A Harvest on Main exclusive, designed by local artist Emily Armstrong, brings together the businesses, parks, and everyday details that make Sharpsburg feel like home
When Bonnie approached local artist Emily Armstrong (she/they) to design a Sharpsburg bicentennial tote—exclusively for Harvest on Main—the timing felt meaningful.
Emily had just made the leap into full-time creative work, a lifelong dream. At the same time, Second Harvest was preparing to open a neighborhood grocery store built to serve the borough. The project felt less like a commission and more like a continuation of something already growing here.
Emily describes Sharpsburg this way: “Pittsburgh is a big city, but Sharpsburg feels small. It’s welcoming, friendly, and interconnected.”
That interconnectedness shaped the bag.
The design features more than a dozen local businesses, along with parks, landmarks, and everyday details that make the borough feel like itself. When Emily sat down with the Second Harvest team to talk through the concept, they kept coming back to inclusion—how to reflect as many corners of the community as possible. Emily was especially excited to reuse the familiar Sharpsburg lettering from her own Main Street mural, giving this new piece a shared visual identity.
Asked about a favorite detail, Emily points to a goose tucked into the design—a quiet, personal touch. When Emily first moved to Sharpsburg, she watched a family of geese grow up near a busy intersection. Cars would stop to let them cross. Even in the hustle of a city, neighbors made space.
And in many ways, that small act of stopping for one another feels like a metaphor for how this community works.
“Businesses aren’t competing,” Emily says. “They want each other to succeed. They understand that when one succeeds, we all do.” As someone launching their own creative business, that spirit has meant everything.
Emily describes Sharpsburg as a small, underdog community—and says that’s exactly what she loves about it. “I’m a believer in the underdog. I want the underdog to win,” Emily says. “With what we have, look what we can do.” It’s a positivity and perseverance, she explains, that people here truly embody.
Look closely at the tote and you’ll see it: many businesses, many stories—woven together in one small, deeply connected community.
And very soon, that connection will have a place to gather at Harvest on Main.
Local artist Emily Armstrong lives in Sharpsburg and brings community-centered storytelling to murals, fine art, marketing, and design. To explore more of Emily’s vibrant work and creative projects, visit artbyemilypaige.com.