Coming Soon: Lomography’s First Midwest Shop
By chicago-pipeline at July 11, 2012 | 11:47 pm | Print
Originally from Louisville, Indiana, or ‘Kentuckiana,’ Piper said she’s happy to return to the Midwest, having studied in San Francisco and spending the past few years working for Lomography in NYC.
The Austria-based Lomography, which has its U.S headquarters in New York City, is possibly opening the doors to its first Midwest outpost by the end of this month at 1422 N. Milwaukee Ave., in the former Una Mae’s space (Una Mae’s relocated to the 1500 block of N. Milwaukee in 2009).
Lomography is, according to its website, “a Magazine, a Shop, and a Community dedicated to analogue photography.”
Check out these 10 Golden Rules of Lomography:
- Take your camera everywhere you go
- Use it any time – day and night
- Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it
- Try the shot from the hip
- Approach the objects of your Lomographic desire as close as possible
- Don’t think (William Firebrace)
- Be fast
- You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film
- Afterwards either
- Don’t worry about any rules
Store manager Piper said that she was scouting out locations this past winter, and as soon as she visited Wicker Park, she knew the shop would need to be on Milwaukee Ave. (Coincidentally, American Apparel’s Dov Charney, pictured with Midwest Manager, Carolina Mock, thought the same thing, back in 2004).
Piper plans to keep all of the original fixtures and windows in place– in fact, the vintage charm of the storefront, owned by the “Ben’s Shoe’s” family, was part of the appeal.
According to Piper, there will be plenty of workshops and meet-ups, possibly free of charge in the opening weeks. First up is the mini Diana workshop. The mini Diana is a camera that was originally manufactured in the 1960s. It was given away as a novelty at raffles, carnivals, and even through mail order slips in cereal boxes. Today something like this Diana F Gold edition- PICTURED- will run you $109.00.
