Bridget Maiellaro

All in the Family
In the early ‘90s, Susan Lurie opened her first boutique in the northern suburbs. Named ENAZ (444 Central Ave., Highland Park; 847-433-6466, enaz.com), which stands for energy, nature, attitude, and zest for life, the shop catered to the busy mom. Within time, however, Lurie’s three daughters—Melinda Kaplan and Lena and Samantha Lurie—joined her management team, and the shop expanded its collections to include... Read more

Starting when she was 18 and an engineering student at University of California at Berkeley, Julie Liu taught herself how to design jewelry. Her hobby of creating necklaces, rings, and earrings for friends and family grew into a word-of-mouth business. Eventually, Liu quit her job as a hedge-fund manager and, in July, opened a jewelry boutique at the Northbrook Court mall. Located on the upper level of the Neiman Marcus corridor... Read more

Calling All Denim Junkies
The multi-designer denim boutique DNA 2050 (900 N. Michigan Ave., 3rd floor; 312-944-0040) returns to Chicago with a new home at the 900 Shops on Saturday, September 19th. The store originally opened a temporary location in Lincoln Park from September 2008 through May 2009. “[It] was a pop up shop for us to test the... Read more

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... Read more

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... Read more