There’s something a bit magical about a good antiques store. Being surrounded by so many unique items that have their own interesting stories that you’ll never know is a great way to spark your curiosity and imagination. Material Culture in Philadelphia sparks the same sense of wonder and discovery, yet it’s so much more than an antique store, though: it’s a 60,000 square-foot emporium of art, artifacts, and furniture that is sure to get you dreaming about how you can redo your interior design.
Material Culture started out as a rug business called Woven Legends founded by George Jevremovic. On a trip to Turkey, Jevremovic became fascinated with Turkish rugs, and started selling them in the United States. He found that his business could help revive traditional rugmaking and dyeing techniques and provide jobs for hundreds of spinners and weavers in the process.
Along the way, he partnered with Teddy Sumner, and found that there was a market for other traditional crafts, including baskets, textiles, pottery, sculpture, and folk art. Sumner and Jevremovic founded Material Culture to sell these items in 1993, opening in their current space in the former Atwater Kent radio manufacturing complex at 4700 Wissahickon Ave. There, they supported artists in gallery spaces, opened an auction house, and marketed handmade objects from cultures around the world, both contemporary and antique.
Visiting Material Culture today is an overwhelming experience, but in a good way: every inch of the store is stuffed with amazing artwork and beautifully crafted furniture. Their wares aren’t cheap, but nothing of this quality and craftsmanship is. It’s impossible to leave without falling in love with something there – or, more likely, many things – and the store also offers lectures by guest speakers and scholars, collectors and artists, as well as film screenings and pop-up food tastings. If you live close enough to visit and it’s not yet on your radar, set aside some time to check out their website or, better yet, stop in to see it for yourself. It truly is one of Philadelphia’s hidden treasures.
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