Weekend fun at West Elm Chicago

I spent Saturday afternoon at the Etsy pop-up shop in the Lincoln Park West Elm. The store looked fantastic — West Elm did a beautiful job of choosing a location for each artist and integrating their products within the store's layout. I enjoyed wandering around meeting all the local artisans. Man, what a nice bunch of people. Above is Susan from Up in the Air Somewhere.


Kristin from Toast and Jam DJs provided tunes for shopping. I'm not sure who her friend is, but he has an awesome face.


Here's Angela of CircaAD putting something in a tiny bag. Perhaps a necklace with angel wings; they turned out to be a curiously hot item on Saturday.


These laser-cut brooch ladies looked on, modeling fashionable dresses.


Shoppers could purchase wood-block artwork from Lucius Art.


Or Chicago screen prints from Hiroshi Ariyama.


Meg from White Nest displayed her beautiful cushions and had the advantage of a comfy spot for a nap if needed.


Parched shoppers refreshed themselves with all-natural sodas from Seasons Soda.


Hungry shoppers fortified themselves with cocoa orange ice cream cake provided by Salted Caramel. "Hey, see that guy? He needs cake."


Here are Shawna X and Emily from Kissen Studio offering good-looking stationery and pillows.


Jack of Ethically Engineered told us all about making soap in his solar-powered studio. See that fellow with the orange purse? That's my husband Alex, to whom I owe a huge thank you for carrying my stuff all afternoon. A secure man is not afraid to be seen with a handbag.

Thank you to West Elm, Etsy, everyone who came out to support the work of independent craftspeople, and all 12 terrific vendors:
Nourishing Notes
Isette
Virtuality Studio
Second Chance Ceramics
White Nest
Shawna X
Up in the Air Somewhere
Lucius Art
Ariyama Studio
CircaAD
Ethically Engineered
Kissen Studio
Keep making wonderful things!