A new documentary is in the works to illuminate the flourishing DIY trend. Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY Art, Craft, and Design is the product of first-time filmmaker Faythe Levine, who was inspired to create the documentary after attending Chicago's Renegade Craft Fair in 2003: "No one was documenting what was going on," Levine said. "It was a bigger cultural community and it was leaking into mass media. They were starting to realize there......

One thing we never thought we'd own is inedible food. But Go Buggy's Gyoza Dinner set (pictured) has changed our mind. The hand-sewn details and bright colors make us want to both squeeze those mushrooms and then promptly devour them. Go Buggy, a.k.a. Machiko Munakata, 33, is originally from Tokyo, Japan. She came to Illinois for graduate school and afterward she decided to move to Chicago to find a job. She has lived in Chicago......

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......

With wedding season officially in swing (we've received three invitations already) it can be hard to find original gifts. Luckily, this cranberry cardamon and clove teacup candle from Something Beautiful is useful and pretty, unlike those monogrammed towels. Run by Marcie Schenck, 29, Something Beautiful grew out of her own wedding. Marcie's originally from Kentucky and moved to Chicago three years ago to work in architecture with her now husband. Their wedding was themed Alice......

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,......

We always tromp down Belmont to Paper Boy any time we need to buy someone a birthday card, because the stationary store usually has a nice little selection of cards handmade here in Chicago. We have an affinity for Chicago's DIY scene, and are complete suckers for anything fashioned by local artists. After browsing the racks at Paper Boy the other day, we picked up a flyer for the Indie Arts Market, featuring handmade art......

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......

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......

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).......

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......

Parking in our city during the winter is an especially trying act. If you've shoveled a spot adjacent to your building and "saved" it by means of a spare chair or ironing board, or even been embroiled in a debate about the morality of doing so, you'll appreciate these space saver cups by Chicago based Circa Ceramics. Chicago native Nancy Pizarro, 34, and former Wisconsinite Andy Witt, 36, turn lumps of clay into usable porcelain......

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......

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......

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......

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......