Chicago: March 2006 Archives
If you live in Chicago, you've probably heard about the boutique explosion on Damen St. in Bucktown. Bonne Marie and I decided that a little exploring was in order to see the new stores that had cropped up. Even though the weather can still only be described as blustery and cold (we saw actual snow flurries) it didn't put a chill on the enjoyment we got out of discovering some new stores and patronizing some old favorites. If you need flowers, fashion, kitsch, a custom T-shirt, jewelry, art, hip eyeware, ribbons, paper goods, handbags, funky shoes, cool things for your baby, maternity wear, fine house wares, prepared gourment foods, cigars (no, we didn't go there, but if you want them, you can find them) or lingerie, you can find it on Damen -- and that doesn't even include all the restaurants on the street!
One thing that was a favorite for both Bonne Marie and I was this little number (that we found at Climate Home, which sells some great greeting cards and a wide variety of other strange and wonderful things, including a pop-up book version of the Kama Sutra)
If you live in the Bucktown/Wicker Park/East Village/Ukrainian Village area, your main means of public transportation are likely to be the Damen and Chicago buses, and the Blue Line Train (which inspired the name for my first felted handbag). This T-shirt by Tattooed Tees has that vaguely touristy but mostly hip local celebration of my favorite El line and station.
What makes it ever so delightful is the station co-ordinates. In Chicago, all the El stations have big signs that include the name of the station and it's co-ordinates on the map grid of Chicago. 2000W, 1400N tells you that you are 20 blocks west of the east/west dividing line (State St.) and 14 blocks north of the north/south dividing line (Madison St.)
(This co-ordinate would probably be considered the very northern edge of Wicker Park instead of Bucktown, but the T-shirts that said Wicker Park didn't come in as nice a color combination). Knowing your co-ordinates is better than knowing a ZIP code or a street address if you understand how the city grid works. I so want it to get warm now, just so that I can wear this T-shirt!
Our favorite new shop was Soutache (which I think means "ribbon" in French). This place sells all sorts of wonderful embellishments. Incredible and fabulous ribbons, crocheted flowers, wooden hardware for hand bags, feather and fur (fake) tapes and feather boas, special buttons, pom pons of all sorts -- all arranged in an appetizing and engaging manner. This place almost made me wish that I knew how to sew. If you're at all crafty, I don't think you could go in there without being inspired by all the colors and textures. And shiny-thing-loving-crow that I am, I knew I wasn't going to leave empty handed.
How can you not like knitting-themed ribbon? I think I am going to use the "I wonder who's knitting for me" tape when I give hand knitted gifts. I want to use it to embellish cards that provide instructions for garment maintenance. The "Knitting Instructions" tape* I have no current plans for, but I just couldn't resist it. Maybe I will try to convince my mom to help me make some small pouches for knitting gear and embellish them with it. Or maybe I'll create some needle lace and combine it with the ribbon to use as bookmarks for my knitting book collection.
We made several other stops, to Eye Spy (purveyors of very fashionable eye glasses, which will be revealed in several weeks after I have an eye appointment and get lenses ordered), Toast (where we had lunch of pancakes and french toast -- their Marscapone French toast is to die for!), C'est Moi (a small store full of French-country inspired housewares and fabrics), Shebang (which sells lovely funky handbags), the Goddess and Grocer (some of the best peanut butter cookies in the city, I think) and 4-5 clothing/jewelry stores before ending up in Filter (a wonderful coffee shop made more wonderful by the new no smoking ordinance in Chicago**) to do a little sock knitting. All in all, a most excellent day!
* note to Julie, there is a yard of this stuff with your name on it sitting next to my computer right now next time we have a little get-together, it will come live with you!
** I'm not trying to offend smokers here. In general, I have no problem with people choosing to smoke -- we all have our little vices and I'd be pretty annoyed if someone criticized me for drinking coffee or enjoying a Frontera margarita.. But I don't like the congested feeling I get, the eye irritation from my contact lenses, or the smell my clothes/yarn take on after being in a smokey room. So the smoking ban in eating establishments in Chicago has been a real blessing for me.
