Hello Very Famous World!! It’s getting warmer out there…
🌴 The Very Famous Five 🌴
1. There is a giant picnic basket building in Ohio! In Newark, Ohio, the seven-story, basket-shaped building was home to the Longaberger Company, a name that used to be immensely popular among Midwestern housewives in the ‘90s (according to Roadtrippers) and sold via multi-level marketing a la Avon or Mary Kay.
The baskets once sold for hundreds of dollars, but the novelty diminished and the company had to sell off its building-sized version of its signature brown Medium Market Basket. In 2019, it was slated to become a luxury hotel and it opened for a tour that more than 600 people showed up for. Tours were led by former Longaberger eomployees — the company was once a main employer in the Dresden, Ohio area — who had responded to calls on Facebook that received 500 responses for 40 slots.
Luxury hotel plans with rooms, a restaurant and an indoor pool (!) were thwarted, mostly due to the pandemic, and the building is now back on the market for $6.5 million.
2. 🎂💕 I think we’re in the middle of a fake food hey-day 💕🎂
3. Two glamorous explorations out of Texas: Should Neiman Marcus Exist? Also: This Queer Modeling Agency Is Serving Looks and Creating Opportunity in Brownsville
4. I didn’t realize that ambient YouTube had fully popped off! I knew there were “Cozy Study Vibes” playlists, but I did not know there were videos like “Summer Kitchen Ambience,” “Seaside Café Ambience” — swamps, even! A New York Times article from a few weeks ago explored this “self-medicating media” and the people who make it.
5. This week on Very Famous: 💕🌴🍊 A Love Letter to America’s Suburb 🍊🌴💕 It was so cool to chat with Alixan of @valley_haunts where she documents the fantastical suburban architecture of the San Fernando Valley.
💌 Blingee Museum Entry of the Week: “Just Married!” by kejt01 💌
