3xploring unseen urban spaces: St. Stephen's Church

STICK TO THE CODE: “TAKE NOTHING BUT PHOTOS AND LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS”

… and that’s exactly what I did.

Support the Seminary Co-op (Plus 3 Book Recs for Troubling Times)

I visited UChicago for the first time in June—it was the summer before my senior year of high school and I was nervous. I had no idea where I would be spending my college years.

However, when I entered the Seminary Co-op, I knew that I needed to attend UChicago—if given the opportunity. I’d been strongly considering the school for a long time, but the bookstore was a physical representation of all that I wanted from my university experience. I wanted to inhabit a community that truly cared about books; more importantly, I wanted to join a community that loved, respected, and defended the free exchange of ideas. And I wanted a place to converse about those ideas frequently.

Almost three years later, the Seminary Co-op has become just that. It’s the place I go to meet friends, to study, and to wander through the book stacks after completing particularly stressful physical science exams. I often find myself sitting in one of the store’s many chairs, with music blasting through my earbuds as I skim the titles. And I frequently find myself struggling to limit my purchases (as I discovered when I confronted the imposing task of boxing all of my recent Sem-Co acquisitions in order to move off campus).

As such, when I think of the university, I also think of the Seminary Co-op; while the bookstore is independent of the university, it is a critical component of our community. And I want to support the store as much as possible—especially during these difficult times. The Seminary Co-op bookstores are not-for-profit and independent. But in order to stay independent, and in order to continue providing a work space and invaluable resource to Hyde Park, these stores need the support of our community.

For this reason, there is a current campaign to provide Covid-19 relief to the Seminary Co-op Bookstores. The goal of the campaign is to reach $250,000 and the fundraiser is already halfway past its goal. Any donation—no matter the size—will be invaluable to the continued work of the bookstores.

And even in these difficult times, the bookstores continue to provide support to the university community. Individuals may still order books from the Seminary Co-op. The bookstores continue to publish new Open Stacks Podcast Episodes. And the stores just launched a Children’s book recommendation series (simply contact kidsbooks@semcoop.com for recommendations!). The stores themselves have also physically transformed, as their workers fulfill web orders safely. And it is my hope that we, as a community, can continue to support the Seminary Co-op during the Covid-19 pandemic, and beyond.

And in case one is in need of book recommendations, included below is a list of three of my favorite books, whose subjects are particularly relevant to these troubling times.

#3: Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude

“Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.” And so begins the story of Macondo: a small, magical town in the jungle, where the Buendía family resides for generations. I read this book while camping, last summer, and many of its descriptions have resided with me, ever since. Marquez’s magic realism is beautiful and this novel is his magnum opus.

One Hundred Years of Solitude is the type of book that sucks you in and doesn’t let go, as Marquez depicts everything from ghosts to levitating priests and seemingly endless rain. And the novel offers a much-needed escape into a magical world, though it is nonetheless shockingly like our own.

#2: Viktor E. Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning

The New York Times classifies this book as “survival literature,” and the classification is apt. After surviving Nazi concentration camps, psychiatrist Viktor E. Frankl carefully chronicled his experience. More than that, he depicted how he survived. And while this book’s narrative is hauntingly somber, it is also hopeful. By describing his own life story and the stories of his patients, Frankl argues that man can survive—even when confronted with atrocities. Thus, while Frankl writes that man cannot avoid his suffering, Frankl also writes that man’s existence is not a lost cause. Instead, Frankl encourages his readers to find meaning in their suffering, so that they may move forward and ultimately thrive.

#1: Amor Towles’ A Gentleman in Moscow

‘“Who would have imagined,’ he said, ‘when you were sentenced to life in the Metropol all those years ago, that you had just become the luckiest man in all of Russia.’” (Towles 292).

When Mishka remarks upon the Count’s luck, he’s right. Despite being placed under house arrest in the grande Metropol Hotel, Count Alexander Rostov builds a full life for himself. He is confined to a hotel during one of the most chaotic periods of Russian history, and yet he finds a way to make the best of his circumstances. He makes great friends, falls in love, and raises a young girl. And through it all, the Count never loses his composure or his sense of wonder. This is one of my favorite books of all time. And it a testament to the way in which a single individual can choose to be happy—even while living in a hotel attic, in Soviet Russia.

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Encore: A Hyde Park Resale Store with a Mission

Shaney Swift is the current director of Encore Resale Store, a not-for-profit on Hyde Park Boulevard that sells unique men and women’s clothing and accessories at affordable prices. With a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Baylor University, Swift happily took over the store in 2017, working to both rebrand the shop as well as to increase its various philanthropic efforts in order to benefit the Hyde Park community! We talked to Swift to shed more light on the store’s history, mission, and future.

What initially sparked your interest in fashion?

I actually wasn't super interested in fashion before working at Encore, believe it or not! I did enjoy putting outfits together and shopping as much as any other woman, and I read fashion magazines and watched a ton of What Not to Wear growing up, but I didn't really start learning about designer brands and keeping up with trends prior to working at Encore. I got involved because I was passionate about the idea of business as a social enterprise. Of course businesses need to make money to pay the bills, but I think businesses can also be forces for positive change in their communities, which is what Encore is focused on. Getting to play with fashion is a huge bonus! 

When we entered the store, Mary greeted us warmly and offered her advice about the pieces we tried on.

When we entered the store, Mary greeted us warmly and offered her advice about the pieces we tried on.

How would you describe your personal style?
I would describe my own personal style as very classic and feminine, but also sporty--think Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger. I don't change up a lot with fashion trends, and I consider Kate Middleton to be the epitome of how I wish I could dress. In the winter I wear a lot of plaid skirts with boots and black sweaters, and in the summer I tend to wear a lot of single-step outfits and just put on a dress! 

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Do you remember a specific, favorite piece of clothing that you sold at the store?

I do! There was a dark pink plaid shift dress. I think it was by Trina Turk, but I'm not 100% positive. It looked really similar to this dress right here. I remember it not because of the dress itself, but because the girl who bought it told me she was going to court in a few days to get a restraining order against her abusive ex-boyfriend and was going to wear the dress to court. She looked simultaneously professional and strong in the dress, but it was also super flattering on her and made her look good. I love how clothing does that for us, especially women--when we need to feel a certain way about ourselves, the right piece of clothing can give us that feeling. I've had women come in when trying to get jobs, fresh from divorces, or going to celebrations, and I love the look on their face when they find exactly the right piece of clothing to wear.

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What role does Encore play in the surrounding community? It says on your website that you invest your profits in local small businesses, schools, and community programs. Can you talk more about this? 

This is my favorite part of Encore! Our most recent donations were to the Kenwood Academy football team and to Sunshine Enterprises in Woodlawn, an organization that provides Woodlawn entrepreneurs with education and support. We also always give a small donation to anybody who comes by and asks (for example, Bret Harte students came by once to ask for donations for their field trip to Washington, DC.) I strongly believe that businesses are just as much a part of a community as any other organization, and have a responsibility to give back to the community whenever possible. 

We partner with other organizations such as Heartland Alliance to provide clothes for people in hard situations--they e-mail us as they have needs and we donate clothing to them if it fits their needs. We also help any homeless people that come into our shop--whether that's giving them a pair of jeans and a T-shirt for free, or letting them have a pair of shoes or coat at a greatly reduced price. All of the merchandise at Encore is donated to us at no cost, which allows us to be generous with those who need help, and we're very thankful for that.

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What does the future look like for Encore?

I'm excited about Encore's future! We just did a big redecorating and re-branding, so now it's less like your grandmother's closet (how Encore has been described before) and more like a resale boutique that's easy to navigate. We're looking to expand into selling more items online and via social media (our instagram is @encore_resale_store), especially our vintage and high-end designer items. More and more people have been shopping online, which brings both good and bad for a small store like us (bad: fewer people walk into our store on a daily basis. Good: We can reach more people who don't live nearby.) We've been getting more donations of designer items too, which is great! Encore's reputation so far has been a place to get stuff for really low prices, but I hope to build up Encore's reputation as a place to get really good deals on vintage and designer items too. Those sales really help make money for the store, which in turn enable us to make more donations into the community. 

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Be sure to check out Encore in-store and online, and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

All photographs courtesy of Maddie Parrish.

For an Uncommon Study Space, Check out Build Coffee

As midterms draw to a close and hours in the Reg start to tick away, yo might appreciate a change of scenery for busting through psets or hammering out essays. Allow me to suggest Build Coffee, your new favorite caffeine station and pleasantly aesthetic workspace.

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Located at 61st and Blackstone, Build sells delicious, decently priced coffee and, as an extra bonus, used books and local publications. Don't be fooled by its unassuming location—Build is located in the Experimental Station in an innocuous brick building just south of campus. It shares its space with the Invisible Institute, a longform journalism initiative with a social justice bent as well as the South Side Weekly. Head there next time you've got a chunk of reading to do, are looking for excellent local journalism workshops (Thursdays from 6-8pm!), or are just craving a carefully made cardamom rose latte. 

All photos via Build's website; Feature gif via