-spunky-as-me Ivy, a fellow Philly Swap stylist and founder/designer behind Ivy Glass, an eco-conscious clothing line. She’s rockin’ one of her line’s hats — like my head scarves, hats are a part of her signature, sustainable style! I’m definitely interested in collaborating with Ivy in the future … do I smell an SDV-TV episode in the near future? ;-)

My swap karma was strong at Philly Swap! I found this oh-so-adorable plaid and faux fur fall jacket for some killer warmth when I’m [hopefully!] sipping apple cider and picking pumpkins for Halloween in a few weeks …

And for spring? This classic floral high-waisted cotton skirt. It was one of those pieces I looked at and didn’t think anything of … until I tried it on. It fit like a glove, and makes me feel stylishly sweet. I’ll be storing this away with the rest of my summer/spring clothes, ready to break it out once the seasons turn!

I hate to add this picture at the end … but I only thought it was appropriate to give a final THANK YOU! to Michelle Freeman, one of the fantastic organizers behind all-things-Philly-Swap. She is an event planning maven, and I’m just so blessed to have met her in college and carried that relationship through today. I hope we can combine our talents for a future event!