Rosie's Workshop

This past Sunday, I ran up to the Ross Park Mall with my granddaughter, Bayleigh. While we were walking through the mall, both of us were caught, pleasantly, off guard by one of the shops window's displays. There were old cameras with elongated bulbs attached to them. There were other interesting displays that were fashioned into eclectic lamps. There was no doubt in my mind that I had to go into this store called, Rosie’s Workshop.

We walked around the store, admiring all the different displays. There were old fashioned film projectors that reminded me of the one my dad owned. The projectors and the storage film tins, also reminded me of the Prime series, Man in the High Castle.

Inside, I saw some Brownie cameras and remembered when I was in grade school. Some of the other cameras reminded me of my old Yashica camera that I used in college for my photography classes. The store was a sweet nostalgic trip down memory lane for me.

There was also a wall dedicated to Rosie the Riveter, along with a brief history of her. Rosie the Riveter was a cultural icon representing the women, who worked in the factories and shipyards in world War II. For me, Rosie was the 'I can do it' woman and prototype for all women. On a table in front of the display were Rosie buttons and the customers were encouraged to take one. I thought this was a great PR idea, and I took two. I also knew that I would come back into the store whenever I went up to the mall, and I would tell others about it.  

My granddaughter and I ended up talking to the two sales people, who were pleasant and informative. We talked about the cameras, film tins and of course the series, the Man in the High Castle that has popularized the film projector and cameras again.

I wrote my name on a list because the store offers workshops as how to make over your camera of projector, or just about anything into a lamp.

I suggest that if you are up at the Ross Park Mall, head to the upper level, look at the window displays and head into Rosie’s Workshop. The store is cool and the ideas are great. It is like walking into a mini museum filled with history.