It's a 'Burgh Thing (And I Want It)

Someone please gift me this amazing 'Burgh swag.

The great thing about the Internet is that everyone has a voice. Everyone can create, can publish, can stand out and be found in the chaos of LOLcats, memes, and double rainbows.

Here are three wonderful products I recently discovered, one paying tribute to Pittsburgh and two designed by Pittsburghers and made in Pittsburgh.

1. Newly released Pittsburgh art print

Artist Kim Sly of Portland Oregon has a popular Etsy shop where she sells city prints after long hours of researching, drawing, and then digitally rendering and coloring each city. This process takes her months per city and recently she completed her Pittsburgh design, which is now up for sale. The artist indicates she'll "forever be smitten with Pittsburgh" and this is evident in the details such as the incline in the forefront and the carefully labeled bridges. 

2. Retro cool game and Lego inspired jewelry

One-named artist Gr0glmann is a college student in Pittsburgh using the sales of his now popular Lego and boardgame cufflinks on Etsy to help pay for his education. Some of his pieces include Harry Potter, Star Wars, Monopoly, Scrabble, Clue, wedding themes and more. There's even a dual Star Wars/Wedding theme set of cuff links. His second online store features those same themes on necklaces, rings, earrings, keychains and more. My favorite is the wooden typewriter key ring.

3. Handmade bags by Moop

Reader Lisa pointed this company out to me and I'm clearly late to the Moop party as the bags have been featured everywhere from the print edition of Pittsburgh Magazine to Dooce.com to Lucky Magazine. In a studio in Pittsburgh's West End is where every Moop bag is designed and manufactured. "Made in Pittsburgh" is proudly proclaimed as if it were stamped on steel forged out of a blast furnace on the river. That pride comes through in the beautiful craftsmanship of the bags. I've got my eye on The Letter Bag in rosewood while The Messenger No. 3 in brown waxed canvas looks like it could be a great gift for a man too.

If you have any discoveries of your own that feature Pittsburgh or are made by Pittsburghers in Pittsburgh, be sure to let me know so we can help them too to stand out in the chaos of the wonderful Internet.