Get to know the local engineer and home improvement enthusiast-turned-Instagram star.
“Scientist by day, DIY junkie by night.”
That’s the bio for Philip, the engineer turned home improvement enthusiast behind the Instagram page Philip or Flop, currently one of the most followed social media influencers in the Triangle.
Philip, who goes by his first name only online, initially launched @philip_or_flop as a way to share his weekend project updates with friends and family. But in less than two years, Philip’s DIY tutorials, light and airy aesthetic and helpful, friendly way of engaging his fellow DIY-ers has gained him more than 57,000 followers.
“I used to watch HGTV in the evenings,” Philip says. “Now, I spend time planning my project for the coming weekend and how I will present it in my Instagram stories. I currently get over 20,000 followers viewing my stories, so I do my best to teach them something, get them invested in the process and excited about the outcome.”
Philip documents his adventures as he renovates and customizes his perfectly fine (if slightly uninspired), brand new, builder grade home in a planned community, where he lives with his wife, Jenni, and their two daughters. Together—she is the interior designer of the pair—they are transforming what is almost a blank slate into their dream of a coastal, modern farmhouse.
So why not remodel an old home or build their own design from the ground up? Older homes, Philip explains, tend to have smaller rooms, less open layouts and outdated plumbing and electrical systems; building a new home from scratch, on the other hand, can be more expensive.
Instead, Philip and his wife chose a home with a floor plan that worked for their family in a neighborhood they liked.
“My following quickly started growing because there are so many people out there that are not in teardown renos, but rather just homes built on the cheap that didn’t really come with any character from the builder,” he says.
Philip began remaking the house the very day he and Jenni closed on the property, ripping out drywall for the transom windows he later installed throughout the home. He upgraded the fireplace with a reclaimed wood mantle, hand-chosen recycled bricks and built-ins. He added character to ceilings with beams and tongue-and-groove paneling. He upgraded the kitchen with plenty of storage, new backsplash tile, poured concrete countertops and a custom island with Carrara marble and a 4-foot-long sink. And he poured his own epoxy garage floors, installed smart lighting and built a charming playhouse for his girls.
Still, he says, he’s just getting started.
Philip grew up around renovations and learned to do it himself from his father, who he calls “the best DIYer I’ve ever known.” He also holds a doctorate in engineering and has authored more than 50 academic papers. The traits that make him a good engineer—critical thinking, math and problem-solving skills, spatial intelligence and creativity—are the same ones that make him a successful DIYer, Philip says.
But sometimes, even he runs into trouble during a project. This is where the “flop” comes in.
“I do show the ups and downs of renovations,” Philip says. “Some DIY influencers hide some of the failures they’ve had, while I try to show that even experienced DIYers make mistakes and that it is just a part of learning.”
Some projects that didn’t initially go his way include overenthusiastic use of a new paint sprayer to puncturing a hole in an HVAC refrigerant line to miscalculating the amount of roofing he would need for his daughters’ playhouse. But like the best DIYers, Philip tackles these setbacks with good-natured humor and tries again.
“I always like learning new skills and showing my followers that even though I have a knack for DIY, I am always learning, just like they are,” he says. “I am not an expert in a lot of things, but with a little research I feel like I can take on any project.”
Philip’s latest project is the launch of his new blog, PhilipOrFlop.com, where followers can get more details about their favorite projects, and visitors can learn how to complete DIY projects in their own homes. Philip says he has plans for at least three more years of projects for his current home, and after that, he may flip an investment property or work on a vacation home.
“My wife is very supportive of it all,” he says. “She likes that I am able to pursue a hobby that allows me to make an impact on people’s lives while fixing up our home. Our kids are a little young to understand how social media works—and I hope to keep it that way for a while—but they are both interested in what I am building.”
Smoke from a faraway campfire. The ozone before an approaching storm. A passerby wearing a familiar fragrance. Scent has the power to open doorways to the past, evoking memories, even from long ago, with just a waft. Used with intent, perfume can mark golden moments and trap some of that joy in a bottle.
Local perfumer Carolyn Dunne Hassett has been captivated by fragrance since she was 9 years old, when her grandfather gifted her a vial of Chanel Cristalle eau de toilette. Several years ago, Hassett left her career in academic publishing and turned her olfactory fixation into a business, By Carolyn Dunne. In her small studio in downtown Cary, Hassett works with guests to create bespoke perfumes.
Hassett’s clients include graduating students on the cusp of launching their careers, young women celebrating Sweet Sixteens, brides and grooms who want to amber their wedding day with a custom fragrance.
Carolyn Dunne Hassett
“What I enjoy most is when we start talking about what matters to them, why they’re here making their perfume,” Hassett says.
Following several years spent studying perfume on her own, Hassett traveled to the south of France for a workshop at Parfumerie Galimard, a perfume house founded in 1747. She had studied abroad in Aix-en-Provence, so the trip was a bit of a homecoming for her. She returned many times for one-on-one training with master perfumer Jacques Maurel, who was so impressed with her natural ability and her dedication that he made her an intriguing offer.
Maurel had recently developed a perfuming system, and wanted her to be one of the first to use it to build custom fragrances in the United States. But there was a hoop Hassett had to jump through first: As an audition for the perfume house, she was tasked with creating two perfumes over the course of a single day. She came up with Moonbeam, a soft veil of a women’s fragrance, and Monaco, a rich and sophisticated men’s scent.
After training with Maurel’s system, Hassett opened her studio in 2015.
Creating a perfume is often compared to composing a musical masterpiece. A perfume progresses like a symphony, with different accords, or groupings of notes, revealing themselves as the scent develops on the skin: head, heart, base. It’s fitting, then, that Hassett works at what is called a perfumer’s organ: a three-tiered, semicircular desk lined with cobalt blue glass bottles of scent.
So how does her process work?
One or two guests can book a private session; they spend up to two hours with Hassett at her organ, choose from 135 fragrance essences and leave with a 1.7-ounce bottle of perfume. Alternatively, clients can throw a party with up to 15 participants; they spend up to 90 minutes with Hassett, choose from 65 ingredients and leave with a .5-ounce bottle; hosts receive a discount based on the number of guests attending. Gift certificates are also available.
“They’re celebrating their birthday. They’re celebrating being in remission from cancer. They’re about to become a grandmother and want their scent to be what the child remembers … They are people who are going through a change in life,” Hassett says of her clients. “They’re getting divorced or going to be empty nesters or starting something new. They want to create something that’s about them that has nothing to do with their past. It’s all about the person and what they’re doing at that moment in time.”
Hassett’s studio is located in the Gather co-working space at 417 Kildaire Farm Road in Cary. To learn more, visit www.bycarolyndunne.com.
Nostalgia goes on sale by the bottle as Coladka—a cola-flavored vodka from Dram and Draught owners Drew Schenck and Kevin Barrett—hits bar and liquor store shelves this month.
After watching different flavored liquors rise and fall in popularity over the years, Schenck thought he had a recipe for success.
“I had the idea that the person who came up with the next big popular shot wins and that a cola-flavored vodka would be delicious and good as a shot,” Schenck says. He convinced Barrett to try his hand at recreating that cola flavor and, after a dozen iterations or so, the two settled on what they thought was the perfect formula.
Versatile and surprisingly complex, Coladka goes beyond the traditional cola flavor profile. It’s sweet but not syrupy, with a hint of spice and a botanical element that makes it interesting enough to sip on its own. Barrett won’t share the secret recipe but he says the 72 proof vodka is crafted with all natural ingredients, including real cane sugar and essential oils.
“The bottle says, ‘This recipe is said to conjure memories of youth.’ That’s a nostalgic taste; the flavor is probably closer to what cola was 50 years ago,” says Barrett. “You can sip this, you can savor it, you can shoot it. You can do whatever you want with it but it’s a great, easy shot, chilled right out of the bottle or as an all-purpose cocktail ingredient.”
The pair recommend serving Coladka on the rocks or over ice with soda water; mixed with a splash of fresh lime juice in a Coladka Rickey; as a slushie or paired with ice cream in a float. They say it goes well in desserts— think chocolate cupcakes with cola-flavored frosting.
“It could even be used in a reduction for a meat dish, something savory like pork,” Barrett says.
Cola was invented in the United States in the late 1800s and quickly became popular around the world. Barrett and Schenck say they hope Coladka will have a similar wide appeal; in fact, they’re already in talks with companies in Argentina and the Czech Republic.
“Coladka is a universal flavor, a worldwide flavor [and] we believe this is going to go global,” Schenck says.
But to go global, they need people to try their product first. Look for them soon at bars, music venues and live events.
“We bought a van that’s all decked out,” Schenck says. “We’re going to be at events because it’s important to get liquid to lips and expose the public to the flavor profile.”
Coladka will be be available at North Carolina ABC stores for $18.95 a bottle this month. Learn more at coladka.com.
Coladka Rickey
• 2 oz Coladka
• .75 oz fresh lime juice
• Soda water
1. Combine Coladka and lime juice; shake and strain with ice
2. Serve in a tall glass topped with soda water
3. Garnish with a lime wedge and optional mint sprig
Screaming coeds and buzzing chainsaws. A scaly monster in the basement. The slow-building tension of a twisted psychological thriller. Whatever scares you, you’ll find it at the inaugural Carolina Fear Fest horror convention.
Although this is the first-ever Carolina Fear Fest, convention organizer Stephanie Freas is already well-versed in horror. She runs the Devil’s Playground haunted attraction in Lillington, NC, where, every autumn from late September to early November, thousands of people travel to be terrified. But Freas knew there was a larger community out there clamoring for more fear.
“We realized that there was a giant horror-shaped hole over eastern North Carolina,” says Freas. So she stepped in to fill that void with the Carolina Fear Fest. A horror convention along the lines of Comic-Con, its lineup includes celebrities, a film festival, an indoor car show, special effects artists, guest panels, merchandise and more, promising horror fans a weekend to remember.
Tickets
Ticket range from $15 to $30 for advance online purchases through May 13. After that, prices will range from $25 to $40 both online and at the door. Discounts are available for children under the age of 12, but they must be accompanied by an adult; themes may not be suitable for all children.
There’s An App For That
The Fest is foregoing printed maps and schedules. An app will be available to help you navigate the convention, with up-to-the-minute programming information.
Film Festival
North Carolina has been the filming location for a long list of scary movies, including “Firestarter,” “Hannibal,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Evil Dead 2,” “Cabin Fever” and “The Conjuring,” so horror has almost literally soaked into the state’s soil. Although the local film industry has experienced a dry spell recently, there’s still a strong filmmaking framework and community in place.
The Conjuring
“We’ve been trying to celebrate all things North Carolina as well as all things horror, and we’ve gotten a lot of really good local folks involved,” says Freas. “We have a lot of local filmmakers.”
More than 100 filmmakers submitted their work for the film festival, which will screen a range of classics, international, student and local indie films in blocks of related content. Convention visitors are free to pop in and out of the screening rooms as they wish.
Famous Faces
Celebrity guests include scream queen Linnea Quigley from cult classics like “Silent Night, Deadly Night” and “Return of the Living Dead,” Felix Silla from “The Addams Family” and “Planet of the Apes,” Tyler Mane from “X-Men” and Rob Zombie’s “Halloween” movies, Michael Berryman from “The Hills Have Eyes” and “The Devil’s Rejects,” and screenwriter John Russo, best known for “Night of the Living Dead.” You must pre-register in order to take photos with celebrities, so make sure to check out the website ahead of time for availability and pricing.
Linnea Quigley
Visitors can have close encounters with celebrities of the vehicular kind, including props like the Green Goblin head from Stephen King’s “Maximum Overdrive,” replicas of the “Scooby-Doo” Mystery Machine and Ecto-1 from “Ghostbusters,” plus other industry and tribute vehicles and even a fleet of hearses.
What to Wear
“We absolutely encourage people to come in costume,” says Freas. “If we’re going to come here and celebrate horror, we might as well do it all the way.” No weapons of any kind are allowed in the venue, including cap guns. Prop weapons must be obviously fake and are subject to inspection. The rules also prohibit nudity and ask that cosplayers be respectful with large costumes and props.
The Produce Project ensures that fresh, local produce goes to good use.
Several years ago, while browsing the local farmers’ market for dinner inspiration, Mike Shumake accidentally wandered into the wholesale building.
“I’m like a kid in a candy store. Sixty tomatoes were $10,” he says. “The problem is, when you get home with 60 tomatoes you realize you don’t need—nobody needs—60 tomatoes.”
Shumake began making regular runs to the farmers’ market, recruited some friends to split the costs and the bounty, and the casual collective grew into what is now The Produce Project.
The Produce Project is an all-volunteer nonprofit that aims to make fresh produce affordable for Raleigh residents. Customers can buy a single share for Wednesday or Thursday pickup as late as the afternoon before, or they can become subscribers to pick up a box each week. The price—$18—is constant, but the contents of the box, available in regular and keto-friendly, change by day and with the seasons.
This is how it works: Customers order online ahead of time or as part of an ongoing subscription. Then, Shumake picks up fruits and vegetables in bulk at the State Farmers’ Market and a small team of volunteers divides the haul into individual boxes for pickup. To collect their share, customers bring their own bags and boxes and enter at the side of the building at 1000 Brookside Drive (to the left of the tattoo shop) and walk up to the Dutch door, where they are handed a box loaded with produce. They take what they want and leave the rest, which becomes The Produce Project’s “profit.”
“When you buy a tomato, you’re paying for the tomato that you’re buying, plus the three or four tomatoes that are hiding in the back of the store…there is always waste,” Shumake says. As he buys only enough to fill the boxes that have been ordered, there is no waste in the traditional sense; however, the nonprofit donates produce that customers don’t have room to take home. Customers can also purchase a share for donation at a reduced price of $15, and subscribers can get a weekly share plus a donated share for a total of $30.
In the first three months of this year, the organization donated more than 9,000 pounds of produce to the Resource Exchange Commission, which helps wounded veterans; the Murphey School senior housing; and Love Wins Community Engagement Center, which serves those experiencing homelessness.
A recent box held a mini watermelon, two clementines, two onions, five cloves of garlic, three jalapenos, one poblano pepper, a green pepper, two avocados, two small mangoes, two peaches, three large carrots, a couple of yellow squash, a package of locally grown lettuce, a bundle of asparagus, a bunch of kale, a bouquet of cilantro and a 10-pound bag of potatoes.
“Going to the grocery store is like an errand, [but] I’ve heard from the parents that when they show up here on pickup day, it’s like an unboxing,” Shumake says. “They don’t know what they’re going to get. It’s like Christmas…I had someone say to me the other day that it’s like Iron Chef in their house. They get home with the kids and the ingredients are all there and they’re like, ‘What are we going to make next?’”
Shumake retired early after an award-winning career as a teacher and several lucrative years working as an education consultant. He is thrilled to see how the community has embraced The Produce Project, but he has even bigger plans for the nonprofit. Ultimately, he wants to apply the same model in local schools, building a business as an integrated program to teach entrepreneurship, math, logistics, nutrition science, teamwork, problem-solving, marketing and more, all while providing healthy food to those who may not otherwise have access to fresh produce.
“I believe that people measure success in this country with the wrong metric—we measure success by the amount of money that we pull in,” Shumake says. “There is a finite thing we can measure success by and that is the number of breaths we take. The question is, what do we do with them? For me, it’s helping others [and] helping the community.”
For more information or to purchase a subscription, visit produceproject.org.
