Pop-Up Party
Fans of the monthly Dose Market (dosemarket.com) are going to fall hard for Fête (feteinchicago.wordpress.com), a new seasonal nighttime fair founded by three former Dosers: Emily Fiffer (DailyCandy), Heather Sperling (Tasting Table), and Jessica Herman (formerly of Time Out Chicago). Thirty Midwestern artisans will showcase holiday gift ideas for foodies and design-lovers during the inaugural market. Fiffer shares a few of her favorites with us: a table of handpicked culture, design, and culinary books from City Lit (citylitbooks.com); hand-dyed scarves from Heshima Kenya (heshimakenya.org); sculptural jewelry from Dorus Mhor (dorusmhor.com); men's accessories from Sir & Madame (sirandmadame.com); and beauty goods from Arch Apothecary (archapothecary.com).
Fête happens Thursday, from 6 to 10 p.m. at Room 1520 (1520 W. Fulton St. 312-952-1520, room1520.com). Tickets cost $5 and can be purchased at the door or online.
Top Sales This Week
Put the address “2908 North Wisner Avenue” in your GPS and follow it to a designer liquidation sale on brands such as Antik Batik, Heidi Merrick, and JPark, marked up to 80 percent off. The sale runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday through Sunday, in a Logan Square storefront that’s currently marked “Vintage Bodega” and will soon house a new boutique.
Book it over to Open Books (213 W. Institute Pl., 312-475-1355, open-books.org) this weekend for the store’s half-off event. From 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, all books will be—you guessed it—50 percent off, with most marked down to a mere $1.50. Open Books houses more than 50,000 donated books, and proceeds support literacy programs for CPS students.
The Best of the Rest
- Toki (tokicollection.com) jewelry designer Tonia Kim opens the doors to her studio (1422 W. Willow St., Suite 200, 773-531-8787) for a holiday sample sale this weekend. Previous collections, one-of-a-kind items, and select new pieces will be discounted by up to 70 percent on Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Shop the handmade creations at One of a Kind Show and Sale Chicago (oneofakindshowchicago.com), an annual holiday shopping extravaganza at the Merchandise Mart (222 Merchandise Mart Plaza, 8th Floor), held December 6 through 9. With more than 600 artists hawking their handiwork, this market brings out the best of the best—from the fantastically kooky to the creative genius. Tickets cost $12 and can be purchased online or onsite.
- Kristen Amato of K.Amato (k-amato.com) holds her annual holiday jewelry sale this week, with new pieces marked down 30 percent and a clearance table of stocking stuffers priced at $5, $10, and $15. Amato sets up shop at the Sofitel Chicago Water Tower (20 E. Chestnut St., 312-324-4000) tomorrow from 5 to 8 p.m., then moves the sale back to her Lakeview shop, K.Amato (1229 W. Diversey Pkwy., 312-882-1366), on Thursday, from 4 to 8:30 p.m.
- Every year, Men’s Journal puts out a “Gear of the Year” list (mensjournal.com/collection) containing the magazine’s top torture-tested products, divvied up into categories that range from adventure and fitness to style and tech. Shoppers can browse the goods and order their favorites at the Men’s Journal Pop-Up Shop (520 N. Michigan Ave.), which kicks off Thursday and runs through December 23.
- Prep for this season’s soirees at Riley (1659 N. Damen Ave., 773-489-0101, shopriley.com), which hosts a holiday party for Wicker Park shoppers on Thursday, from 5 to 7 p.m. Salon Blonde (salonblonde.com) stylists will coiff hair, Benefit (benefitcosmetics.com) artists will apply makeup, and the store will dole out refreshments—all complimentary.
- The Clever Alice (cleveralice.com) quarterly pop-up shop has a new location (17 E. Pearson St.), new designers (The Wrights, Society of Les, Sir Alistair Rai), and new markdowns (up to 50 percent off). Check out the sale Wednesday, from 4 to 8 p.m.; Thursday and Friday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- What they do: Pair a guy up with a personal stylist and send a trunk filled with hand-picked clothing straight to the dapper dude’s door. What you do: Learn more at the Trunk Club Holiday Shopping Event on Thursday, from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Trunk Club Headquarters (325 W. Ohio St., 7th Floor, 312-266-8700, trunkclub.com). The free event is open to the public, and the first 400 guests will score gift bags.
- Urban Oasis (urbanoasismassage.com for locations) celebrates 20 years in business with an anniversary sale, running now through December 31. Purchase two or more gift cards valued at $100 or more and receive $20 off each gift card with the code 20YEARS.
- BHLDN (8 E. Walton St., 312-573-2573, bhldn.com) holds a Baubles and Bourbon event on Thursday, from 5 to 8 p.m. Peruse jewelry designs during a Melissa Joy Manning (melissajoymanning.com) trunk show and sip complimentary libations. An RSVP to Chicagoappts@BHLDN.com is appreciated.