ptownie famous - Next Gen Provincetown: Adam's Nest

Thanks Mike Miller of ptownie for including Adam's Nest in the Next Gen Provincetown issue; grateful for your generosity and coverage. Thanks Ric Ide for the great photo and Erik Borg of Provincetown Brewing Company for the write up.

THE CHANGING FACE OF PROVINCETOWN BUSINESSES

Provincetown is ever changing, and that change is being driven in every corner. With the traditional markers of culture leading the way, the business community is also quietly playing its part in illuminating a new identity for Provincetown that is both in keeping with Provincetown's history and also pushing it forward.

As they always do, an array of small businesses has emerged in the past several years contributing to a new Provincetown. In many instances, these businesses are not new at their fundamental core. From t-shirt shops to guest houses, art galleries, and event spaces, they all have Jong been part of the Provincetown tapestry. With a twist on the original, they are doing it their own way, with a new angle or purpose, that is helping to shift or simply play with what Provincetown represents. Perhaps it's a more inclusive Provincetown. More political. More accessible. Queerer, or even more radical. A better Provincetown, perhaps.

The through line with these businesses? Owners and operators who fell in love with Provincetown saw an opportunity to start a business in the image of the Provincetown they wanted to see. It wasn't there, so they created it.

Adam's Nest

Not quite a newcomer, Adam's Nest has established itself over the past six years as a business that distorts what it means to be a vacation town t-shirt shop. Owner Adam Singer parlayed a long career in retail into a store that he describes as "sex-positive, politically engaged, socially conscious, spiritually connected, a bit naughty, queer and visible:• He says he didn't set out to create a provocative brand, "but then, all these different things happened that sort of helped direct what the shop turned into:' He opened the shop four days after the Pulse massacre in Orlando, and the summer before Trump's election. That year's Carnival theme? Back to the 80s. "I came out in 1985, and I was sort of surprised that we were celebrating the 80s. So when everyone was printing Pac Man and Rubick's Cubes, I printed Silence Equals Death, Read My Lips, and Frankie Says Relax, Get PrEP." Today, Adam's Nest designs are hard to miss up and down Commercial Street. "Shoot Loads Not Guns;' in bold letters makes a statement and gives a portion of proceeds back to Gays Against Guns. His Queer hats and sweatshirts support the Trevor Project. He has collaborated with and commissioned new designs from queer artists all over, many of whom he finds on Instagram or by customer referral. "It's definitely political and it's also passing on queer history;' he says. "I have a retail business with purpose, and if I can do anything to leave the world better than I found it, that's what my aim is."

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