HEADS UP, LOCALS: If you're shopping here to support independent artists and local businesses, take…read morea closer look at what you're buying--you might be buying TEMU. Living in Wicker Park, I intentionally spend more money at neighborhood businesses because I want to support the community behind them. That's why I purchased a ring here for $34. Later, I found what appears to be the identical ring on Temu for $3.20. The price difference isn't what bothered me. Local businesses need to make money. What bothered me was believing I was supporting a unique local boutique, only to discover what appears to be a mass-produced item readily available online. Maybe some items here are made by local artists. I hope they are. Too bad the owner wasn't there when I stopped in, because this is feedback I would have preferred to give directly. Whether the response to this review is that the ring isn't from Temu, that retail markups are normal, or that other products in the store are locally made, the underlying concern remains the same: customers who choose to shop local deserve transparency about what they're actually supporting. That's what makes this so disappointing.

Super cute little gift shop. I bought some little wooden cars for 2 year old's birthday AND was…read moreable to visit a mini art vending machine (my goal for going). Glad the mini art drew me in because the store is so fun and the staff was lovely.

My friend suggested a stop here and I was kinda meh about the idea, but we'd parked in the garage…read morefor MCA so we stopped in. I'm glad she talked me into it because their store has some fantastic stuff. I loved walking around and browsing... the store is really big. I thought it was just the first floor but there's an entire second floor that's even larger. That second floor has a ton of children's stuff; books, toys, stuffed animals, art, and so on. There are also lots of books for adults, and cards, and jewelry, and t-shirts, and so many things. I bought several books for my little one, and there are some toys I think she'd like that I may pick up another time and some really cute stuffed animals as well. I'm not sure if the woman that greeted us was a docent or a paid staff member but she was so welcoming. She's the one who pointed us to the second floor that we didn't know existed and let us know they had kid stuff. Then she welcomed us back when we got downstairs, and told us about the MCA kids days and said she couldn't wait to see us again.

Really cool store with such a nice variety of items! Two floors. Pristine and good vibes all…read morearound. The entire staff was so friendly and helpful. Good vibes all around. I purchased Studio Ghibli postcards for my boyfriend and got myself a colorful clock. Great place for unique gifts and reasonable prices.

this place is like if anthropologie and street markets had a baby... such a beautiful selection of…read morecurated goods from across the world, at such an honestly reasonable price (think $30 for large bowls, silverware for less than $10) and the employee kept the shop open for us late. not only that, she had knowledge about the sourcing and uses of every piece we asked about (and they can source upon request)! i also love that they host crafty events for the community. please, take your business here before turning yet again to crate or another big corporation which will charge you twice as much!

What a magical and soothing store. Specializing in marble and other material objects. Also in…read morerotation random other object that will surprise you every visit. Super nice owners and very knowledgeable/ helpful. What a fun experience finding this store.

The service at the store was very nice and welcoming. They are highly accommodatable and…read moreeducational when it comes to ensuring that you know everything about their goods that they sell. We went here, looking for a Matcha tea set. They didn't have any in stock yet. So we opted to buy some incense and a wild tapestry. Everything is priced as expected these are all imported goods from Japan. We will be back to purchase some Matcha. Almost everything they have in there that you can smell taste and touch. They have a sample for! I love that because then you know exactly what it is that you're getting. Great experience I highly recommend coming here if you're looking for authentic Japanese goods.

I've been here a few times, but came back again with a friend and the owner was super nice and…read moreexplained the incense boxes that we were looking at in a very in-depth and detailed way. They have beautiful hand-crafted and articulate items for sale here. Every time I walk in here, it feels tranquil. You could easily drop several hundreds if not thousands here, but everything is made with high quality. Definitely recommend this place if you're window shopping in Andersonville!

This shop has so much cute chicago apparel and giftable items! They even have their own custom hat…read moremaking bar with adorable patches you can choose from. Most of their items are under $100 so it's affordable. I love browsing their section of homegoods because they're so niche and hard to find in regular stores. The staff is very friendly and accomodating.

Kind of in love with this adorable shop. I'm happy, but also scared for my bank account, that a…read morelocation recently opened in my neck of the woods! Alice & Wonder's tagline is "pretty fun things" and that's exactly what they have to offer! Lots of clothing, home goods and decor, accessories, and so much more! The design of A&W is so. stinking. cute. You can tell they really put a lot of pride into the light, airy aesthetic of the store and it reflects the products they sell perfectly. Overall, it does have a higher price tag, but I think the quality is there. I especially love their more local lines, like Sweet Home Chicago, which is filled with the CUTEST Chicago tees and sweatshirts you'll find in the city! I also adore their Little Wonder line (moment of silence that name), which is clothing for newborns, toddlers, and kids. I got a friend a cute set for her baby and just picked up a shirt that says "I still live with my parents" that will fit a 3-6 month old. A&W also started a beanie line called 'mad hatter' which has beanies in every color under the sun that are super soft and thick to keep your ears warm during the Chicago winter. Alice & Wonder has an online store and ships across the country if you don't live in Chicago but want to check it out. This will without a doubt be my go to shop for any thoughtful holiday or birthday gifts from here on out!

I visited on Sunday 8/30/26, and l regret that this is my first visit. Simply put, I have been…read moremissing out. This is best described as a brick-and-mortar art fair. They have over 100 artist stalls! And they rotate new artists in and out all of the time! Hands down, I think this is the coolest store in Chicago. If you know of any other stores like this, please leave me a comment. I love visiting the street art fairs around town. But as we all know, Chicago weather isn't always conducive for such. I will definitely return to see how artists refresh their stalls and on the lookout for new items from new artists that rotate in or have a temporary popup. Its places like this that make our city unique and flourishing in the arts and culture. So do yourself a favor and visit. They have lots of cool Chicago centric stuff. The staff is very nice and the more people that know about it, then the more it will flourish. Help support our local small businesses like this.

What a cool place!!! So many rooms and floors of cool art and specialty items. It's bigger than it…read morelooks. Rooms lead to more rooms. Really unique gifts, clothes, honey, jewelry, candies, soaps, bags, housewares, artwork from local artists, and more. I definitely recommend checking this place out!

This place is amazing. Great place to find unique gifts for yourself and friends. Love the vibe…read morehere. It represents everything witchy, occult, taxidermy, sideshow, etc. Staff is very helpful to assist you to find that special gift or item you have been dreaming to own. Be on the look out for their special events, art openings, and workshops.

This place has a trove of oddities, something for everyone and is well-worth a visit. I poke in…read morewhen I want to pass out unique and funky gifts. Most items can be found online for less, but I prefer the in-store feels. Before today, my last visit was this past Christmas Eve. I bought some clamshell trinkets, porcupine quills, beard oil and few other non-essentials. On that particular day, I witnessed the owner tear apart the entire window display to fetch a rabbit necklace for a young couple. I ear hustled as the couple asked if they can reduce the price. The owner willingly complied as she put herself together (it was a whole workout just to get that piece). I had my eye on a turtle shell for $30. But I told myself I'd come back for it. I followed them on Ig and the shell kept calling my name. I figured, let me message them on Ig. If they can reduce the price even $5 I'd make the trek back. Hey, they did it for the young couple, it didn't hurt to ask. They said no. Pond turtle shells online start at $12. I figured, no biggie. I come in today to buy a gift card, some sage, palo santo, beard oil (up $3 since my last visit), a cool card for Father's Day coming up and alas my $30 turtle shell I intended to pay full price for. Or what I thought was $30. In a little over 4 mos the price inflated to $40. I mentioned it was $30 my last visit. I was perfectly willing this time to pay the $30 but what on earth constitutes a 33 % markup in just a season? I mentioned I could get them online for under $20 but I chose to come to the store and support local business. "You don't know if it's ethically sourced (from online)" they said. "And I don't know if this is ethically sourced either." I responded. The owner loudly barked "I'm not arguing with you." "Who's arguing with you?" What a weird response and made me feel pretty humiliated in front of their other customers especially given I still completed a transaction. Haggling, sharing information, and reminding them of my previous visit was hardly arguing. But hey. I initially intended to spend $100 today (on crap no one really needs unless you're Phoebe Buffay). I opted against buying the other items and just stuck with a gift card of $20. I'll buy the beard oil from Walgreens and earn points. And I'll buy the scent sticks from a similar Latin-owned business where the items will be cheaper and I'll feel more welcome. I'm not the target market here at Sideshow: I'm not Wiccan, im not a satanist, I'm not weird looking, I'm not white, I'm not goth, and I'm not holding on to a lost youth. If you fit any of those categories, perhaps your experience may be more fulfilling. Cool shop, fun concept but at the end of the day I don't need shoddy taxidermy displays, jewelry adorned with dead insects or any other knickknacks I can just as soon get online, for less. Especially not when the experience comes with pick-and-choose service. And particularly not when I'm coming far out of my way to spend money that doesn't come easy.

I visited the shop for the first time stationery store fest. It's a small quaint storefront…read more Walking in there were sex toys and I was like why is this on the stationery store list since it barely has stationery but I'm like okay I respect the openness and women's sexual health. We need more stores like that! There wasn't a ton of inventory I'd want to buy. I tried finding a print that stuck out to me but they had limited stock. There was jewelry that was super cute, but I don't have my ears pierced and couldn't justify the price for the rest of the jewelry. The one thing that stuck out to me negatively was that there was a man talking to the employee working the checkout desk. Then when he left the employee turns to someone else there and starts talking about how he smelled bad. I am standing in front of the employee waiting to get my stationery store passbook stamped so I hear this whole conversation and I'm like that's so mean! Talk about terrible Customer Service!!! It really turned off me from shopping here and I couldn't bring myself to buy something and support them. It's a quaint shop but I just can't buy from here if I know the employees might turn around and talk shit about me when I leave.

Visited Bon Femmes for an event they were hosting. It was a vision board event and done so well!…read moreEverything was set up so carefully and thoughtfully. I had a blast with the friends that attended the event with me. We all enjoyed our night! After the event, we were able to look around Bon Femmes. It's such a cute shop stocked with art, stickers, stationary, cards, and much more. I definitely want to come back and shop some more! It's a perfect spot to get a friend or family member a gift. The prices were pretty good, too!