How Stadler-Kahn Evokes Bathing Unitards and Pink Ceilings

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Welcome to Name Calling, where store owners around the Philadelphia area tell us the inspiration behind their shop's name. Curious to learn the story behind your favorite boutique's name? Nominate them for a feature by sending us an email at philly@racked.com.

Image credit: Stadler Kahn

Displaying an eclectic array of unique pottery, apothecary, one-of-a-kind artwork, and found treasures, stadler-Kahn, isn't like any other store in the city—but store owner/textile designer/illustrator/author Alexander Stadler probably isn't like anyone you've ever met. Coming from a long line of eccentrics, Stadler looked to his lineage for inspiration while naming his Sansom Street boutique. The store owner explains:

There are a lot of passionate aesthetes and gourmands on my mother's side of the family. My grandfather Elliott Kahn designed his own (very strict, Art Deco) mausoleum. He swam in his striped one-piece bathing costume well into the 1950s and was famous in the family for insisting they paint the ceiling of their dining room pale pink. His mother (my great grandmother, Julia Kahn) was an artist who made extra money by selling her painted decorative screens at Bendel's during Christmas time. My Aunt Julie taught me most of what I know about the power of adornment, and my mother, Charlotte, a painter, got me hooked on art and museum-going at a very young age. I am half Kahn, and when it came time to pick a name for my line/store, I felt that I would be doing the fabulous Kahns a great disservice if I did not include them.

· All Name Calling posts [Racked Philly]
· stadler-Kahn [Official Site]
· Philadelphia's 38 Best Spots for Home Decor and Furnishings [Racked Philly]

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stadler-Kahn

1724 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103 (267) 242-7154 Visit Website