For nearly thirty years, C.R. Ettinger Studio has made a home on Vine Street in Old City, in the “shadow of the Ben Franklin Bridge.” Soon, it seems, this studio will be relocating to a new space, joining the burgeoning business scene on South Street West.
CRE Studio LLC purchased 2215 South St. earlier this year, a space that formerly housed the Frank Bender Studio. The storefront has a bit of a classic look to it, though we’d be okay with seeing the windows repainted. Having been under renovations for months now, the storefront will soon be home to a new studio for master printer Cindi Royce Ettinger.
The studio will focus mainly on etchings, making it the only professional etching studio in Philadelphia. A Vandercook letterpress was dragged into the space last week, which Ettinger may offer for customers to rent. The storefront is only a few doors away from the now closed Zeidler Gallery at 2207 South St., which once operated at a cooperative for female artists. C.R. Ettinger Studio will also serve as a gallery space for exhibitions and will be under construction for most of this month. It will hopefully by operating by the beginning of November.
Let’s hear it for the latest addition to South Street West!
–Cynthia Schemmer