Culture Shock

We hail from the south, studied in the north, and reside in the west, so every decade or so we subject ourselves to a shock of cultures culminating in a growth of habits and ideas we compile on our shop as inspiration, which when curated often become a shock of sorts in and of themselves. Childhoods shaped by the slow-paced hospitality of the south along the nation’s Bible Belt in North Carolina, juxtaposed to graduate studies and early careers in the streets of Brotherly Love, come current with post-pandemic growth engulfed by the bay breeze in Oakland, our shop is very much an interpretation of these experiences, and this travel blog a growing rehash of our explorations captured as art in city guides & graffiti galleries. 

We explore the globe for new experiences and the collision of two Aries has sparked visits to places like Beaufort, Bogotá, Bangkok, and Beijing. We’ve thrown a rage in Harlem, toured art in Amsterdam, host annual homecomings in Fayetteville, and as we broaden our travels, we’ll continue to curate our shop to be colorful reflections of them all—each destination an added layer of complexity to our growing tapestry of travels—because the colors keep us going, and deciding their combinations serves as the genesis of each episode and theme of each gallery, guiding the selection of fabric choices and placement of art clusters.

Most rewardingly our impetus often jolts each community we encounter as we tend to stand out subtly but foster camaraderie concomitantly and are thereby embraced warmly. Bright Manor, birthed on a street with our skateboarding bulldog and a neighbor’s baby triplets behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art, fostered many lasting friendships with residents of those mean streets, and we’ll be shaped forever by the lens of surviving ten winters and absorbing ten summers in Philly. 

We built our shop up north, but some time after graduating took the trek from North Philly to North Cali and now reside in Oakland. The Bay Area’s different, and offers a new chance of discovery now that life’s evolved following the pandemic. We embrace the phases of another cultural shock, await its aftermath, and invite you to join our journey.