For this mid-life (read 50+) baby boomer it’s still shocking to see signs like this one. But since I too use the internet for shopping, browsing, entertainment et al, I guess I get it. Funny how the store front is now the billboard for the website. And yet we still want to touch, sit and generally try on stuff. One stat suggests that 67% of visitors to ecommerce furniture sites don’t buy online.  They simply browse, then go visit the shop and “try on” the sofa, rug or table.

Since everything is media today, I guess a glass front window is as good as any to advertise your website – even if it is on brown kraft paper and hand lettered with a marker! This is probably working too, at least until some old baby boomer decides to rent the space and open that once ubiquitous mom and pop shop: Open 10-5, Monday through Friday.  10-2 on Saturday. Closed on Sunday.

The Riverside area, in Jacksonville, Florida is reinventing the shopping district just west of the St. Johns River. Called Five Points, young Millennials are taking back the store fronts, creating innovative shops and restaurants.

The liquor store, a staple since 1962, has survived the ups and downs of the ‘hood, but now has regular wine tastings at its full service bar as well as a vast selection of wines not normally found east of Napa.

This four block area perfectly epitomizes the “gritty chic” we found in the White Good trends work this summer. Instead of perfectly coifed shops, found in “Disneyesque lifestyle centers,” this trend towards honest, often locally made, one-off shops is storming communities, large and small.

The impact on Gap’s, Banana’s, Victoria’s and ‘bucks will likely be pretty severe. Long live diversity. It is so much more interesting.

Metaphors for our current economic challenges are appearing in unexpected places. The Evanston Art Center, just past Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois is one of those spots.

Smack in the middle of the gallery’s front garden is an Alice in Wonderland-like series of sculptures that, at first glance, seem to be nothing more than a nifty kid’s playground.

Looking closer I found that these “fun” pieces were a statement on the 1-in-3 homes that are “underwater” in this country today. An oversized bucket sculpture is tipped on its side, spilling a sea of sand covering all but the roof structures of a number of “homes.”

Entitled “Trickledown” the work makes us think about the view that a child might have – a “Jack in the Beanstock Giant” sized bucket, tipped over, spilling out dollhouses in sand – and comparing it to the harsh adult reality of our current real estate bust.

The juxtaposition of the child’s perspective to the adult’s may actually be upside down. After all, isn’t it the rational “adult” who has actively participated in this crazy real estate mess? Or is it the child in all of us who has driven the silliness?

Inspiration strikes from here to Italy and back again. For White Good, fall signifies a return to trade shows, beginning with a sojourn to Bologna, Italy.  Home to Cersaie, an exhibition of ceramic tile and bathroom furnishings.

What better locale to celebrate the rich history and innovation of ceramic tile than Bologna? A city with its own storied past and architectural wonders.

Miles of porticos, or covered walkways, protect citizens and visitors alike from the elements. The beauty is in the archways. They draw the eye upward and are reminiscent of cathedrals.  Gentle footsteps fill these passages, along with opportunity to stop often and appreciate the city’s history. It’s not uncommon to come upon centuries-old frescos that feel as though they were painted just yesterday.

It’s a city meant for exploring. An adventuresome spirit overtakes you when confronting some of its mysteries. For instance, the three arrows seen lodged in the dark wood of one portico. Do you believe some who suggest that the arrows were placed there as a joke after a renovation in the late 1800s? Or, the more dramatic story of a nobleman who sent three men to kill his unfaithful wife centuries ago? (The arrows obviously missed in that tale!)

And all this before the show began. Our tour abroad and home again, in search of the latest and greatest, continues.