Recently I unplugged and took time for myself. I wanted to try something artistic I had not done before, so I took a stained glass class. It was so much fun!
I had learned about the class from a stained glass artist who has studio space in Gallery 222 in Malvern. Her name is Jill Huentelman and her business is Huentelglas. I actually know her a bit and one of her stained glass Christmas ornaments has hung on my Christmas tree a few years.
I love stained glass. I have since I was in elementary school and we took a field trip to a glass blowing and stained glass place. I wish I could remember where it was. I bought a pear stained glass light catcher that I still have today. I have light catchers all over. A bunch from my childhood that my mother gave me, some I found, and a bluebird that belonged to a mother of a friend once upon a time.
Before we started to work on what I was going to create, I learned about a bit of the history of stained glass. Then in with the history came to safety aspects of how to behave in the studio, and how to act around the glass for lack of a better description. Jill is a wonderful instructor and I loved every minute of my time in her studio.
So in the end, I decided I wanted to make a bird instead of a pear. Jill will choose a pear with people to make because that way it is a simple design and not extraordinarily complicated for the first time working with glass like this.
I drew my pattern. Next came choosing the glass.
Jill has so much glass and it’s so cool. There’s plain glass and glass that has pattern and almost texture to the top of it. The glass I chose was reminiscent to me of slag glass I have seen in church windows in Chester County.
Wow, I was learning to cut glass for stained glass! First, I learned how to cut straight lines. Then I learned how to cut curves, and then I was ready to cut out my pattern. It was fun! (And nerve wracking because I didn’t want to make a mistake!)
After I cut out my glass, we did the grinding to smooth any sharp edges and make the design look more like what I wanted. After it was cut out and ground, it got a quick wash off.
Next comes this copper foil. Wound and worked around the edges and rubbed smooth with a special stick which has a name- I think it’s a burnisher, but I think it also has other names.
Next comes the soldering. And soldering involves this stuff that looks like dark Vaseline called “flux.” It makes the soldering stick.
After the soldering and the gluing of the bird’s little eye came another bath and rubbing it down and shining it up with a finishing compound. It keeps the soldering silver and made the glass shine more. It’s a shine and buff.
My class was actually a few hours long and it flew by so quickly it seemed like it was half an hour.
The classes are reasonably priced. You can find everything on her website. The price of the class includes all your materials and there is also a waiver to sign before you enter the studio. Another thing that I should’ve mentioned before is that at various times during this creative process, you rinse your hands off with a special soap that pulls metal and things out of your skin because we’re touching things that contain metals like lead.
It was SO much fun and I think my bird turned out great! So far the classes are just a one off, but if Jill did a series, I would totally sign up! If I took another class, I would like to learn how to make those cool stakes that you can put in your flower pots.
Also, while I was there, I got to see what was hanging on the walls of Gallery 222 in Malvern, which is such an awesome place.
Having art in your life, and the ability for creative outlet is something I’ve always found to be important. Much like gardening, it’s just good for your head and soul.
She’s baaaaacccccckkk! Gail Newman international woman of idiocy and failed politician is back. She’s hosting political meet-ups now. And apparently she’s doing it at local businesses too? She would be as welcome as ants at a picnic one would think, right?
On the face of it, it’s actually hysterical because although she doesn’t know how to win, she is past master of annoy thy neighbors and intrusive behavior isn’t she? She was such a bad candidate she made Kristine Howard look good and now Kristine thinks she should be a judge but that’s another conversation for another day. Oh and Gail still has her state rep page up, so obviously she may try again?
Part of what bothers me with this is did the National Bank of Malvern approve this being posted at their bank? Will they allow other political persuasions to post things now or is this just Gail doing whatever? However, if the bank is getting selectively political, that is kind of problematic isn’t it? I mean they say they are not for sale but define for sale?
The other part of what bothers me is Gail Newman is attempting taking over the tranquility and friendliness of Julie Anne’s Place in Malvern Borough. My guess there is she did NOT ask permission or pay for space because well, girlfriend wants a meet up on March 1st and the favorite breakfast and lunch spot for so many is on vacation until March 3rd, so what’s up? Are they going to meet on the sidewalk March 1st? I mean, why couldn’t Gail just meet on the sidewalk in front of the Wawa like the teenagers and Malvern Borough?
Maybe Gail Newman is just being kind of exclusionary ? Maybe everyone should start going to her gatherings and takeover her meetings? Or be sure to pack Julie Anne’s on days she says her group is going to be there? After all at the end of the day, it is not OK to co-opt someone’s small business like that is it? And a lot of small businesses don’t want groups like this which have an edge for one political side or the other taking over their small floor space because that’s a turn off to other customers, isn’t it?
Gail, have the meetings AT YOUR HOUSE! Show more respect for local businesses.
Since they opened (or since I became aware of them which was pre-COVID, maybe 2018) I have been trying to go in and see what local Chester County business Thiers Custom Framing and Fine Art Gallery located next to where Sheffields is all about. Their address is 223 E. King Street in Malvern Borough.
I love galleries and I have friends who are framers, but I also just love to look at art and I love to look at frames because it always gives you an idea of how to reframe something or perhaps an inspiration. And I also like to support small businesses. So although I would probably never use this business for framing, I would have been totally interested in seeing what art they had. Art is a wonderful addition to any community, and for example I love Gallery 222 also in Malvern Borough. Gallery 222 is fabulous as a matter of fact.
Anyway back to Thiers. I can’t tell you how many times since I became aware of them that I have tried to stop by and go into this gallery/framer. They never ever seem to be open! I understood not being open during COVID, but other than that I’ve never understood it because I know it is not an inexpensive proposition to have a retail store front.
I actually used to think it was just me hitting Thiers at off times. I was just never around when they were open during Malvern Business Association activities like the Malvern Stroll, etc. and when they were open for one Malvern Christmas I was aware of, I just forgot because the street was so busy with all these other things going on that I just never got there. I figured I’d have another opportunity. Well I never did.
So I saw with interest a post that appeared on a local page today (and it was the second one posted – the other post was in June ) :
I subsequently went and looked on the Thiers business page on Facebook. This is all I found:
This business hasn’t posted anything since April. Now that in and of itself is not necessarily unusual because a lot of businesses are not up on social media. And I can certainly sympathize with a small business having family emergencies. However that seems to be the only thing since April, so I have to ask is it still a viable business? Are they still open? Does their landlord or the Malvern Business Association have any input for people? Who is their landlord, because I am told they don’t own their bricks.
I did go to the person who posted and they were kind enough to message me and let me know that they have been emailing and calling for months. So what they would like to know is if there are any other people out there waiting to get what they purchased or pick up items they left for framing?
No one, myself included, wants to do a local small business dirty. But there comes a point in time where you have to communicate with people. People understand life presents challenges, I think we can all agree that since COVID entered our world, we have all experienced challenges.
But it is time for this business in Malvern Borough to do the right thing. They should give this person back their family artwork because that has special sentimental value. They should also connect with anyone else they have anything outstanding with.
Since I first started digging around to see if I could find anything posted whatsoever about this business and what is going on (this morning), something interesting happened. What is that you ask? I was blocked by this business on Facebook. This afternoon. Why on earth would a business with nothing weird going on do that? And is it possible they may have also blocked actual customers trying to connect with them on Facebook and in other ways? I asked a person I know from out of state if they could pull up Thiers and they did:
Thiers needs to understand that NO ONE means them any ill will, people just want to know what happened to them. And customers waiting on framing, want their property back if the business is unable to complete what they had contracted with customers to do. I am not getting into the who is owed money of it all, that is not an appropriate conversation for me to have and above my pay grade.
Now why did I take an interest in this? Well first of all I took an interest because it was a place I always wanted to visit and they’ve never been open every time I have gone by since 2018 (I think that is when I first noticed them) and I’m in that area a lot. Secondly I took an interest because once upon a time, long before I lived out here I took my grandmother’s little writing desk to a furniture maker/repair person whom my parents always had used. Sadly that little desk had been left in pieces when this particular furniture maker and crafts person who had a warehouse in Ardmore died (2006 I think.) Now at that time I was lucky I got my piece back because my mother had several antiques that just flat out disappeared and essentially were presumed stolen. We never knew or found out who took the pieces. It totally bummed me out because these were things my parents bought when they were married, and my father had died in 2005, the year before the furnituremaker died. So this was truly upsetting to my mother back then, and was like another loss.
But I never actually saw my little desk that was my grandmother’s completely put back together. I took it then to yet another furniture maker/repair person after the prior one had passed away. This person subsequently moved a couple of times within the area and I just never heard from them again. So I don’t know what ever happened to the desk or if it was ever repaired. And I remember how that made me feel, which was a little sad.
So that is why I am putting this out there in the hopes that this business in Malvern gets in touch with their customers. Life happens, and if they communicate, it makes life easier on them and customers, right? I am also putting this out there in the event that there are other people waiting to hear from Thiers in Malvern.
Now given that people seem to bitch about everything, they may bitch about this post too. But this is a cool old house in Malvern Borough, and it looks like repairs and restoration are happening. I think that is awesome if so.
A lot of the old houses everywhere just rot, so when you see this it gives you hope that people still care about old houses. Thank you to whomever is bringing this old house back to life.
Today I met a friend for coffee. We went to The Malvern Buttery where I had not been since before COVID19 upended our world. It was nice to be back!
The set up is different still, and no inside seating. You have to wear a mask inside and it’s like one long counter now.
There are all the old favorites plus some new things and grab and go galore. We had an early lunch and my friend had an iced chai latte and I had an iced matcha latte.
It was lovely sitting outside. A lot of the tables have umbrellas. Some people were there with dogs and I saw the most spectacular English Setter!
I have missed The Malvern Buttery and if you haven’t been in a while, go check it out. And they have this fabulous new to me croissant with rhubarb I also highly recommend!
The Malvern Buttery is located at 233 E. King Street in Malvern Borough. Again, right now takeout only Wednesday- Sunday 8 AM to 2 PM.
Eastside Flats in Malvern Borough. Still don’t like them how many years later, although I do support the businesses. So who owns Eastside Flats now because I am uncertain at this point who owns the development and who manages it? It’s not the original developer.
Does everyone remember a couple of different things that put Eastside flats in the news early on? The amazingly and shockingly low amount of ratables Malvern Borough would receive for approving a development still out of scale and character for the Borough of Malvern? And the other kerfuffle when The Whip Tavern said no to Eastside Flats in Malvern Borough?
But then everyone heard Christopher’s was coming to town. It was like that one thing changed a lot of perception about this behemoth of a development. I have always felt like Christopher’s was a kind of anchor that drew people to Eastside Flats and other people and other businesses quite possibly. I know they are what initially made me personally give Eastside Flats a chance.
Christopher’s made Malvern more of a destination, which in turn benefited other businesses and the borough itself. And if there was a community event, Christopher’s in Malvern was right there for the community the way Christopher’s in Wayne always has been.
And for years Christopher’s did things like featured local artists on their walls. And they had wonderful staff. If you told one of the Christopher’s waitstaff you had a particular food allergy or a series of food allergies, they all knew the menu so well that they could bring you a flawless order that wouldn’t make you sick. They did this for a friend of mine one time when we went in for lunch. She had a lot of food allergies and they took care of her so perfectly. (it’s because of all these things that I will continue to go to Wayne once life returns to a more normal pattern.)
Recently, Christopher’s closed their Malvern location thanks to the COVID19 of it all, to return solely to a Wayne which leaves a giant, gaping, empty hole in the streetscape,and also, well they will be missed. In addition to being a wonderful business, Christopher’s offered food that wasn’t formula pub food and you didn’t just go there because it was a bar. You went there because it was a restaurant and it was a nice experience for all ages. It wasn’t huge or cavernous and cold as a space it was kind of just right. But can you imagine what the rent nut was to cover in Eastside Flats?
COVID-19 has caused America’s hospitality industry from coast to coast to take a direct and brutal hit. The largest in history for that industry. Restaurants and other hospitality industry businesses are closing left and right from coast to coast. And I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that not only are they getting no assistance, it’s the rents they are being charged.
But I have to ask, what kind of rent do these commercial landlords think they will get? After all, we are in a struggling in the present economy at a minimum, and nobody wants to look at what the other potential downside is, correct? I also think overall the economy has not been as strong as we have been led to believe. And people will argue with me about that but that’s just how I feel.
Malvern’s charm is in it’s history and size, much like the village portion of Berwyn and similarly scaled small towns and villages. Berwyn is in Easttown Township and a present is suffering from potential development implications of its own, but I think they need to look at what’s going on in Malvern Borough right now.
These new developments come in and even with old developments they will offer a lower rent to get somebody in the door. Then those rents get jumped over time to the point that the businesses have to look at their own financial viability and decide if they want to put food on the table of their families and staff or food on the table of whoever the commercial landlords are.
I know plenty of people who have over the years owned other restaurants or brick and mortar stores in various communities who had to make the painful decision to close because after their initial honeymoon when they first came to town and did business with their respective commercial landlords, they couldn’t justify the rents any longer.
And commercial property owners don’t really necessarily care about the empty storefronts in our communities, it’s about what they can make. So they won’t look at continual lease turnover the same way a community might. If one of their property sits empty, I am told they apply those losses to the bottom line of profits from other properties, so for them, it’s business as usual if a place is empty, right? Greedy is as greedy does right? And a lot of these commercial landlords aren’t local. So they don’t get what happens locally nor do they really care do they?
So now we are here in 2020. In October 2020 which has to be one of the most stressful and heartbreaking years a lot of us have experienced in our lifetimes. And a global pandemic known as COVID-19 is bringing the economy down like a house of cards, card by freaking card isn’t it? Drive Route 30 alone from further west to east to the city line. You really see the empty store fronts. This is no joke.
When it comes to local restaurants, not all of them have the space to put things outside and not all of the communities have the wherewithal to let the businesses put tables outside. And because this virus is not under control, and there’s no shot for it, everything is two steps forward and seven steps back is what it feels like. We are in the midst of additional outbreaks now. Which of course then makes businesses fear they will have to shut down again.
Someone said to me that essentially politics is driving all of this. And you can’t just blame it on one party or the other. Especially out here in these smaller municipalities. They don’t really have political savvy or Wiley Coyoteness. And yes, in Philadelphia they do (cue Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and the giant mess there), but out here? The politicians don’t necessarily run much, they are kind of run, aren’t they?
So when I heard about Christopher’s closing, I mentioned it to a chef in search of a space. And they didn’t want just any space they wanted the right space. And this is a chef who will blow a lot of culinary minds. They have the international and national credentials, they have the knowledge base and experience. So I told them about Eastside Flats. Selfishly, I want them to open a restaurant in our area. A lot of people do. They are also the kind of person who would bring people to the community just the way Christopher’s did and say Alba and General Warren do. It would be win-win to our communities and existing fine dining.
I asked this person the other day whatever had happened with them investigating Eastside Flats. And I think suffice it to say, unrealistic rents on the part of the commercial landlord happened. Did I mention this is a person with business experience? They essentially told me that what was being quoted for rent wouldn’t be sustainable during a normal period, let alone a global pandemic. Essentially, a business needs to sustain itself and with what whomever over there at Eastside is currently thinking, it just wouldn’t happen, that they wouldn’t even be able to break even. It’s a typical commercial property dilemma, and the dilemma is the only party who would be making a profit would be the commercial property owner and what small business in their right mind wants to assume that risk?
I am not an economist, but I remember hearing somewhere once that most restaurants only start to turn a profit in the 3 to 5 year mark if they are lucky and survive that long. Profit is revenue minus costs, both fixed and variable, right? Starting a restaurant is fantastically expensive correct? Also what fits into the equation is also not confusing profitability with revenue generating, yes? Even if a restaurant is generating high revenue, they’re not necessarily reflecting a similar profit, correct?
So I think Malvern Borough and other municipalities need to wake up. Stop just bending over for absentee commercial landlords and developers. Recognize that compromise is something that they have to negotiate so we get quality non-formula and not just chain or franchise businesses in our communities. We need a retail mix that has better planning, essentially. In a lot of other areas municipalities have retail coordinators who help recruit businesses to the communities in which they work and help the negotiation process between potential businesses and commercial landlords. Even business district authorities and business associations will do this. And the simple reason for that is nobody is as invested in the community as the community itself.
Eastside Flats is kind of looking like a ghost town. And they just let a huge opportunity for our community and for them walk away because of unrealistic rent expectations. They might not like my opinion but the first amendment allows me to have it.
So that is your food for thought so to speak for the day. How are your communities being impacted by commercial landlords during COVID-19? And how will the hospitality industry survive and what will it look like after this? And when you are formulating your response try to leave the politics out of it because politicians and political parties come and go but these are our local businesses.
Development is a funny thing. I see all of these amazing adaptive reuse and other projects everywhere but in the area we call home. Chester County is overrun with bad and/or inappropriate plans. And yes there is one that concerns me in Malvern Borough. But first we need to talk about the last development which caused me concern there before due to it’s hulking nature: Eastside Flats.
And at the end of the day one of the biggest problems STILL with Eastside Flats is lack of human scale and inappropriate design for the area. They tower over everything and citify a small town in a way that is architecturally inappropriate. And I would still like to know how fire trucks can navigate this site completely in the event of fire?
Eastside Flats still is in my opinion, architecturally unimaginative and looks like hulky, looming Lego buildings that created a canyon effect in tiny Malvern. That is NOT a reflection on the businesses there which I love and patronize. Nothing about these buildings ties into the quaint Borough of Malvern or it’s history. I said this in 2013 and I still think that.
Empty lot that used to be old store fronts
And again, this has NOTHING to do with the businesses. It’s the aesthetics, lack of human scale and even the crappy scored-to-look-like-brick-concrete-sidewalks which are a slip and fall and trip hazard. And the fact there is STILL no curb cut from the public parking lot so you don’t have to walk over MULCH. I mean how many years will it take to correct that? And there is little room for delivery trucks, so it’s not uncommon to find UPS and other trucks blocking a pedestrian’s path from parking lot to sidewalk. The finishes on the facade of the buildings are also already showing wear.
Eastside flats being built.
The consequences of Eastside Flats caused an election upheaval in 2013. Yet, Malvern Borough is still facing inappropriate development that will be completely out of scale again, in my opinion, if built. And no, I don’t have a horse in this race. I will merely be around to say I told you so if it gets built the way it looks now in the plans.
What was torn down a few years ago….
Here are the documents you can peruse that were sent to me by concerned residents in Malvern Borough (screenshots below are from these documents – it shows the evolution of proposed plans and note it doesn’t look like it’s Malvern at all):
“So much local development that happens before people are aware of it, and then the only thing people can do it complain after the fact. It would be great to get public input on this before it’s an inevitability.
The residents who attended the last PC meeting raising the several concerns about this project are: * Height – it will be out of scale and character with the surrounding buildings and neighborhood behind. They are requesting a variance for height. * Traffic – The proposed design will have people entering leaving at the intersection of King and Bridge, adding to our current rush hour traffic woes. * Construction – How are they going to stage this kind of construction on our overcrowded streets. They are refusing to consider another entrance off of Woodland, which would make this easier. To get the Woodland entrance they would need to purchase 2 parking spaces from the current owner. * Aesthetics – This is a gateway to Malvern. Do we really want a corporate monolith looming above the street as our welcome to Malvern?“
Another resident said:
“I think the applicant should turn his building 90 degrees on its eastern axis nearest Woodland. The short side of the structure takes up only half the King St. frontage of the current proposal. Run the remainder of the building back to the property’s 160′ depth, ending up with the same size building. Plenty of window light all around because the Woodland and King neighbor is small and not deep anyway (which the applicant should buy if possible, anyway). A now 65′ wide frontage (by 43′ high) is far more compatible with the current scale on King. Now, what do you do with the remaining half of the lot to the west? You put in a beautiful hardscape (cobblestones, bricks, maybe even pervious, etc) all the way to the property depth, studded with lots of trees (diminishing a couple or three parking spaces, for sure, but that’s all, and don’t forget, trees reduce bare ground temperature by 30%). Maybe the drive comes in from Bridge or maybe it goes in from Woodland, but that doesn’t matter to the concept. (Woodland is clearly better for traffic, though.) Office parking on the hardscape during business hours. The Borough gets the parking in the evening, without security concerns because no one has to go through the off-limits parking under building.On special occasions we would have a new park-like hardscape area for public events. And most critically, we all enjoy the view from Bridge, seeing lots of trees and openness at Our Town’s last main entrance.” It’s a creative solution instead of a box building that checks all of the bureaucratic boxes. In Malvern it seems we use our ordinances to justify buildings that no one wants. “
I am told that developer folks are asking for like 4 variances: height relief, parking relief, buffer relief (going from 20 ft. to 5 ft.), relief from having to install some kind of parking island? So, if these variances are granted without conditions, such as making them subject to PC recommendations based on SALDO issues, there will be very little the Borough can do to require changes to the plan, right?
Malvern Borough is a Main Street community that should have it’s small town character preserved , not eradicated. Sometimes new is not better.
Ok so I wrote about the site in 2015 when the original buildings were coming down. I felt back then that although I understood there probably there was no way to save the 19th century storefront and other structures given the decrepit buildings they was attached to. But this is the kind of waste that makes me crazy because someone had seemingly sat on this land for the better part of what? A decade or better?
Still lost? Remember where the lovely store UpHome had their first home? Across King from The Flying Pig? What was reported to have been Malvern’s last 19th century store front? There.
So Malvern Borough, you got rid of Malvern Victorian Christmas for something not quite as memorable, although nice. Are you slowly going to be overtaken by things too large and hulking for a small Main Street oriented town? Please consider better.
And Malvern Borough residents? Some of you will send me nasty comments or post them because I am expressing concern here. That’s on you. You can be ostriches or you can get involved with your borough again.
Your choice.
If I lived and paid taxes in the Borough of Malvern I would want better for my community. I would want new construction to fit and reflected the character of the borough. So ask your borough folks when meeting will occur for this plan. Or not. Again, it’s up to you. I am merely expressing my opinion and concern.
It doesn’t matter that my review was mild compared to some reviews out there. Apparently I am public enemy number one. My lot in life as a blogger, especially as a female bloggeress, is I am a baaaad person for having any opinions.
Female bloggers especially are supposed to be seen and not heard. We are supposed to stick to safe, pre-approved topics like trips to Disney and diapers, what we are making for dinner, and similar topics. (You know, the theory of bobble-headed, barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen.)
Never, ever are you supposed to write about how you honestly feel about anything. Never are you supposed to utter a contrary opinion about the sad state of affairs of national politics. Or criticize LuLa Roe. Don’t ever criticize LuLa Roe.
Oopsies. I am just bad I guess?
No, not really. And if a local restaurant wants to crucify a now former customer, that’s on them.
The way their owner and staff reacted on their social media pages is unacceptable and it casts a pall on the entire business community that they are part of. And I am entitled to that opinion and many concur with that opinion. And people who wrote comments stating they thought the restaurant’s behavior towards me or any less than satisfied customer had their comments removed. Or snarky comments were left in response assuring people they could just call or stop in so why then did no one return my call? Their victim? Because I have stopped being their mere former customer and am a victim of their poor behavior aren’t I?
This behavior sends and reinforces a clear message that the customer is always wrong. Is that the message you want people to associate with the businesses in that area?
I feel sorry for these people in a way but not enough to allow them to just harass me via the comments of their followers. My opinion won’t make or break this business but sadly, their attitude and the poor way they have responded might. And that is on them. Sadly.
Anyway, where I was going with this today was in the middle of this swirling mass of bull twaddle something so incredibly nice happened.
Someone left me the beautiful bouquet of flowers you see in the photo above.
Why?
Because I had helped them with their garden and they wanted to show me what had grown.
I think this is one of the nicest things that anyone has ever done for me. And it’s so simple. It’s sharing your garden with a friend. And this is a friend I made because of gardening.
This of course reinforces to me the type of people you want to fill your life with. And the ones you should pass on by.
A quote from Gertrude Jekyll comes to mind:
“A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.”
She also said:
“The lesson I have thoroughly learnt, and wish to pass on to others, is to know the enduring happiness that the love of a garden gives.”
Through gardening I have truly been blessed to meet some amazing people. And now having been in Chester County a few years, I can also say that I am very fortunate to have met some wonderful people just by living here.
Yes life throws you the occasional curve ball and grows a few weeds that require pulling, but the universe has this weird balance to it. Part of that balance is when something unpleasant happens, there is a reminder that for the most part people are good and decent and we should ignore the static.
