This whimsical store appeared in downtown Pittsburgh on November 18th. The sign on the door says the owners are on vacation, but that just covers the fact that this is an art installation by Toby Atticus Fraley.

The installation is part of the “Pop Up Pittsburgh” project designed to brighten vacant storefronts in downtown Pittsburgh. Along with a warmly lit inviting interior there are also a couple of animatronic robots giving some movement and interest to the installation.  It will have a year long run at 210 6th St.

See lots more pictures and read about the fictional repair shop’s services at the “business” website. Link -Thanks, Toby!

Shop owner Mark Andol climbs aboard a bus and tells the riders that shopping here is a patriotic act.

“When you walk through them doors, I guarantee when you’re shopping — the homework’s been done — it’s 100 percent made-in-America products. Made in this country by American workers, and the money stays in our economy. So, enjoy yourself,” he says.

Customers pour into the spacious building, which used to be a Ford dealership. American flags and patriotic quotes adorn the walls.

The store has not yet turned a profit, because Andol is still expanding his line of products. He researches every item to make sure the components are all US-made, including the packaging. Link -via Fark

(Image credit: Daniel Robison for NPR)

The book is Mr. Kessler’s account of NASA’s 2008 Phoenix Mars Lander mission, reported during 90 days inside mission control, in Tucson, alongside 130 leading scientists and engineers. Publishers Weekly calls the book a “slightly offbeat firsthand account of scientific determination and stubborn intellect” that “delivers a fascinating journey of discovery peppered with humor.”

The store is part marketing ploy, to be sure (Mr. Kessler is a creative director at an advertising agency), but also part meditation on the meaning of the book in an age of e-readers and a bankrupt Borders.

“This makes books feel like an art installation,” he said. “We should care about them.”

Mr. Kessler said he was inspired by restaurants like the Meatball Shop on the Lower East Side. “I was thinking about people that just sell one thing really well,” he said. Religions, he reasoned, ply a single book. Why can’t a bookstore? He calls himself the Monobookist.

The store will be open until mid-May, when the new (paying) tenant is scheduled to move in. Link -via the Presurfer

(Image credit: Guy Calaf for The New York Times)

Supermarket owner Glenn Miller was initially furious over the incident, fearing that thousands of dollars of groceries might have walked out the door. But after reviewing the shop’s security footage during the weekend his mood had mellowed.

“I can certainly see the funny side of it … but I’d rather not have the publicity, to be honest. It makes me look a bit of a dickhead.”

The security footage showed shoppers were not aware that there were no staff in the supermarket, Mr Miller said.

“They weren’t in for a free-for-all. They were doing their normal shopping and then got to the checkout. Half of them paid and the other half thought, `this is a good deal’ and walked out.”

Customers’ choices were recorded on closed-circuit TV, but Miller says he will not prosecute those who left without paying. Link to story. Link to video. -via Arbroath

Wouldn’t you love to browse a shop like this? Hoxton Street Monster Supplies in London is a Ministry of Stories project that gives children a place to go for inspiration and where they can write and get help with their school work. It was inspired by Dave Eggars’ 826 project responsible for the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store in New York. The Hoxton Street store shelves are filled with items like brain jam and organ marmalade, pickled eyeballs, human snot, and my favorite, a canned vague sense of unease. Link -via b3ta

Oh, this should be good. Apple has had a good and long run wow-ing the public with their hip iPhones and iPads in their oh-so-sleek Apple stores in malls, and Microsoft isn’t going to take it anymore: the boys of Redmond are opening up their own store (bigger, in fact) in the Mall of America, directly in front of the Apple store.

Techi’s got the story (and the video clip):

I can see it now: Apple’s ‘Geniuses’ folding their arms and glaring across the hallway at Microsoft’s … ‘Experts’, or whatever they end up calling their employees (do they already have a name?), who glare back in kind. What I’d really like to see, though, is all sorts of Spy Vs. Spy shenanigans happening between the stores. If life were only like that.

Link

What do you think the Microsofters that work there should be called? I propose Best Servicepeople On Demand. T-Shirt from the NeatoShop for the best entry (write down what you want along with your comment, otherwise you forfeit the prize, mmkay?). Have fun!

Update 10/29/10 – Fishbowl wins with “Paperclip,” but forfeited the prize.

No, "Turd Baby" isn’t just a pejorative (look it up at Urban Dictionary, if you must) it is a store in Danshui, Taipei, Taiwan, selling stuff out of little vending machines! It certainly has a unique name!

What did the Corleone family do after they got tired from all that mafia stuff? Well, they moved to Taiwan and opened a credit service!