Hello Friends,

These past few months have seen some big changes - and great projects! - at Bird Studio. 

We’ll start with the latest and perhaps coolest- a brand new handmade sign for A Man Full of Trouble, Philadelphia’s oldest standing tavern. 

Perhaps little-known to Philadelphians, A Man Full of Trouble was what a recent Inquirer article called “the dive bar of the Revolution.” Located at the center of Spruce and 2nd st near the Society Hill Towers, the Man Full of Trouble was built on the banks of the Little Dock Creek before the creek was filled in in the 1800s. It served dock workers and local riff-raff, while the nearby City Tavern served a more genteel set.

The tavern was built in 1759, making it downtown Philadelphia's only pre-Revolutionary tavern to survive to the present era, and an important living piece of history.  

New owner and history buff Dan Wheeler is breathing new life into the space, reopening it as both a bar and a museum. Wheeler commissioned Bird Studio to create a brand-new look for the emblematic sign-  a look that might be closer in keeping with the tavern’s colorful history. 

To create the right look, Zack sourced imagery from European allegorical engravings, early Americana, pulled together into what might be called a Midsummer’s Nightmare. 

Check out the new sign in it’s ornate original iron frame, and join us in celebrating A Man Full of Trouble’s return!

FORK Restaurant

We were pleased to work with the renowned Marguerite Rodgers Interior Design on a refresh of the staple Market St restaurant FORK. Simple plaster panels inset on the bar create the perfect mix of solidity and playful elegance.