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Think of American Science & Surplus as a combination of 7-Eleven and Dollar Tree — if you swapped out the candy and cards for squirrel-in-a-tree-stump stress-relief squeeze toys or goth cat figurines. On any given day, more than 6,000 items pack its 5,000-square-foot store in Park Ridge — and about 99 percent are things you never knew you always … Read more
If you’ve decided to take up sewing or try making stained glass, don’t head to Blick or Joann or — God forbid — Hobby Lobby. The WasteShed, a nonprofit with locations in Humboldt Park and Evanston, sells (mostly) used art supplies at a discount. You never know what you’ll find. A vintage Singer sewing machine? Surprisingly fancy yarn? A … Read more
Former labor rights organizer Jamie Hayes opened Production Mode in 2015 as an alternative to mass-produced fast-fashion chains. Her take on “slow fashion” breaks the assembly line mold. The tailor-made clothing is designed via a face-to-face collaboration between customers and Hayes’s team of designers and is crafted by seamstresses in the North Center store (the … Read more
Updating your look doesn’t have to be a painful ordeal, not when you can do it in one easy sweep. A two-block strip of Armitage Avenue, between Halsted and Fremont, in Lincoln Park has everything you need for a style refresh, whether you’re hosting a backyard barbecue or heading to a chic soiree. Buck Mason … Read more
It’s not every day you walk into a store and see a giant Gaetano Pesce foot sculpture near a mounted aluminum breast from a 1940s Chicago gentlemen’s club. Or — on a more functional level, perhaps — a rare Percival Lafer ’70s brown leather and wood sofa. “I get a lot of customers come in and say, ‘What’s happening … Read more
If you’re the type eager to see the 1994 lesbian dramedy Go Fish one night and the 2023 Spanish coming-of-age film 20,000 Species of Bees another, then you already know the Gene Siskel Film Center is your spot. But unlimited arthouse movies for $30 per month, through August (including the Sidney Lumet series running through … Read more
Who says poetry is for sad sacks sighing over their diaries or delicate flowers musing obscurely about actual flowers? Not the poets at Giggle Hour! Cofounder Kailah “KP” Peters explains: “There is a time and space for trauma dumping and crying in a group, but we also need to hold space for joy.” The silly, … Read more
The dark confines of the Green Mill are superb for winding down after the week’s first day of work. Sit back and watch one of the city’s most impressive guitarists, Joel Paterson, masterfully flick his Epiphone’s strings to conjure slinky melodies — from Benny Goodman to the Beatles — before switching to the plaintive crying of his pedal steel … Read more
Chicago has earned its reputation for adventurous stage productions that lure audiences well beyond downtown. But even the most enterprising theatergoers may not know what’s worth checking out. One solid rule of thumb: See what’s playing at the Chopin Theatre. In recent decades, the 106-year-old Noble Square theater has served as a rental venue nurturing … Read more
Sixteen seasons in, RuPaul’s Drag Race still has a grip on its fans even firmer than the contestants’ corsets. You can find numerous raucous viewing parties in Northalsted and Andersonville bars — but there’s only one where you can sit mere feet from actual participants. At Roscoe’s, two-time contestant Naysha Lopez hosts alongside local queens Batty Davis … Read more
