Annual Lancaster Landmark Ornament honors 90-year-old W.W. Griest skyscraper

Ornaments and cards can be purchased at Lancaster Galleries, 34 N. Water St.; BUiLDiNG CHARACTER, 342 N. Queen St., rear warehouses; Festoon at the Firehouse, 202 N. Duke St.; and the city Visitors Center on Penn Square, as well as Saturdays at Lancaster Central Market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

LANCASTER, Pa. – The W.W. Griest Building on Lancaster Penn Square celebrates its 90th birthday and LEADS is making sure it’s a golden one.

“To help underwrite the cost, we initiated a unique fundraiser – Lancaster Landmark Ornaments. Created exclusively for LEADS,” said board president Marty Hulse. The three-dimensional ornaments are renditions of structures that have played a meaningful role in Lancaster’s historic and cultural life, crafted of solid brass plated in 24-karat gold, he said.

Lancaster’s Economic Action for Downtown’s Success (LEADS) has turned the iconic skyscraper into this year’s Lancaster Landmark Ornament, an eight-year tradition for the community organization that has been making downtown streets festive for the holidays since 2006.

“To help underwrite the cost, we initiated a unique fundraiser – Lancaster Landmark Ornaments. Created exclusively for LEADS,” said board president Marty Hulse. The three-dimensional ornaments are renditions of structures that have played a meaningful role in Lancaster’s historic and cultural life, crafted of solid brass plated in 24-karat gold, he said. New this year is a pack of eight cards and envelopes featuring the city’s Christmas tree, which the group and city workers have been cutting, transporting and decorating the past three years.

The 2015 offering was the tallest building in Lancaster until 2009 when the Marriott hotel was completed on the other side of Penn Square. At 14 stories, the building was completed in 1925 and originally held the offices of Pennsylvania Power and Light and was named for its president, William Walton Griest. Its architecture is Italian Renaissance Revival style and faced in granite, limestone and terra cotta and was designed by C. Emlen Urban. The 12th floor originally boasted a 300-seat auditorium with a frescoed ceiling of green and gold.

The ornament can be used as a tree or window ornament or displayed in the beautiful gold foil box it comes in along with a card telling its history.

“The past three years, we’ve spent close to $30,000 to improve the city’s holiday decorations,” Hulse said. Proceeds from the ornament go toward paying for that investment, he said.

The new 8-pack of note greeting cards features the 2014 LEADS / City of Lancaster Christmas Tree on Penn Square in Downtown Lancaster.

Ornaments and cards can be purchased at Lancaster Galleries, 34 N. Water St.; BUiLDiNG CHARACTER, 342 N. Queen St., rear warehouses; Festoon at the Firehouse, 202 N. Duke St.; and the city Visitors Center on Penn Square. The ornaments and cards also are available Saturdays at Lancaster Central Market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Each ornament is $20 and can be ordered online at www.LancasterLeads.org or by calling Building Character at 717-394-7201 to purchase with a major credit card. Shipping is $4.95 for the first ornament and $.95 for each additional ornament. The Christmas tree pack of cards are $20 each. Purchase the ornament and card pack for $36.

LEADS began in 2000 when a group of volunteers got together to create a grassroots effort to beautify downtown Lancaster. The goal has always been: make the city a more attractive place to visit, shop and live. Then, as now, LEADS is a completely volunteer organizations that operates solely from donations.

Madcap & Co. gives budding makers a home on North Queen Street

Madcap & Co., featuring exceptional handmade and vintage goods, will open Friday, Sept. 4, 2015, in the heart of downtown’s shopping district, the 300 Block of North Queen Street.

LANCASTER, Pa. — Madcap & Co., featuring exceptional handmade and vintage goods, will open Friday, Sept. 4, 2015, in the heart of downtown’s shopping district.

Madcap & Co., a multi-merchant companion shop to BUiLDiNG CHARACTER, Downtown Lancaster’s largest retail store, opens at 310 N. Queen St., with 17 independent merchants, says Marty Hulse, BUiLDiNG CHARACTER and Madcap & Co. owner.

With the new store, Hulse said he is carving out an additional retail niche for the makers movement, which in recent years has gained popularity thanks to the renewed push for American-made goods and DIYers looking for an outlet to sell their creations. “There are so many talented craftspeople in the Lancaster area, and now they have a place to showcase their ingenuity.”

Madcap & Co. will open where the venerable Mommalicious served thousands of fans for nearly 10 years. Mommalicious will be a merchant inside Madcap along with 16 others.

According to Adweek magazine, the makers movement is the umbrella term for independent inventors, designers and tinkerers. “Makers tap into an American admiration for self-reliance and combine that with the open-source learning, contemporary design and powerful personal technology like 3-D printers. The creations, born in cluttered local workshops and bedroom offices, stir the imaginations of consumers numbed by generic, mass-produced, made-in-China merchandise,” it writes.

BC has perfected its multi-shop retail management system in the eight years it has been in business on the 300 Block of North Queen Street, the city’s most desirable shopping district. Madcap & Co. will continue BUiLDiNG CHARACTER’s business model, giving multiple small businesses a brick-and-mortar retail store open seven days a week.

“The beauty is I don’t have to man a store all day long, which gives me more time to create,” says Cynthia Price, owner of Sanctuary opening in Madcap & Co., who already has a space at BUiLDiNG CHARACTER. “This is perfect for makers who are more creatively inclined and not as business saavy.”

Madcap & Co.’s new space was the former Mommalicious, a downtown Lancaster fixture for 10 years. Owner Alicia Byler couldn’t think of a better fit for the retail space in the building she owns and lives in with husband Dennis Snader.

Byler is excited to join such creative makers at Madcap & Co. and is appreciative of Hulse assuming the financial and time-consuming risks of operating an independent retail store. “There are a myriad of responsibilities that are being taken care of … even down to the rolls of toilet paper,” she says. “I know how much energy and money can be spent running a shop, and it’s great that Marty is willing to share it with others.”

Welcome to Madcap & Co. opening Sept. 4 at 310 N. Queen St. in Downtown Lancaster, PA.

The decision to open a second retail concept was a no-brainer for Hulse.

“When the opportunity to open a storefront right on the 300 Block of North Queen came to me, I had to say ‘yes!’ said Marty Hulse, owner of BUiLDiNG CHARACTER, which is nestled through a brick archway at 342 N. Queen St. “I love this block and am excited to add another specialty shop to the mix (on the block).”

The 300 Block of North Queen is also home to several other businesses that offer handmade works, including the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, Art & Glassworks, Russell Locksmith, j.a. sharp Custom Jewelers, the Framing Concept and BUiLDiNG CHARACTER.

BUiLDiNG CHARACTER opened in 2007 selling primarily architectural salvage and by 2008 saw a need in the community to offer a collective for other like-minded entrepreneurs looking to sell vintage, recycled and handmade goods. Today there are more than 60 small businesses in various size retail spaces in the 10,000-square-foot retail location.

Like BUiLDiNG CHARACTER, known for its community-partnered events and lively music playlists throughout the store, Madcap & Co. also will be open seven days a week with extended hours for First Friday and Music Friday, the third Friday of the month which will feature the popular Ladies Night Out with free drink and dessert samples, free chair massages and local live music.

Step right up to Madcap & Co. opening Friday, Sept. 4, 2015 at 310 N. Queen St., Lancaster.

Madcap & Co. will open with the following 16 merchants (one merchant is pending):

• 40th Parallel Leather Goods, handmade leather bags and handwoven textiles by Peter and Laurie Eaton of Willow Street
• B.N. Luna, handmade fleece blankets for newborns, infants and toddlers by Audrey Baxter and locally designed and printed whimsical canvas wall decor for baby and children by Heidi Herr
• Deborah Sielski, assemblages from vintage salvaged materials reminiscent of flowers and foliage
• Hello Niccoco, lighthearted hand-drawn designs by Nicole Duquette of Lancaster
• Lake and Cabin, vintage and handmade home decor for your lake house, cabin or seaside abode by Micah and Holly Lessey of Lancaster
• Madcap Mercantile, a collection of handmade greatness from near and far such as hand poured candles, handmade jewelry and wallets and bags made of recycled bicycled inner tubes
• Miller Cast Products, collectible brass banks, trivets, wall art and figurines made in the City of Lancaster since 1887 by the J. Walter Miller Co.
• Mommalicious, the venerable vintage and handmade goods dealer Alicia Byler of Lancaster
• My Aunt Debbie, handmade pop-art-inspired jewelry, fashion and accessories by Debbie Serdy of Lancaster
• Renaissance Chimney, vintage industrial pieces made from recycled materials by Mike Ellis of Bernville
• Roaring Dog Studio, functional art for kitchen and home by Chris Clemans of Strasburg
• Sanctuary, reinvented and repainted furniture, home decor and original paintings by artist Cynthia Price of Lancaster
• Studioweit, handmade woven one-of-a-kind rugs and fiberworks mostly of upcycled cotton and flannel by Eric Weit and Kimberly McMullen of Millersville
• Tortoise and the Hare, heirloom-quality handmade children’s clothing with a bit of whimsy and pinch of practicality by Rosina Lapp of Gordonville
• Wise Oak Herbs, teas, salves, balms, powders, mists and rubs using the best organic and sustainably harvested herbs by Meeghan Orr and DJ Mercado of Lancaster
• Wood ‘N’ Glass, creations of stained glass and handcarved wood by artist Deb Becker of Lancaster

Madcap & Co., which will have two full-time and two part-time employees, is the newest brand for the company which opened in 2007. Additional brands include Hip Thrift recycled brand name clothing, B.C. Martin’s Original and Authentic Hardware and WeLoveLanc.com line of souvenirs.

BUiLDiNG CHARACTER, LLC is a locally owned multiple-shop retail destination in Downtown Lancaster, Pa., that also serves as a business incubator for entrepreneurs, artists and craftspeople. Inside the store’s 10,000-square-foot, 115-year-old walls there are more than 60 shops offering vintage and collectible goods, handcrafted jewelry, upcycled furniture, recycled brand clothing, as well as the nonprofit Heritage Press Museum.

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JUST THE FACTS
What: Madcap & Co. handmade and vintage store
Where: 310 N. Queen St., Lancaster
When: Opening Friday, Sept. 4, 2015
Website: www.madcapandco.com; www.welovelanc.com
Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 12 to 5 p.m. Sunday; until 9 p.m. first and third Fridays