Interview

BEHIND THE BLOG: Conrad Benner

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Conrad Benner began Streets Dept., a successful street art blog about Philadelphia, in early 2011. 

FP: Why did you start blogging?

CB: I was a freelance writer for quite a long time. I was always very fascinated with Philadelphia. What was happening in Philadelphia. Just to sort of talk about what I was interested in from street art to nightlife. After doing that for a few years, I realized it wasn’t necessarily doing anything for me. It wasn’t doing anything for me besides being a paycheck. It didn’t feel very rewarding. I didn’t feel like I was building anything. So I sat down one day and decided to start my own blog. But I thought that isn’t enough. Everyone has a blog. It needs to have some sort of focus. I decided it would be hyper local. I live in this city and I feel like I have a good grasp on it. But I decided it still needed to be more specific. Most of the photos I take are on street art and graffiti. Most of the articles I am selling freelance are about that. So that was how it started. I just fucking did it. I had no idea what I was doing. I still don’t know.  And you just do it. You take one step at a time.

FP: When did you begin blogging?

CB: This brainstorming started in late 2010. At that time, I had been working three years on a blog called Philthy blog and doing some freelance stuff. Streets Dept. started January 11th, 2011. So a little over four years ago.

FP: How did you become interested in street art?

CB: I grew up in Fishtown. I have lived in this city my whole life. I am 29 now. I have walked the same streets a million times. You go to and from school the same way every day. You go to and from work the same way every day. Something that really excites me is when something new happens. Maybe there is a new mural or a new tag or a new sticker. It always just caught my eye. As a kid, I would buy books about graffiti. When the internet came out in early high school, I started reading all sorts of street art blogs.

I think street art is a little more inclusive than gallery or museum art. It’s so easy to interact with it. It’s all around you. You don’t have to know anything about art to be accepted into viewing the art or appreciative of it. It’s on your commute. Often times its bright bold colors and lines and really graphic. So I was just drawn to it. I thought we had to be celebrating these artists more than we were.

But in Philadelphia, you can have a voice. You can push change.

FP: What is your favorite thing about Philadelphia right now?

CB: The excitement right now. It’s a really exciting place to live. Everyone I know who lives in New York City is talking about Philly and considering moving here. That’s a first time at least in my lifetime that this has been the case. Growing up, I always thought maybe one day I would move to New York. I think there has been a paradigm shift and now people there are realizing the potential and opportunities here. As opposed to places like NYC where there are all these obstacles in your way which are insurmountable in certain ways. Things are incredibly overpriced there. It is such an established city. 

Philly is in a place right now where it’s being reborn. The people living here are shaping the way of its future. So in a lot of ways a place like New York is already shaped. There is a billionaire’s row. It is harder to have a voice. But in Philadelphia, you can have a voice. You can push change.

The SEPTA petition I started last year is a good example of that. I just started the petition online and in the course of a year subways are running at night now. That is because a lot of people signed the petition and the city recognized that it is something people wanted. There is so much that people want right now. The city is changing. That would not have happened in the 90s when there wasn’t this energy or this resurgence. But the city is seeing the potential and opportunities of these new people coming in and the services we need to reinstate.

What’s your favorite thing about Philly in one word? Potential

FP: There is an entrepreneurial spirit of the person who begins their own blog. How has you being a blogger made you an entrepreneur?

CB: I just read this awesome article on why millennials are obsessed with entrepreneurship. We saw our parents’ generation work really hard for big corporations their entire lives and then get fucked over when the economy collapsed in 2008. People like my Dad lost his pension. My mom lost her job. So our generation saw that and said fuck that. Why would I work 50 years for a company that could potentially rip the rug from under my feet? I think our generation felt screwed by big corporations and I don’t think we feel their interests are in us. I think we are very driven to work for ourselves because we can only really rely on ourselves at this point.

I think the age we live with social media has made it so much easier to start things like this. I started a store on my blog recently this past month. As long as you put the effort in the tools are there and the tools are relatively cheap. The tools are there. All you have to do is pick them up and use them for yourself.

Benner has approximately 104,000 followers on social media.

FP: How often do you blog?

CB: That has changed over the years. My original idea was the more the better. So when I first started I thought it was all about quantity over quality. But now it is more about quality. So now I post one to three times a week. Sometimes it’s more. But we are in a weird shift where do people really read blogs? I get way more engagement on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram than I do on my blog. So I try to create more content for those platforms. I try to make the blog a special place where the content is longer form and gives people a reason to go there.

16 LAST QUESTIONS FOR CONRAD BENNER



BEHIND THE BLOG: EMILY THARP

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Emily Tharp began her blog, Her Philly, in November of 2013.

Why did you begin blogging?

I have always really loved writing. I moved to the city and I was in a long term relationship with a guy. I was always very involved in high school and college, I came here and I didn't know anyone. I was looking for a way to get out and do stuff after work. I wanted a resource for young women like me who weren't into going to expensive things but also wanted to try new restaurants or go to new stores. I basically created the resource that I was looking for myself and it really exploded for me. I was able to dedicate more time to it when I ended that relationship. My independence came out through getting to explore new things with my blog. 

 Even though a lot of people do a really good job blogging about those things, I have nothing to add to that conversation.

What is your blog and who is it for?

My target age that I think about when writing is young women who are just out of college not yet with kids. I have learned that it is a lot more than that. People are interested from all ages who are looking to do fun things in Philadelphia. I only write about things that I myself think are interesting. I don't write about fashion shows or things like that because that isn't what I find interesting myself. Even though a lot of people do a really good job blogging about those things, I have nothing to add to that conversation. I have had to just think about what is unique that I can present about this topic. 

How do you balance work life and blogging?

It can be really tough. I think in the beginning I tried to keep myself to a schedule and that was really hard for me. It made me resent it for a little bit. I never want the blog to turn into something that I feel is a second job. I like how I have freedom. It's tough because there are events during the day I miss in Philly. Both of my employers since I have had the blog think it's really cool. So they do give me support and some flexibility. I am always working on balancing but I learned not to feel bad if I don't get a post up. 

What are you favorite things about Philly?

Eating, mostly. I always like going to new restaurants. I am not a really big fan of driving at all. So, I love being able to walk everywhere. Learning to take public transportation has been great. Exploring new neighborhoods. I love Diner En Blanc. I love Restaurant Week. A lot of things that people love to hate but things that get people out and excited about Philly. Right now, I am really close with all my friends from college. We all live in similar neighborhoods so it's been fun to explore new things with them. 

What are some of your favorite restaurants right now in Philly?

So Zahav is always and forever my all time favorite. I love it so much. I really like the tapas places. I also really love Amada. 

What else is a current obsession?

I'm obsessed with Flywheel. I started never having taken spin before. Everyone there was so nice and welcoming. I love how all the instructors are on social media. I think its all the tech stuff that really gets me. I love being able to look at my score after and see how far I have biked and see how many calories I burned. That makes me continue to go back. 

20 LAST QUESTIONS FOR EMILY THARP




BEHIND THE BLOG: Jordyn Nicole Shaffer

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In this nine day series, we interview the bloggers behind some of the most influential blogs in Philadelphia. Today, we meet Jordyn Nicole Shaffer of Jordyn's Fashion Formula.

FP: Why did you begin your blog?

JNS: I began Jordyn's Fashion Formula a year ago this month. So last February. I started it because I felt like I wanted to really show my knowledge of pop culture, music and film through the lens of street style. How we absorb all this information, entertainment and media and how it ultimately materializes through the material things that we wear. 

I also started my blog because it is an amazing way to connect and network with people. That is why we are here together right now, right? 

FP: So it is mostly a fashion blog. 

JNS: It started out as a street style blog. But my goal was and continues to be to ask other people about their formulas. Street style blogs can be just me, me, me, me. At the end of the day, I am a journalist so I care about what your outfit and what your outfit says about you. Even how your formula manifests itself in your apartment or home. How your design aesthetic may be different from your outfit to what your bedroom looks like. You formula may be different.  I have started to go into people's personal spaces to really get a personal touch on their fashion formula. 

FP: When did you become interested in fashion?

JNS: It started in middle school when everyone was trying to figure out who they are and what their identity is. What do I stand for and what do I represent? I always felt like I was too mature for my own well being. My peers were off caring about other things and I was very bookish. And than that bookish-ness made me interested in fashion. I started to absorb fashion in Teen Vogue. I use to collect them and stack them in periodical order. To get back to the Formula, I became obsessed about fashion through film. My Dad's girlfriend told me to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's. I know it's so cliche. But the 60's and Audrey and her aesthetic made me realize how nostalgic I am. 

FP: What films lately have you been into?

JNS: I love everything with Wes Anderson. So Moonrise Kingdom. I was Margot Tenenbaum for Halloween. It's beyond just the outfits. It is the whole aesthetic. Other films? I really liked Midnight in Paris. That showcased another time period. Any kind of Italian film. I studied abroad in Rome so just to see like La Dolce Vita, to see the Italian aristocrats and how they dressed. I love to see how their fashion was so effortless and sophisticated. 

FP: What is your favorite thing about Philly?

JNS: That it is a underdog but it really isn't an underdog. That everyone wants to connect with each other. 

FP: How do you connect with people?

JNS: At first it's really awkward to put yourself out there. You may have all these fears of, "Maybe they will think I'm weird." But, the more I kept on doing that, the more natural it felt and the more friends I meet. Now when I go to places to meet new people, I see familiar faces. It took those three or four times to go to an event and tap someone on the shoulder and say, "Hi. Lets talk." Put yourself out there and it's a domino effect from there. 

FP: How often do you blog?

JNS: I try to do once a week because I believe in quality over quantity. Because I am a writer in my real life, I don't want to half ass anything. So I want to make sure I go home and have clear a mind. I don't want to do it just to do it. 

What’s your favorite thing about Philly in one word?
Community.

FP: Do you think there is an entrepreneur in you with this blog and that is why you started?

JNS: I think that Philly has so many taste-makers and we always read about them in highly popular local publications But how often do we get to go into their personal space or their home.? The entrepreneur in me would want to see if there opportunity where business and those taste-makers overlap. 

19 LAST QUESTIONS FOR JORDYN NICOLE SHAFFER

BEHIND THE BLOG: Sabir M. Peele

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Today, I begin a nine day series going behind the blogs of nine influential bloggers from the Philadelphia community. First up is Sabir M. Peele who started his blog, Men's Style Pro, in November 2010. 

FAYMEPROBLEMS: Why did you start Men's Style Pro?

Sabir M. Peele: So there was a lot that went into starting Men's Style Pro. In September 2010, I was featured in Esquire Magazine as one of the five Best Dressed Real Men in America. 

FP: How did that happen?

SMP: They use to run an annual contest for it. You submit ten or so looks. That year, I think 3,000 people entered and then Esquire judges whittled it down to like 50. Then, it is opened up to voting. I was the fan favorite so I was the first person to be entered into the finals. I did that and I initially didn't want to start a blog. Because that was the year that people started doing blogs. At first, I wasn't interested but I thought that I did have a voice. The crazier part of starting the blog was that a week before I started, a friend of mine who is a photographer kept telling me I needed to start one. He said you have a lot of knowledge when it comes to menswear and clothes. So one night, I had a couple of drinks, and it turned into me going on WordPress and just typing in a name. I came up with Men's Style Pro, and I bought my domain November 19th, 2010. And that is how it started. 

FP: Where did your interest in fashion come from?

SMP: My interest in fashion and menswear came from my older brother. As a kid, I use to look up to him. He is eight years older and pretty stylish. 

What is your most prized material possession? 

My notebook.

FP: What's his name? 

SMP: Malcolm. I'm from North Philly so everything was sportswear and street wear. I started to adopt a lot of his style. High top sneakers. Sweat suits. Things like that. It really came into play when I was ten or eleven. I started getting more into tailored wear just from going to church. Cause everyone went to church and was sharp. So then once a week when I was a kid, I use to get dressed up to go to school once a week. On nobody's doing but my own. I was a big athlete too. 

FP: What sports did you play?

SMP: I played football, basketball and I ran track. I primarily ran track. But I played football for a fair amount of time. That is when a lot of athletes developed some sort of style that you could look up to. And then I started studying designers. But I was trying to figure out what style was my signature style. I don't think I have a signature style. People know me for wearing suits now. But I mix more street wear and tailored wear. I like Italian design but the English look. I think the sportswear side will also bring me back to my Americana roots. Rugby shirts, Polos, mixing all of that together.

FP: Where were you working when you started blog?

SMP: I use to work for the University of the Sciences here in South West Philly. I was an undergraduate admissions counselor and athletic liaison for the University. I worked in admissions all through out college because I was a tour guide and then I was a Senior Admissions Fellow at Ursinus so I started doing interviews with students while I was in college. Then my first job out of college was at ITT Technical Institute for a year and then I came to the University of the Sciences for almost five years. 

After a while you realize as you are working and doing something you really love, if you are doing something else just to sustain it and pay the bills, you aren't going to be happy.

FP: Recently, you decided to commit yourself to the blog.

SMP: It came to a point where I was doing both pretty much full time. I traveled for my job. I had a territory so I had to go to New York a lot. It started working hand in hand because a lot of people I was working with were located in New York. I would go to a school for a visit but I would pop over to see a showroom. At that time it was beneficial that I was working in higher ed because it brought me to New York. But it was draining the hell out of me. I was dead. Every night I would come home miserable. After a while you realize as you are working and doing something you really love, if you are doing something else just to sustain it and pay the bills, you aren't going to be happy. It was emotionally stressful. So this past September, I had some really good opportunities come up where I was doing some work with GQ and Century 21 because they were coming here to Philly. It was putting me in the right financial place to be like, I am going to do this. My wife also gave me support and told me she believed. She gave me the push. I put in my month's notice. 

What’s your favorite thing about Philly? 

The people.

FP: How has it felt to commit to your blogging as your career? Would you consider yourself now an entrepreneur?

SMP: My blog is LLC'd. It's a full business. I make money from advertising. I am listed technically as a consultant because I consult with a lot of brands on editorial campaigns, different designs for clothes. So, yeah I am an entrepreneur. I get the question a lot now on, "How is it different from what you were doing before?" It's a lot harder now because you rely on yourself. Everything you do will determine how much money you are going to make and how much growth you are going to have. But I think what helped me is even when I first started, I came at it from a business perspective. Ok, so what is my end goal year to year or month to month?  What am I trying to do? Who I am trying to connect with? What kind of business acumen am I going to put into this? But, I have been an entrepreneur for as long as I think of. You become the brand of yourself.

23 LAST QUESTIONS FOR SABIR M. PEELE

INTERVIEW: A Dancer Turns Opera On Its Head

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Photo by: Simon Pauly

On the other side of the world, the handsome Reed Luplau started dancing when he first began walking. “I am from Perth, Australia. My mom is a dance teacher there. I was dancing when I started walking because that is all I really knew. I went to an Australian Ballet School. I then danced in Sydney and then moved to New York City five years ago.”

Luplau’s dancing has now brought him to Philadelphia, landing him a starring role in Opera Philadelphia’s East Coast premiere of Oscar, an opera about the life of Oscar Wilde. But wait, a contemporary ballerino with a starring role in an opera? You read right. Luplau never sings or speaks in the piece, but dances the important role of Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas, Oscar Wilde’s illustrious lover.

“I hated ballet when I was a young kid,” he told me over a Gibraltar in a comfortable corner at La Colombe in Rittenhouse. “I use to think it was very effeminate. It wasn’t until I was 15 when I saw the West Australian Ballet do a production of Coppelia. I asked myself, what is this? You can actually dance professionally? I got addicted to ballet after that point. I trained for years. It really is the basic foundation of dance and for any technique you want to do.”

Since moving to New York City, Luplau has worked with Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and Stephen Petronio Company. He got involved with Oscar after director Kevin Newbury saw him in the independent feature film, Five Dances. “At the time they knew they wanted a dancer for the role of Bosie but they needed a dancer with acting experience. Kevin saw me in the film and thought I should come in for the audition. I ended up booking it. We started in Santa Fe in the summer of 2013. But we didn’t know how far to push this. Where the line was. How far should we go?”

“Opera can have such a pretentious audience,” Luplau candidly told me. “It is very regal. But the story here is very dark and sinister. What Oscar went through is very visceral and human. In Santa Fe, we made it very ethereal and very fairy like to tell the story. Here in Philadelphia, we made it more real. See it for what it is and if people don’t like it, we are at least doing something. And if people love it, we are still doing something real.”

Oscar’s Philadelphia premiere has opened to mixed reviews like Luplau predicted. In a review titled “‘Oscar’ too often forgets its opera”, David Patrick Stearns of the Inquirer wrote, “The volatility of Wilde's relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas is sidestepped by having Douglas portrayed as a dream-like non-singing dancer.” However, Bill Chenevert from PhillyNow wrote, “The first half of the show is all about the way that Wilde’s relationship with the beautiful Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas (performed stunningly through dance by Reed Luplau) puts Wilde’s life in danger.”

Photo credit: Kelly & Massa.

Luplau dances the role of Lord Alfred Bruce Douglas or Bosie, an illustrious lover of Oscar Wilde’s whose affair with him began in 1891. “Bosie is a little brat. He comes from money. His dad was the Marquess of Queensberry. His Dad was strict and never let anything get in his way. Oscar was married with two kids at the time and having this affair with Bosie. It ended up being this love affair for six or seven years. Bosie’s father didn’t like that and took Oscar to court. It was Bosie’s influences on Oscar that brought him to that time of weakness. He was an important part of his fall.”

Bosie gets shirtless in scenes with Oscar, played by countertenor David Daniels that get hot and heavy for an opera. “First day of rehearsals was interesting. Bosie and Oscar had such an intimate connection. So first day of rehearsal we had to take that leap of getting to know each other. We kiss a few times on stage.”

Photo credit: Kelly & Massa.

I asked Luplau if Bosie is the antagonist of the piece. “Very much so,” he responded. “The reason why they made Bosie a dancer is a lot of the times I appear in Oscar’s mind because of timing. Bosie was gone and left for France by the time Oscar was sent to prison. They wanted this character to lurk in the shadows. I come in and out. For me, it is extremely fun and challenging.  There is a sweet side to Bosie, too. But it is fun to play a little shit sometimes,” he laughs.

Luplau has a special affinity for Philadelphia. It is here where he fell in love with fellow dancer Anthony Bacconi in 2012. “We started dating when we were on tour here in Philadelphia. He had just joined the company. When you are rooming with someone, you spend time with them.  Because I am not from this country I wanted to do all the historical sites like Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. We ended up spending a lot of time together, became good friends, and then started dating.”

Luplau is still writing his love story, and he believes that people will attend Oscar for the love story offered there. “Not just gay people. People in general should come and see that it is another kind of love story. A real one. I think they were in love and they wouldn’t have done what they did if they weren’t.”

Members of the LGBT community will have a special opportunity to attend the opera this Friday when they host an Out at the Opera evening in conjunction with the William Way Community Center. The William Way will host a wine and cheese mixer early Friday evening. Then, Opera Overtures at the Academy of Music will feature Michael Bolton, Opera Philadelphia’s Vice President of Community Programs chatting with Reggie Shuford, Executive Director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania. They'll discuss the powerful legal issues surrounding homosexuality in Oscar Wilde’s time versus today.

Does Luplau still think ballet is feminine? “If you are doing a classic ballet like Sleeping Beauty or Swan Lake, the princes are so manly and need you to dance like a man,” he answers. “Those roles need that really prince like stature. I think ballet can be very masculine. Just look at the bodies.” 

Oscar has three more performances this week before it closes. For a special discounted rate to Friday's Out at the Opera, use the promo code PRIDE. when purchasing tickets.