Audio By Carbonatix
Foodie culture has officially been embraced by mainstream purveyors of hipsterdom, Urban Outfitters. I consider this a kind of benchmark.
First time I visited one of these shops was in about 1992, in D.C. — everything was black and kind of punky, from the leather jackets to the edgy t-shirts. This was years before the store sold much (if anything) in the way of floral duvet covers or pot-themed gag gifts. There was never anything food-related, from what I can recall.
Now, you can walk into the new downtown Phoenix location and find all kinds of kooky pseudo edibles in the gift and book area, including these candy bar Christmas ornaments (above) and, I must admit, super cute ornaments shaped like burgers and beer cans and cupcakes and the like (below).
Cookbooks now share shelf space with the usual lineup of fashion and art books, and there’s even a selection of bacon ephemera. Since Urban’s parent company doesn’t just do clothing (Anthropologie, Free People) but has also expanded into home and garden (Terrain), I have to wonder if something quirky for the foodie crowd is next in their empire.
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