Lindsey Stinnett had long considered opening a handmade-focused shop, but it wasn’t until she moved here from Knoxville, Tennessee, that it felt viable. “Chicagoans just really appreciate people’s crafts,” she says. A former high school teacher and lifelong maker of quilts and screen prints, Stinnett opened SOW in November to showcase an eye-catching selection of hand-thrown pottery, leather-bound journals, textiles, and more from some 28 local artisans. The store’s name is an acronym for “Stacker of Wheat,” a line from the Carl Sandburg poem “Chicago” and Stinnett’s nod to the city’s working-class roots. On Saturdays, she puts her classroom instincts into practice, hosting free workshops (watercolor cards, painted pottery) that reintroduce the quiet joy of working with one’s hands. It’s make-and-take at its coziest. 707 W. Armitage Ave., Lincoln Park
Alta Textiles table runner, $100
Garner and Tow sling bike bag, $99
Kennedy Free 5-by-7-inch print, $12
VT Potterina ceramic juicer, $26
Kiku Handmade Chicago skyline glass bowl, $48
Anwaar Candle Co. vegan candle, $36
