Breathnaigh

Simple spring cocktail: lavender and gin.

Evenings in May, when the shivers of early spring have subsided but the weather has yet to yield to smothering humidity, are well spent in a backyard or patio with something cool to sip and someone lovely to talk with. I can provide you with one of those things.

Ingredients

1.5 oz gin (a floral gin like Hendrick's works)

1 tbs lavender syrup (recipe below)

1 tsp fresh lime juice

Seltzer

Cracked ice

Recipe

Combine all ingredients in a large rocks glass. Stir. Garnish with lavender flower or sprig.

Lavender syrup

Essentially, simple syrup steeped with lavender flowers. In a saucepan, heat 1.5 cups water with 1 cup granulated sugar on high. Stir to dissolve sugar. When mixture boils, remove from heat, and add a half cup lavender flowers. Stir. Cover and let steep at least 15 minutes. Strain and let cool.

What's a rockstar? The Sweetlife Festival.

That pretty mf'er A$AP Rocky at Sweetlife Festival.

"Party like a cowboy or a rockstar," A$AP Rocky rumbles at lowered frequency on his single "Goldie," and if the atmosphere at the Sweetlife Festival was any indication, those occupations both belong to history. The top-billed act that included a guitar was the Shins, and they don't have a rep for metaphor-inspiring revelry. Although Sweetlife scheduled A$AP for a middling midday slot, the crowd chanting his name and tumbling over itself down the stairs at Merriweather Post Pavilion marked him as one of the strongest attractions of the day. The headliner: Avicii, a Swedish DJ who, at 22, is younger than some of the Shins' instruments.

People like to predict the catastrophic downfall of rock music: in the 80s, synth-based pop was going to shove rock out the door. In the 90s, electronica and teen pop threatened to relegate it to classic rock radio. But rock was never destined to collapse magnificently, just slowly deflate. Now, other than a small handful of nostalgia-tweaking acts like Nickelback, all rock is underground, no longer by choice but because the market stopped caring.

At Sweetlife no one was mourning, though. The kids were out in neon and facepaint, singing along with A$AP, pumping fists to the Knocks' bouncy disco (and solid M83 cover), nodding sullenly to Zola Jesus, making out in the green grass (really, artificial turf). Late in the afternoon, the weather shifted and a chill rain dampened some enthusiasm and drove some people to their cars early. The core of anticipation remained for the headliners: Kid Cudi and Avicii. As the Shins played songs from their string of thoughtful, sophisticated grad school rock albums, the crowd slowly passed out on the lawn.

Highlights: Action Bronson, who delivered his culinary and other c-word-centric rap until they turned his mic off to make room for the weak sister act Haim. A$AP Rocky and his crew, more kinetic on stage than anyone else I saw all day. Bluebrain's big-headed DJ set. U.S. Royalty, who play the part of rock star better than anyone else but still haven't seemed to quite hit their stride. The food from Jose Andres' Pepe food truck and DC's 13th Street Meats.

Disappointing: The early exit of Bronson, who left to sample pit beef in Baltimore. The weather, which delivered a February afternoon in late April. The bathrooms, which were quickly overwhelmed. The schedule, which put surprise hitmakers fun. on the stage before many concertgoers had even rolled out of bed.

Pho dog from 13th Street Meats/Toki Underground.

I know how feel, bro.

Grain elevator: trying out film.

When I first got my hands on a DSLR camera I was astounded by how easy it was to get clear, balanced shots from just a kit lens and automatic settings. My expectations for photography were set by disposable cameras and early generation digitial point-and-shoots over a decade ago. I took the camera to New York to use on an interview assignment and came back with passable, publishable photos (in that case, of Mark McNairy samples). Initially that success bred overconfidence--I can do anything, who needs a photographer--but really the "work" was good enough for people who didn't know any better. Although that category includes nearly everyone, I've been trying to be a better (although still firmly amateur) photographer since then, and a couple classes and easy gear upgrades have improved my game.

I'm at the point now where I don't need full auto and I don't miss too many shots because I muff the settings or focus. Concentrating on composition, color, and intentional effects, I'm still sometimes disapointed when I scroll through iPhoto. I'd like to get a full frame digital camera but a man can only afford so many hobbies, and I classify $3k cameras with $3k watches, $3k suits, and $3k bikes—best not to know what I'm missing. Still, I wanted to do something I couldn't with my basic DSLR and at the same time improve my acumen, so I went in the anti-tech, lo-fi direction and picked up a reconditioned Nikon FE. The FE was a manual focus film SLR made in the years around 1980 (coincidentally, the year I was made) for the upper amateur market. There's a lot out there on the model so I won't repeat tech info (which I barely understand anyway), but so far working with the FE has been a lot of fun. I took it and a 50mm lens for a spin at the Penn Quarter Freshfarm market in Washington, D.C. last week.

Self portrait

Still working on my people technique:

Good find: Trove in Paoli, Pennsylvania.

Trove General Store. Photo by Bob Myaing of Cork Grips.

Growing up outside of Philadelphia, all the good stores were closer to the city. Skate stuff? Cool Runnings in Ardmore (RIP). Records? Repo in Bryn Mawr or Tower in the city (RIP, RIP). Punk rock paraphernalia? Zipperhead, etc. on South Street. Once the R5 trains rolled past the collegiate enclaves of Rosemont, Bryn Mawr, and Villanova, it was straight up mallburbia. Not that I necessarily would have appreciated its country-hip atmosphere at the time, but Trove General Store in Paoli, which opened a year or so ago, promises that thoughful retail can survive the suburbs. I've shopped their open, almost barnlike space--an impressive feat considering the Lancaster Ave strip mall-ish location--for typical heritage men's brands like Filson and Pendleton, but also for the less common lines (Tellason) and women's lines from LVC and the like, and for their selection of like-minded home goods. I spoke with co-owner Charlotte about what drove her and her family to open the shop and their plans for the future.

Pete: Tell me about your background. How did you decide to open Trove? 

Charlotte: Trove is a three-wheel team (and very much a family affair) made up of myself, my fiance (Foster), and my mom (Molly.) We all have really mixed backgrounds, which is nice, because it brings three very different perspectives to everything we do here. I grew up here in Paoli and then studied art history at NYU. Foster is a born-and-bred New Yorker and has been working retail for over 20 years. Molly is an interior decorator and has her own local firm as well. Fos and I were living in Brooklyn and I was working in a gallery (which I hated) and we had been playing with the idea of opening a shop for a while. At the same time, my mom wanted to do something different down here and it just sort of all came together at the right time. We were burnt out on city life and ready for a change so we made the decision to move back and open up a shop with my mom.

P: Why Paoli, if I may be so forward?

C: First and foremost, Paoli is where we are from, and in a lot of ways who we are (for Mom and I at least). Paoli has sort of an "old town" vibe, where everyone knows everyone and there is a really developed sense of community. What's also great about having the shop out here, as opposed to a more urban setting, is that people really put these clothes to work they way they were designed to be used. Utility fashion seems much more authentic, in my opinion, when actually utilized. Makes more sense to see someone out here wearing a heavy duty tin cloth jacket or a shooting vest because they actually were out hunting  (or riding horses, hiking, skiing, etc.).

P: Trove has a really interesting brand mix. Most of the shops where I see your men's brands (like Filson, or LVC, for example) don't have a lot of women's clothing or the sort of home accoutrements Trove carries. What was your strategy in choosing what to have in the store?

C:The whole idea was to sell things that were suited for an outdoor lifestyle, which has given us a lot of room to play around with different products and brands. We wanted the shop to be a place where you could come and get hiking boots or a great pair of denim, but also beautiful notecards or clean apothecary. So, the selection of homewares and accessories ended up really just a compilation of things we liked or were finding ourselves need. And yes, menswear is definitely the focus for a lot of shops like ours but people would be surprised to find that most of these shared brands do have women's collections (like Filson, LVC, and Danner, for example,)  Although they're not quite as full as the men's offerings, we're definitely noticing a greater effort towards expanding the women's selection. 

P: Trove is also a wonderfully large space. Did you guys design the interior yourselves?

C: Yes! We designed the space from the larger build out right down to the fixtures. The floors are all reclaimed barn wood from out past Lancaster County, with pretty much everything in the shop reclaimed or salvaged in some way (thanks to some serious field trips around Pennsylvania). We just wanted the space to feel warm and welcoming, more like someone's home than a sterile retail space.

P: Sounds like a good blend of points of view. How long did it take for the idea of Trove to germinate until you got the shop open?

C: We had all been playing with the idea of opening a shop for a few years, but the actual hammering out of Trove General took about 8 months.

P: Do you think your clientele has skewed to any particular demographic? Do you have kids coming out from Phila proper? Villanova students? Main Line matrons?

C: To be honest, our clientele is so varied. Because we are in the suburbs, we definitely get our share of older, more traditional customers (who often have a greater awareness of style and quality clothing than some of the younger people). We definitely do get kids coming out from Phila. to shop, which is really exciting for us. I think the fact that we've brought different brands to the area has been a draw.

P: Is there anything you've picked up recently that you're particularly excited about on the women's side? Men's? Home?

C: We literally only sell things in the shop that we ourselves would wear or want to own, for better or worse. It's so important to believe in what you're putting out there, so we really are committed to the brands we carry (which usually means we end up buying everything that comes in!!) For women, I'm really excited about all the new Levi's Vintage + levi's Made & Crafted thats arriving for Spring. Really smart, well-made garments that are feminine but not overtly so, which I think is refreshing. On the home front, I really like the smaller/artisan style products like Brooklyn Slate Co.'s NY quarried slate cheese boards and coasters, Land by Land's natural, NY made candles, and Metaphor Organic's San Fran based, home made apothecary products. For men, we're excited for the arrival of Tellason's Topper Denim Shirt. We've been stocking Tellason denim since we opened and we did a limited edition jean with them from a vintage denim they had, with duck twill pocket liners. There is a lot of great denim out there, but the quality of Tellason pieces is really unrivaled. Plus, Tony and Pete, who run the operator, are really stand up guys. They're passionate about, and really devoted to, what they're doing, and that's something as small business owners we totally respect. Nice to see the value in, and be able to support, true craftsmanship.

P: I love the idea of salvaging on field trips--any spots you can share (flea markets, etc.) that you've found fruitful in your travels?

C: Believe it or not, Craiglist is amazing. You have to lurk to get the good finds, but they're there. They led us to some scary Pennsyl-tucky-style spots, but thankfully we've gotten some good scores. Also, another amazing spot is a flea market in Adamstown. Worth the trip, at the very least to see the indoor/outdoor spread.

Thanks Charlotte! Visit Trove General online and at

82 E. Lancaster Ave.

Paoli, PA 19301

484-320-8626