Philadelphia is fertile ground for young entrepreneurs, who are staking their claim on popular culture. Check out our slideshow, the first in what will be a reoccurring series of a young creatives across the Commonwealth who have opened up shop for themselves. Here they are, in order of appearance:

Print Liberation's block-printed T-shirts, emblazoned with wry mottoes like "I Survived the Bush Administration" and "Don't Give Up" have appeared on the cover of The New York Times' style magazine T, on Kanye West's blog and on the backs of cool kids everywhere, including Chloe Sevigny. Founder/owners Nick Paparone and Jamie Dillon will also custom-print whatever sly sayings clients want, or teach them to screen print via their book The Screen Printing Primer. The first Print Liberation store has just opened in the Piazza at Schmidts complex in NoLibs. (continue reading below slideshow)


Philadelphia is one of the country's most bike-friendly cities; Carrie Collins' FabricHorse utility belts are even kinder to riders' baggage needs. The sturdy "superhero" belts for men and women merge flash and function, sporting clever pockets and clips for phones, keys, U-locks and beer cash. Collins has recently opened FabricHorse's first stand-alone shop in the shiny new Piazza at Schmidts in NoLibs, a neighborhood easily accessed by steel steed.

New York City native Ada Egloff moved to Philadelphia and quickly discovered the region's rich pickings of vintage apparel. Her passion for the clothing of the past comes to life on June 12, when she opens Oma Vintage. Accompanying a carefully curated selection of men's and women's vintage apparel will be rotating lines from independent designers, like sister Sydney Egloff's exclusive BoyChick collection.

Jeffrey Stockbridge has the tools to print fine art photography. Not only the compact car-sized Epson 9800 printer and 5 gigs of RAM, but the eye of a photographer who has exhibited in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Jeffrey built every element of Stockbridge Fine Art Print, from ripping down walls in his warehouse space to working with artist-clients to obtain the truest printing of their work.

(photos by Mike Persico, words by Felicia D'Ambrosio)