09/08/09
Half and Half
When the economic crisis hit, boutique owners immediately began buying fewer garments and accessories, leaving many designers with overstock for each collection. Instead of accepting her loss in profit, one of those designers, Annie Novotny, creator of Frei Designs (freidesigns.com), decided to transform the front half of her Pilsen studio space into a retail shop. Opening last month, Workshop (818 W. 18th St., 312-226-9000, workshopchicago.com) features Novotny’s locally produced, eco-friendly line of coats, dresses, tops, and...
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09/01/09
Back by Popular Demand
Last November, the local makeup artist Michael Perich closed his self-created botanical beauty line, CAMP Cosmetics (campcosmetics.com), after five years of business in a Glen Ellyn storefront. He had decided to redesign the space’s interior for a new venture: The Queens’ Closet (480a N. Main St., Glen Ellyn; 630-545-0240). The women’s boutique took off—but Perich continued got so many requests for his cosmetics that...
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08/25/09
Two for One
Local Forever 21 and H&M locations may be up for some competition starting this Friday. Also specializing in trendy women’s fashions at lower prices, A’Gaci (866-362-4224, agacistore.com), a popular chain store that originated in San Antonio, Texas, expands to the Midwest with two Chicagoland flagship locations. The stores debut one week apart from each other, opening at the Palmer House (17 E. Monroe St.) on Thursday, August 27th and...
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08/18/09
Insiders Welcome
Combining their love for classic cinema with elements of design, lifelong friends and Chicago multimedia artists Ryan Barkan and Dave Yakir launched belowtheCollar.com (773-687-0520), a movie-inspired T-shirt company, in mid-June. “All the movie shirts out there are mainstream. We wanted to create shirts that aren’t...
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08/12/09
Made in the Shade
During her time as a fashion consultant and manager of various cosmetic counters, Heather Hanson, a Northwest suburbanite, stumbled into the field of mineral makeup more than a decade ago. Back then, the product was just breaking into the market and gave Hanson the idea to make a high-quality cosmetics line that was affordable. Hanson contacted...
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08/04/09
Two Birds, One Stone
When north suburban twins Mary Sirois and Molly Kiefer decided to create their own business, they kept family and unity in mind. The result: Mia Sorella (104 S. Cook St., Barrington; 847-842-5009, mia-sorella.com), or ‘my sister’ in Italian, a relatively new combination salon and boutique located in the heart of downtown Barrington. “We wanted to make a place where you felt like you were shopping and getting beauty tips from your...
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07/28/09
Giving green a new name
Born and raised in Yugoslavia, Lillian Ostojich says she has spent most of her life developing ways to encourage healthy ways of living. A doctor who has dabbled in business, Ostojich created Zoetica (1250 N. LaSalle Dr.; 866-963-8422, zoetica.net), an organic health and wellness facility certified by the USDA—perhaps the nation’s first. “We really did everything possible to make it as pure as possible,” says Ostojich, who spent nearly four years planning...
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07/21/09
New Spot for a Green Shop
Chicago’s only nonprofit, eco-friendly, fair trade store, the Greenheart Shop (312-264-1625, greenheartshop.org) has taken over the former Porte Rouge (porterouge.biz) building at 1911 West Division Street. Opening earlier this month, the bigger space now provides a wider selection of sustainable clothing, jewelry, body products, home décor, and accessories, such as...
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07/14/09
More Posh
Susan Carlson planned for her first business venture, Posh Essentials (658 Central Ave., Highland Park; 847-945-7674, shoppingposh.com), to be a lingerie store. But shortly after opening in mid-April, Carlson, a principal of the company, quickly saw that customers wanted more. “We found that people loved to come in and buy gifts for each other, so we...
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07/07/09
Renewed
Despite the recession, Vipul (Victor) Aggarwal has continued to expand his small, family-run business. The 29-year-old entrepreneur recently opened Renew Spa (980 N. Michigan Ave., 2nd floor; 312-526-3891, renewspachicago.com), his third start-up business in three years. Believing that spas were either overpriced or dingy, Aggarwal sought to...
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