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    Material Culture

    3.9 (41 reviews)
    Closed 10:00 am - 5:00 pm

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    Don't miss the second floor!!
    Stephen S.

    One of the best places for home decor from around the world - rolls of Ikat fabrics, Chinese wardrobes, Moroccan lanterns, Japanese fabrics, and so on. Reasonable prices. Authentic stuff with great ambiance like free coffee and varied music from 99 Red Balloons (Starlite Singers) to world music. Only wished I lived in Philly!! Great staff, stress shopping experience!!

    Robert P.

    Just the most amazing place. Furniture, art, Pottery, jewelry, it a football field size old factory. Prices are good . Selection is off the hook. If you are decorating or redecorating it's a must stop. Good help. It's like a museum! Fun way to kill an afternoon.

    May be hard to see but it's all hand beaded and 3d
    Michele M.

    Truth be told, I couldn't tell you a thing about Art. My house is a mix of really good stuff with some Home Goods mixed in here and there. Well....I walked into this "store" and it's more of a museum. It's huge with some pretty amazing things. Be prepared to spend some time to really take it in and appreciate the different pieces. At first, it may seem like Pier I Imports with some styles - but it is a far cry from that! I did purchase a framed tapestry which is a piece of Art! I could not be any more delighted with the purchase, the service and just everything about the experience. Their customer service is beyond superior. I am looking forward to returning and digest yet another visit. Some pictures to enjoy are included with this post, but I'm not sure if it shows the magnitude of the beauty of the piece. All hand beaded!

    The complete room!
    Abbie D.

    WOW is the best way to describe this place! I cannot believe I've lived in Philadelphia for close to 6 years and this was my first trip to Material Culture! This place has the coolest home decor for both indoor and outdoor use. The majority of their decor comes from India and China, according to Juan (salesman). Very unique screens, rugs, furniture and small tabletop decor. We purchased a coffee table that was an old shutter from India turned into a coffee table. It looks great in our house! Love the selection and the uniqueness of the place! Staff is awesome too! Very friendly and helpful.

    Michael H.

    I don't even know what to call this place. Furniture? Decor? Kitsch? That's part of it ... and if I was decorating a house in Philadelphia, I know where I'd be coming for really unique pieces that would transform a home into a conversation piece. I'm still a bit speechless from seeing the automobile themed caskets (yes, you read correctly) right next to the Persian rugs. Their 70's mod furniture left me breathless. I mean, stop reading this review and just go there, OK?

    Patricia H.

    It's a museum, it's a gallery.. no it's the most beautiful auction and craft house in town! Visited this evening with friends for the Jonathan Demme pre auction party. What a lovely night, it's the perfect space to host an event. The auction preview was on the second floor in the back room, a lovely display of mostly African folk art. Paintings, sculptures, crafts, metalwork, a beautiful collection. Aliza Green, the Material Culture chef and cookbook author prepared an incredible multiple table buffet of nibbles for the evening. The main hall was filled with tables and chairs facing a fantastic live band, and some guests were dancing. My girlfriend and I spent some time with Sam ogling over the jewelry, and we each bought earrings. Sam has some of her own clay sculptures for sale in the little boutique, I especially liked the dog head with the eyes open. Sam's boutique is filled with fun feminine products, easy dresses, linen shirts, soaps, bead and tassel bracelets, wine glasses, mugs, jewelry, and so much more. Everything in the boutique is very well priced! Outside of Sam's boutique is her husband George's gigantic 90,000 sq ft antique emporium filled with global art and furniture. George was very friendly and mingled in the party. The selection of antiques and crafts in the space are outstanding, every single piece has a story to tell. Highly recommend this place if you are looking for a piece of furniture, looking to redecorate, for a new rug, jewelry... even for a special event!

    Where else would you find a giant wooden scorpion??

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    12 years ago

    Material Culture has custom coffins from Ghana shaped like a gorilla, pop can, and a scorpion.

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    15 years ago

    I'm really surprised there aren't more reviews here. Gorgeous merchandise, reasonably priced, wish more cities had something like it.

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    Review Highlights - Material Culture

    They have an awesome array of great Chinese pieces made in villages and some awesome Turkish, Chinese, and other hand woven rugs.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    Little Hands Art Studio

    Little Hands Art Studio

    2.4(5 reviews)
    0.8 mi
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    I'm really a fan of what the instructor has intended here. She's branching out to adults, but the…read moreconcept is perfectly novel and fun for kids... and I think she's very quickly accomodating to her new audience. Reading the other two reviews, I feel like she's already read them and used the feedback to improve the class, because their comments were irrelevent to my Living Social deal for two. We made Irish Car Bomb cupcakes, and the engagement with the audience varied. We started off introducing ourselves and what we do / how much we bake, which I thought was stupid at first. However, as the class progressed, she used that information to gauge who was comfrtable with what or to ask for different people's methods in the activities we were doing. We did not make the ganache because it's a finicky process, truly, but she told us how she had done so ahead of time. She and another person in the class operated kitchen aids as the group came up in pairs to measure out ingredients, sift, crack eggs, etc. It was not constantly hands on, and for that she called it "Lazy Baking," because we each had something to do but could sit back and relax while others went up i f they wanted. I brought water, but others brought creative things like chocoalte wine or baileys to go with our cooking, and those people really got into it. After the batter was prepared, a handful of people filled cookie sheets, while others licked beaters. As the cake baked, icing was prepared and we played a round of a game with a final winner who got a small prize. The most hands on part of the workshop involved us icing our cupcakes. Some filled the cupcakes with ganache, but everyone was in charge of icing their cupcakes. We each got 6 mini cupcakes to eat / take home, which was enough. We also had mini chips and sprinkles to top them with. Overall, I think it was a fun time with only a few awkward silences, though it was not as hands on as I had hoped. Still, I like the idea, and in smaller groups (for private parties or children) I bet it's a ton of fun.

    My friend and I got a Living Social (2 ppl for $25) for a BYO cupcake making class. We ended up in…read morea boozy brownie class which sounded pretty fun. Unfortunately, I have to echo what the previous person said. The instructor/owner did not seem very engaged. It was like being on the set of a really boring cooking show. Oh, and guess what? We paid to make boxed brownies. Duncan Hines. She called this "Lazy Brownie making" Um, girlfriend that's what I do at home for $2.99. I thought I was going to learn something. Instead of this being a class atmosphere, she stood and asked "Who wants to open the brownie boxes?" and then two girls went up and snipped them open and returned to their seats. I suppose we thought we would have our own station and learn how to make something hands on together while having a glass of wine. Instead, we watched people drop ingredients into KitchenAid mixers and chit chatted. There were no real attempts to engage the crowd- she could have had some sort of games or talked about herself and her business or SOMETHING. Instead she stood by the oven and watched the brownies bake. I LOVE the concept, but it this is a total misfire.

    Material Culture - antiques - Updated May 2026

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