Some weeks it feels like the world is out to get us, and this was one of those weeks. Luckily, our spirits were lifted as soon as we saw these adorable prints from laurageorge, who believes that we should all feel good more often. And her illustrations definitely achieve that goal. Her prints are seemingly simplistic designs filled with little touches and details (go to the close-ups of Tell Me, pictured) that make them unique......

For our part, we've never found diamonds that interesting. Sure, they're sparkly, but they also spark war and social injustice. Give us a brilliant blue sapphire or glittering ruby for our precious jewels. We love the jewelry on Recycled Rings because it joins our love of re-imagining traditional rings and the knotted designs with tiny beads sewn in are unique and wonderful (like the Middlebury ring, shown). Recycled Rings is the concept and shop of......

When Chicago photographer and designer Ron Reason scheduled a business trip to Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, the last thing he expected was to find inspiration for an art show. During multiple trips to Nairobi, Reason became enthralled with an inner-city slum known as Kibera, and returned to Chicago determined to illuminate what he had discovered. Despite the fact that Kibera was plagued with intense post-election violence and bloodshed in the early months of......

Lily Koppel, 22 and fresh out of Barnard, was already late for work when she rushed out of her New York apartment in 2003. She stopped when she saw several vintage steamer trunks piled on top of the building’s red dumpster. So, like any good reporter, she and her ballet flats dove in, literally, pulling out a beaded flapper dress, an old coat from Bergdorf's, saddle shoes that fit her like Cinderella's shoes, and at......

Like Hawk Harrelson with the White Sox, we've been unabashed homers for Stephanie Izard to win "Top Chef Chicago" here at Chicagoist pretty much since we heard that she was taking part in the show. Her performance thus far — winner of one quickfire challenge and four elimination challenges — combined with an ebullient personality has her poised as both the front runner and fan favorite to win the competition. But what does Izard have......

You may have noticed that we're suckers for bright colors—in our wardrobe, our homes and our jewelry. So when we saw PetitOiseau's miniature Bakelite picture frames (pictured), we fell in love. The small size is perfect for a coin or stamp or doodle. PetitOiseau means "little bird" in French and is run by Heather Goldberg, 34. Heather's been a Chicagoan on and off for eight years now, but she's still a Canuck at heart,......

Joe Swanberg isn't a typical filmmaker. His work is just as likely to capture characters discussing some quirky intricacy of life as it is graphic sex, and his on-going Chicago-set web series Young American Bodies is no exception. Audiences and critics are taking notice of Swanberg's style as he gains underground fame in the “mumblecore” genre, which is characterized by improvised, low-budget films that document the lives of introspective twentysomethings. His work portrays a......

We're of the firm opinion that, while you can have too much of almost everything, this rule does not apply to accessories. Especially when those accessories happen to be gorgeous natural stone pendants, vintage pins and colorful key chains. We especially love this "All Eyes On You" filigree necklace (pictured). Tracy Ellison, a perpetually 28 year old Chicago native, is the owner of Trace Ellements, a boutique for the slightly earthy but sophisticated. The vintage......

Almost daily, buildings that have stood for decades, some even for a century, are destroyed. For example, the buildings that made up the Cabrini Green housing project get a little bit smaller every day. Other famed architecture like the two Adler & Sullivan buildings that went up in flames (the Pilgrim Baptist Church and Wirt-Dexter building) in one year have also been lost to the ages. Since 2001, Preservation Chicago has fought to keep the......

With the usual hustle and bustle of city life, sometimes it's so nice to just enjoy simpler times and places. That's why we love Jennifer Larkin, the owner of JKL Creations and The Paper Peony. We're suckers for well-done letterpress items, and Jennifer's have a sweet, clean design. While it's a little late to order anything for Mother's Day (you do remember it's this Sunday right?), we wish we'd seen these cards early enough to......

Last week, we gushed about the State-side release (finally!) of Swedish pop star Robyn's self-titled record. A magnificent, intelligent slice of dance-pop heaven, the record has been garnering rave reviews, even three years after its release on her native continent of Europe. Now she's on a cross-country trek to continue her quest to capture our American hearts, minds, and ears. We caught up with her on the day after the record's release, as she......

In 1992, Aleksandar Hemon was offered a chance to fly from his home in Sarajevo to the United States and participate in a journalist cultural exchange program, spending a month visiting American writers and universities. Seeing the chance to escape the brewing war in Bosnia, Hemon took the offer. While visiting, war finally broke, stranding Hemon in Chicago. With only a basic grasp of the English language, Hemon settled in Chicago and set a goal......

Now that we're finally getting nice weather, it's time to stop wearing that gray sweater you've had on all winter and decorate yourself with bright baubles. We like to make it a personal mission to make ourselves look like a bunch of crazy wildflowers. Local Mom O Matic's Automat is helping us in our quest with their vintage buttons and plastic bits transformed as fun, bold jewelry (we adore this church basement charm bracelet, pictured).......

When Nathaniel Rich (yes son of Frank Rich and brother of Simon Rich) left his hometown of New York City for California to write his first book, San Francisco Noir the fiction bug was already in his head. While he was busy collecting information on the city and its legendary films, he was scratching ideas about languages and the idea of colossal writers on the back of his notebook, ideas aching to be explored. But......

Recent weeks have been very busy at Blue Sky Inn. They just launched a revamped website, passed their Health Department inspection allowing them to open their new café and bakery in Albany Park, and are tying up loose ends in advance of their spring fundraiser next Friday at the Esquire Theatre. The pending opening of the bakery, in particular, is a high water mark for Blue Sky Inn. It not only allows them to......

One of the best things about good art is that it transports you to another world, even if it's a realistic world, that you see through someone else's lens. That concept is especially true of the work of James Spicer. His photography focuses on urban life through miniature scenes (like Rush Hour right). James, 36, was born across the street from Oz Park and thinks the best two places for hot dogs are Hot Doug's......

Tom Bulleit of Bulleit Bourbon ...

As previously stated in our 16 Sparrows interview Made in Chicago loves handwritten letters and cards. We love email and technology too, but nothing beats a physical card in the mail if we can get it. In other things that we love, cupcakes and robots are pretty up there. Our loves have been united with Creative Apples' series of cards and prints. Made by Chicago native April Bern, in her early 30s, we almost forget......

Todd Stroger sat down with CBS2's Mike Flannery for a 40 minute interview about patronage, county health system billing blunders, the county budget, unfairness in the media and the pay hike his cousin Donna Dunnings got out of the new budget. You can watch it here. We're not sure who's more awkward - the Toddler or Flannery, but there are some nifty highlights: Go to 8:10 to see the Toddler look for his cell phone!......

Welcome back to Made in Chicago. Did you miss us last week? Everybody needs a sick day, and we've whipped up something extra tasty today to make up for our absence. Punk. Rock. Cupcakes. That's Bake and Destroy in a nutshell, the blog, flickr, and Etsy trifecta of Natalie Slater. Natalie, 28, is originally from Joliet, which she describes as, "Chicago's stoner little brother: kind of okay to hang out with for a little while......

“I miss the beat,” says Bill Cameron. “But hopefully I'll be able to get back to it sooner rather than later.” Cameron is no longer on that beat because he was let go by his employers, WLS Radio, a couple Fridays back in what's being called the Leap Day Massacre. So, seeing as how he had some extra time on his hands, we decided to get in touch with him and talk about nearly 40......

Some of us aren't sure how we ended up in Chicago, but it did call to us, and before we know it, we were unpacking our suitcase and calling it home. This happened to Donovan Beeson, 25 and Kathy Zadronzny, 26, proprietors of 16 Sparrows, a digital source for all things paper. Both ladies found themselves drawn here from warmer climates, Savannah, Georgia and Miami respectively, during the blizzard of 2003 and have never looked......

Chicago-based Pitchfork, ye olde guardian of all things indie rock and general critical force to be reckoned with, is launching Pitchfork.tv on April 7. When we first saw the press release hit our inbox, we admit our initial reaction was one of great skeptical cynicism. Recently Pitchfork gave a rather naked endorsement to a video game that they just happened to choose the soundtrack for, so the move in to territory dangerously similar to MTV-land......

Photo by The New No.2 Governor Blagojevich promised $1 million to help rebuild Pilgrim Baptist Church after it burned down in 2006. But church officials say they haven't seen a dime, and even Blago's office admits the money went to an unrelated school that rented space from the church. They were sticking with that story until other local politicians jumped in to call Blago a liar and an opportunist, at which point our governor......

You might have seen Antler Girl around. She's been spotted for a couple years now on t-shirts, bags and postcards. What you might not have known is that Antler Girl is only one of the mostly-human, part-animal characters roaming our city by fabric and paper (like Giraffe Girl, pictured). Ashley Alexander, 32, is the creator of I'm Smitten, a collection of fairy tale and childlike creatures available as posters, cards, t-shirts and soon, teacups. Ashley,......

Esther Ramirez likes to go on romantic pony rides. No really, she told us that. The 27 year old artist, better known as Essimar at her Etsy shop, also loves paper. So much so she posts the process of her paper creature creations on her blog. Esther's cards and stationery are delicate pieces that are brilliantly colored without losing their subtlety (like the bunny Zaha, right). A resident of Little Village, Esther says, "I find......

Photo by Sam Rosen from The Post Family Artists have a reputation of being snobbish, standoffish and altogether pretentious loners. Some are glad to claim that title while others, like the members of The Post Family are out to prove it wrong. The troupe of mostly paper-goods artists share a loft space and website where they collaborate and hawk their wares. They also encourage anyone to say "hello." In their own words: "We enjoy......

Like a scaled-down Tonight Show sans writer’s strike trauma, The Interview Show brings humorous, interesting and idiosyncratic folks to The Hideout’s couch. Tonight at 6:30, host and Red-Eye columnist Mark Bazer welcomes “Funniest Person in Chicago” Hannibal Buress (there is no one funnier…), Looking for Alaska author John Green, Lifeway Foods President Julie Smolyansky, and Schadenfreuder and troublemaker Justin Kaufmann. If you can’t change your plans on less than four hour’s notice, take heart. Bazer......

Made in Chicago has been buried under snow and soot for a minute, but on a cold, wintry day such as this, we're digging it out with another homemade gem to share with all of you to help you finish out the week. By day, David Head is a graphic designer for a local marketing firm, but by night, evidence of his indie posters and silkscreens (like this Pony's poster, right) can be seen in......

In a political season that has been marked by the theme of change, Illinois's 3rd Congressional District has become one of the battle grounds over what the Democratic Party might look like going forward in 2008. Critics of the incumbent, Dan Lipinski, are unhappy with his opposition to abortion rights and stem cell research, and his siding with moderate Republicans on the war in Iraq and domestic spying. Besides his voting record, they also don't......