Last Thursday, the first day of spring, was warm enough that lululemon on Maryland Plaza flung its doors wide open to celebrate the day by offering a hip-hop yoga class.
At 10denza, 44 Maryland Plaza, Proprietor Chris Lanter, above, hosted a "#mad4spring" celebration encouraging guests to "leave winter behind and bring spring 2014 in with you."
While friends and curious shoppers perused the latest spring merchandise, St. Louis Magazine A-List Best DJ Raven Foxx (barely visible in following photograph) entertained. An unusual mix of cds is available for purchase at 10denza, as music is an integral part of the environment Chris, who was a dj during his college years, has created in his very hip shop.
Have you heard the term "Gnoshies"? They were provided by the neighborhood's Gamlin Whiskey House, SubZero, and Taha'a Twisted Tiki, a new Gamlin operation located in The Grove.
The eclectic shop carries clothing and accessories for men and women, shoes, books, children's toys, and more. 10denza's charming shop manager, Kerrie Knoll, is pictured above, and DJ Raven Foxx, wearing a hat, can be seen in the background.
Bartenders served a signature drink from London Vodka, above. Aren't the graphics wonderful, so is the website…"God Save the Queen" and all that.
10denza, 44 Maryland Plaza.
There was a book signing the same evening at Joe's Cafe Gallery, above, in the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood. Author Jack Parker of O'Connells Pub, and artist and proprietor of Joe's Cafe & Gallery Bill Christman, collaborated on the creation of A Gaslight Square Portfolio: Photographs by Thelma Blumberg with Commentary by Jack Parker, $20. Bill is also a co-founder of the City Museum.
The decision to publish Blumberg's Gaslight Square photographs in book form followed a successful exhibition of the late photographer's work in October 2012. Here is a link to my post about that opening.
Jack Parker, who wrote the commentary for the book, is shown signing a copy for local author William Stage, who brought along one of his daughters.
Bill Christman, above, used a rubber signature stamp to add Thelma Blumberg's name to the books.
The book chronicles Gaslight Square during its heyday from the late 1950s through the '60s. Blumberg (whose photograph is shown above) was the entertainment district's official photographer and antiques dealer Richard Draper, whose photograph hangs on the wall above, was considered the unofficial mayor of Gaslight Square. (Click here to view a video of St. Louis and a glimpse of Gaslight during that era.)
The paperback book, with its letterpress cover, was designed by The Firecracker Press. Suzy Rust, Bill Christman's publicist, said that last Thursday's event was very much a "sneak peek" and the book isn't even officially printed yet. Some copies are available at a pop-up at Joe's Cafe Gallery when the Cafe is open (see below). They are working on consignment strategies to place them at Subterranean Books, Left Bank Books, etc.
Joe's Cafe Gallery, 6010 Kingsbury, 7-10 p.m. e/other Thursday (4/3, 4/17, 5/1, etc.).