Sharon Webb is not edgy.  And she doesn’t understand why we’re writing about her.

At least, that’s the impression I got when I sat with her in her new gallery/gift shop on Court Street.  She stared at me with a dubious sort of “why are you interested in me” look as I explained what BingPop was.

“It’s all about what’s fun, edgy, unusual, or kind of underground in Binghamton.”

She begins giggling.  Then points out that she’s listening to Rachmaninoff and selling hand-sewn scarves in her shop.  Not edgy.

It’s true; Sharon Webb is not hip.  She’s actually kind of adorably spacey.

We continue to chat about downtown Bing and why she moved her shop, the Giddybird, from Owego to here.  She suddenly bursts out with, “It’s just so good to be alive!”

I pause, confused.  “Uh, how did you… how did that connect to the conversation?”

“It doesn’t,” she smiles.  “I was just thinking.”

Sitting and chatting with Sharon is almost as interesting as looking at her art; she has an unusual perspective on almost everything.  She explains to me that she had to “look past” the less attractive elements of downtown when she moved the shop there a few days ago; specifically, she sees a lot of people down on their luck—and doesn’t want to become obsessed with worry over them; she’s sympathetic to a fault.

And she knows that she’s picked a spot on Court Street that’ll have to become a destination.  “That’s where the Giddybird comes from.”  She’s talking about her store’s logo—which she’s got printed on everything from hand-colored greeting cards to totes to kids shirts.  She invented it to make the gallery more accessible… and to encourage repeat costumers (who will hopefully by a card every time a birthday comes up).  Just because she’s running an art gallery—doesn’t mean it’s gotta be highbrow or snobby.

Sharon’s created almost everything in the store, with the exception of the scarves and the natural scented soaps.  I had lunch in the Kilmer with a friend yesterday and pointed out that the poppy paintings on the wall were hers, and he loved them; her work seems to fit in just about anywhere.  And starting this Friday you can also find it at the Anam Cara Gallery (204 State).

But my FAVORITE part of all this is that it expands First Friday.  The “gallery district” is slowly creeping eastward, with great stuff to see at Phelps, Tranquil AND Giddybird.

PS, her greeting cards have penguins.  I love penguins.

Just not real ones.