In lawrenceville, a store called Divertido on Butler street caught my eye the first time I was taking a lunch walk back in September 2013. It has a very warm outdoor color theme, Orange. and a very catchy window display, tasteful and welcoming.
After the first encounter, I walked by the store many times and each time my eyes would find their ways to be glued to the window, my spirits would be lighted up, and then I thought how wonderful to be here at this moment.
One day the temptation was so irresistible that I opened the door and was greeted by a bright “Hello!”, later I found myself had opened up a whole new experience and greeted by an artistic Pittsburgh woman, Mary Ellen.
On the 22nd of January 2014, Mary Ellen and I sat down in her beautiful store and she told me a story about the birth and growth of Divertido, the store that was created and nurtured by her in the past ten years, for everybody who walks into the door to be able to have a fun experience of picking up a suitable gift for their loved ones.
Our conversation was interrupted several times by her customers. Each time, Mary Ellen would greet the customer, start a small chat and recommend some gifts that she thinks the person might like, just to make the customer at home. The customers were so happy and said they just wanted to walk around to kill time. In the end, when they left the store, they always got something for somebody in their family.
Whenever Mary Ellen was with her customers, I would walk around the store, take every color in, and felt so delighted because I so truly felt the passion and enthusiasm from Mary Ellen. It’s amazing how she has preserved and nurtured the passion she possessed 10 years ago when she first opened the store in another location on Butler street, when she decided to live each of her day fully with love, curiosity and appreciation in 2006 after going through a health crisis, when in 2011 the original store was flooded and she had to find a new place to reopen the business, and when each time she goes out to look for products for her store among local artists as well as those nationwide or worldwide.
Then when she told me that her plan for Divertido is to leverage the online business trend to expand its market outside Pittsburgh in the future so that more people can find the fun in picking a good gift for their loved ones, I knew it’s loving what she does and believing in the Divertido concept of shopping for gifts that has helped her achieve what she has achieved. Currently, Mary Ellen is also focusing on her website, and some social media channels to construct an user-friendly online presence. And her personal wish is to go to Paris someday.
If you have an opportunity to visit the store, you would know Mary Ellen’s store is the summation of her artistic background in music, photography, and sincere appreciation of art in general. It can also tell her deep understanding and appreciation of life’s many offerings. I always believe that life happens in sequence, the more we experience, the more we harvest. She herself as a person, an entrepreneur, has an abundant experience in our City and outside our City, which I believe made it even more interesting to know her as a person.
She currently lives in Etna with her Mother, who remains a vivacious character and loves life much. She told me she was born in Etna when it was still a prosperous place and left for outside world to have a life, after she moved back to Pittsburgh in late 1980s, she has lived in many neighborhoods, such as Northside, Regent Square, and Squirrel Hill. While she felt those ups and downs of the city, she harbors a hope for our City to embrace a bright future, especially for her hometown Etna, a vibrant comeback.
Divertido is a bright spot in Mary Ellen’s life. It adds a bright color on Butler street for Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh. It lights up my spirits each time I think of it. When I purchased a pair of earrings from the store, I know, I have supported a local Pittsburgh artist named Jabari Mason.
At the end of our conversation, I asked Mary Ellen to use her own word to describe Pittsburgh. She thought about it for a long while and said, “I would say Pittsburgh is a Friendly city where you can always find a surprise that you can’t resist.” I think that is such a proper summary for her lovely store Divertido as well.
ID @ Divertido
Where is Divertido store in Lawrenceville?
What’s the color of the front desk? Do you see a door at the front desk too?
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