How to have a Perfect Philly Day, according to jewelry designer Emily Phillippy

Emily Phillippy couldn’t find the kind of artistic, ethically-sourced jewelry she wanted to wear, so she decided to make it herself. That was more than 15 years ago, when she was still a student studying jewelry and metals at Tyler School of Art, Temple’s art school. After graduating, she rented studio space in one of Fishtown’s old warehouses, drawn to the affordability and the density of other artists doing the same. “I really liked this side of Philly, Fishtown and East Kensington,” Phillippy said.

Eventually, Phillippy moved to California, where she continued making jewelry and slowly built what would become her own brand. Today, she is the name and face behind Emily Chelsea Jewelry, a popular Philadelphia-based company known for its inclusive custom engagement rings and responsibly sourced stones. Five years ago, she opened a showroom and a brick-and-mortar storefront in Fishtown, the same neighborhood she’d fallen for years earlier.

Now she lives in Mount Airy with her family, but frequently returns to her old Fishtown stomping grounds for work and play. “There’s so much new stuff up there,” Phillippy said. “We can’t help ourselves.”

Here’s how Emily Phillippy would spend a perfect day in Philadelphia.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

I wake up sometime between 6:30 and 7. I’m a mom of an only child, and he’s totally spoiled. He’s usually in bed with us by morning. I’m not mad about it. I love it. It’s a great way to start the day.

After we’re up and ready, I want to go to one of the two coffee shops. Either Adelie — it’s just down the street from us in Mount Airy — or Ultimo. I was so happy when Adelie opened because I feel like the coffee shops in Mount Airy are good, but they can sometimes be a little phoned in. Adelie is really bringing it with some really strong, strongly-brewed coffee. And they bring in bagels from New York City every day, which is amazing. If I’m at Adelie, I’m getting a large cold brew with a plain toasted bagel with butter.

If I’m not there, then I’m going to Ultimo for the bacon cheddar scones. They’re incredible, always warm, and they make them there.

If we’re talking about a day off — not a day when I’m going into the shop — I’m squeezing in a Peloton workout in the morning if I can. I really love Robin for a hard workout, especially if she’s wearing double yellow. That’s code for a really hard workout. I also like Emma Lovewell’s rides. A friend of mine makes her jewelry, and she’s always wearing this necklace my friend made, so it’s fun to see. I’ve been an at-home workout person since before the pandemic. It removes the barrier of driving or finding parking, and lets me work out whenever it works for me.

Sunday morning is kid-focused. Recently, we were doing Circus School once a week. Philadelphia School of Circus Arts is in Mount Airy. It’s an hour of kids in his age group running around trying things: trapeze, juggling, all of it.

We’ve been working on creating traditions for our family, not just carrying down what was passed on to us but establishing our own. So, one small thing we do is have a cookie-and-coffee date after circus school.

We go to Night Kitchen Bakery over in Chestnut Hill. Our son orders a peanut butter cookie every time. It’s delicious. I don’t blame him. I love that he’s even developing his own traditions within it.

After coffee, we’ll do our food prep for the week at Weaver’s Way. It’s a co-op with a couple of locations, and I choose which one we’re going to based on the vibe I’m looking for. There’s one we call the Big Weavers because it has carts. The other two don’t have carts because they’re too small and crammed. It really depends on what kind of experience you want.

If we go to one of the smaller ones, we might go to Nesting House right after. It’s a secondhand kids’ store. They sell baby goods and kids’ stuff. They do cloth diaper training every week. They also hold a new parent meetup. My son loves it. He asks to go all the time because there’s a used toy section. He plays with the toys while I shop for clothes for him, and it’s always great stuff.

I usually skip lunch. I might get another coffee. I live on coffee. After pregnancy, it felt empowering to be like, “I’m allowed to do whatever I want with my body, including chugging an unreasonable amount of coffee.”

A lot of times, we’ll do some kind of community meetup at a playground. There’s always someone in one of the parent WhatsApp chats saying, “Who wants to go to this playground?”

Allen’s Lane Park is a good one. It’s a nice meetup for the kids, and the playground is half wooded. If we’re not doing that, then we might do a little hike in the Wissahickon. It’s the best. It has hiking trails, mountain biking trails, and a great running trail along the river. We’ll bring our son’s bike, and he’ll ride and throw rocks in the river for an hour. It’s beautiful.

On an ideal night, we’re getting a babysitter and going out, usually in Fishtown. It’s the neighborhood we work in, and it honestly feels like I only spend my time in Mount Airy or Fishtown, but I can’t help myself. New restaurants are popping up constantly.

The most recent was Ama. It’s Mexican, and it’s so good. If we’re trying to impress people, we’ll go to Suraya. That’s where I take my New Yorker friends when they visit.

My number one all-time favorite spot in the city is JG SkyHigh. Everyone will make fun of me because it’s bougie as hell, but I don’t care. It’s the bar at the Four Seasons on the 60th floor of the Comcast building. It’s fully glass, so all you see is the city. The elevator ride alone is an experience.

At the end of the day, I’ll do my New York Times puzzles and text my mom my results. Then my husband and I will play Stardew Valley on the Nintendo Switch. We’re raising a farm together. Of course, we picked the rockier terrain that is rich in minerals. So I go mining every day, and he goes fishing. This is how we end our big nights out. It’s been great for us.