On Saturday afternoon, I dropped by the offices of STLStyle‘s still-new storefront on Cherokee, a couple doors east of Compton. Dubbed STYLEhouse, the space is coming together well, starting with the Saint Louis flag that hangs outside the building, which audibly crackles, in even a modest breeze. The flag’s only the first bit of civic goodwill that you encounter at the space, as every few feet there’s another image of the town, via photos, maps, paintings and t-shirts, t-shirts, t-shirts.

Jeff and Randy Vines have been running the STLStyle empire for a while now, outfitting right-thinking Saint Louisans in civically-pleasing gear since 2001. Now, they’ve found themselves that fine storefront, housed in what was Galen Gondolfi’s former Beverly Gallery; it’s just next door to Fort Gondo and awaiting a new neighbor on the other side, the historic former home of the Way Out Club.

You can read the whole history of the STLStyle at their website here.

You can also read about a really neat event taking place at the storefront this Thursday night. It’s called City Affair and is aiming its monthly target at gentrification. The night’s hosted by Michael R. Allen and all panelists – as well as some background on City Affair – are found at the movable event’s blog.

Here’s a nutshell from Randy Vines: “City Affair is a monthly salon-style discussion about urban issues facing Saint Louis.  From public transit to historic preservation to urban design, this semi-structured forum, steered by passionate city residents, aims to inspire collaborative efforts to improve civic engagement in Saint Louis City.  What started in 2007 as a grassroots coalition to save the San Luis Apartments in the CWE from the wrecking ball has snowballed into a much broader effort to foster an environment of community dialogue and activism.