Naga City: February 2008

Philly A to Z

For this Project, I decided to look at the production industry
in Philadelphia. Our city was once a major industrial city,
producing textiles, steel, beer, plastics, locomotive trains,
and many other products which provided jobs and increased
the size of our population.
Today, that industry is a shadow of its former self,
as with much of the U.S., our economy is now driven
by the service sector, healthcare, and technology.
The following is my documentation of the people of
Philadelphia who still make products and the products
they make, all from an alphabetical perspective.

A is for Adding hops

In the Manayunk Brewery, adding hops is a very important
process in making beer.

B is for Bilenky Cycle Works

Steven Bilenky is considered one of the East coasts
Premier bicycle framebuilders.

C is for Concrete

This is Joel of Humankind Design, he is showing me samples

of the concrete that he makes using all recycled material.

D is for Dovetails

This is Mario Rodriguez, he is a renowned furniture maker.
Here he makes precision dovetail joints for a project that
will appear in Fine Woodworking Magazine.

E is for East Falls Glassblowing

This is Phil taking advantage of glass's liquid nature
as it cools down.

F is for Furfari pretzels

At two o'clock in the morning Charlie and Mike's

hands are faster then the eyes

G is for Gloria

This is Gloria, taking a much deserved break from her
Krimpet making duties at the Tasticake factory.

H is for Howard

Howard is one of the city's best Cabinet makers.
His Clients range from coffee shops to hotels
around the country.

I is for Inspecting his brazing job

This is Carl inspecting his frame finishing work at

Bilenky Cycle Works while
confidently holding his brazing torch, which could easily
set his crotch on fire.

J is for Jimmy

Jimmy is selecting the proper slab of marble needed to

shape and polish for his duties at
Bianchi Stone and Tile Works.

K if for Keeping it flowing

Brewmaster Chris(left) and brewer Collin make
a really smooth Oatmeal Stout among 4 other varieties
at Manayunk Brewery.

L is for Lots of bikes

At Bilenky Cycle works, the guys build all sorts of custom bikes,
from tandem (two person) bikes to cargo carriers,
not much is beyond capabilities of these craftsmen.

M is for Mario

Here Mario displays his unique sidechair, which will enter

the Wharton Esherick competition for design and beauty.

N is for Not bad lookin stool

This is an "Asian influenced" stool which is a product of
the Philadelphia Furniture Workshop.
Last one sold was $700

O is for Oh that glass is so cute

This is a product of East Falls Glassblowing,
it wanted me to take its picture so I did.

P is for Polymer castings

This is a polymer casting made by one of the very talented
artists at the Shermin Mills studios in East Falls.

Q is for Quota of bike frames

At Bilenky, meeting Quota is never an issue,
they are among the best in the business.
6 to 8 months for a custom frame staring around $1100.
Their Artisan series framesets go for $3500 and up.

R is for Ron

Ron really wanted to smile at me while he was pressing
aluminum sheeting at Bork Industries, but he may have
been distracted by the 3 television sets above his head which
where all playing different porn movies from the 70's.

S is for Steelworks

This is Buddy lifting Steel planks a M+M steelworks,
He did not like me at first, but he eventually warmed up
and let me capture is image.

T is for Titanium

This is an S&S titanium coupler on a titanium bike frame.
These couplers allow the bike to be split into two parts
for travel and they also strengthen the integrity of the frame.
Bilenky has been installing these since 1994 when they where
first introduced.

U is for Unlike any glasswork I've seen before

This little fella was made jointly by a class at East Falls
Glassblowing.

V is for Victor Baker

Victor is a custom Jazz Guitar maker in Germantown

whose name is well known in the music industry
and throughout the country.
The price range for his guitars is about $5ooo to $8000

W is for Welding

The welds don't start out pretty at Bilenky, but they end up
as some of the smoothest and strongest in the bike industry.

X is for Xiaoyun

This is Xiaoyun. She makes something that is very important:
My breakfast before I go to work. This ranges from spinach,
egg and cheese sandwiches (fresh baby spinach) to great western
omlettes.

Y is for Yolks

These are yolks which hold the steel rods used in glassblowing,
behind them is the "glory hole" through which molten glass
is accessed.

Z is for Zoltron the Dragon

Another product of East Falls Glassblowing,

Zoltron guards the front door.

Mapping Philadelphia : Spring Garden Street

This Project was a good learning experience for me

in that I found out that it can be just as much of a
problem sticking to one idea as it would be if I
had no idea at all. I wanted to capture the feeling of
motion on a bike in the bike lane. I had the idea to
capture the painted bike person on every block. I had my tripod
and set my shutter speed low. I got to 4th street and my
tripod's head fell off it's body.
Instead of going to plan B, I decided to get my bike
and use it as a makeshift tripod. This worked poorly and the pics
were blurred. I changed the shutter to a faster speed and proceeded
with the plan. The result was 2o something pics
of the same painted bike person with different backrounds.
I did not get the height that I wanted for the shots and after
looking a about 4 pics, I was really disappointed and bored
with the lack of variety.
I did not post this embarrassing work because I felt
it would be better to hand in a late project with a little quality than
an on time project with no quality at all.
Here is my second attempt at motion on Spring Garden:

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