I reached out to Elita at Einnim for hosting a candle making workshop for my office colleagues…read more From our communication via email, Elita is super sweet and very well prepared. She came to our office (she is mobile now) and hosted workshops for 25+ people. She had great selection of flavoring oils. Our whole team had amazing time with her and really were excited to make candles just before Valentine's Day. Now my team is thinking about doing something like this on annual basis.

Very informational session on candle making. Learning and base, mid and high tones. Natural vs. man…read moremade. Even the experience of making the candle and knowing the wax to oil ratios. Very informative on how to properly care for a candle that I (a candle lover) didn't think about. A bit short lived. Keep in mind. The entire experience was less than 30 min. But and you candle has to be shipped or picked back up next or later day.

Stumbled upon this cute store while at the Windy City hot dog festival and so glad I did! I bought…read morea handful of items, but my most favorite was the body butter in the lavender and patchouli scent! Exquisite!

Nice shop in Portage Park. I stopped at Junebug and saw it there so wanted to stop in, and I'm glad…read moreI did because they have a nice selection of bath and body items. The owner said that he makes them all himself, and he also has soap making classes which is pretty cool. And apparently he's a the Park Ridge Farmer's Market as well, so I've seen him there a couple times and didn't make the connection! I bought a couple of face masks because I'm a sucker for them. They had at least three or four kinds but I stuck to just two (they're the plastic face mask kind, not like a cream or powder that you mix). I also bought some eye masks so I am totally ready for a little self-care session. In addition to hand soaps and face masks, they have accessories like sponges, towels, body butters and scrubs, and so on. They have some other home fragrance items too. Parking is on the street with use of the Chicago parking app. They have an online store too!

I took a class here a few months ago, and I have to say that this studio has the nicest people. It…read morereally is a friendly community that encourages you to explore your creative ideas. The instructors are wonderful and super great teachers. They are very attentive and will help you execute your pottery. The only reason I stopped going to the studio is that it is really hard to get to for me by public transportation but there is plenty of street parking if you have a car. The studio is more economical, and that's reflected in the price you pay for the class (less bougie than some other studios but wayyyyyy most cost-effective). They are also wonderful because they have a makeup class if you miss yours. Overall highly recommend! If you were interested though you should call or email to hold your spot - the waitlist is a few months.

At the behest of my friend, I finally decided to take pottery classes at Creative Claythings. I was…read morehesitant at first due to my only experience with clay being back in junior high, but came out at the end with pieces of pottery that I was quite proud of making. Big thanks to the teacher Christine for answering my questions regarding technique with intricate details.

THIS PLACE IS ADORABLE! Whether you are looking for a cute…read morelocal Chicago made candles for gifting, yourself, or even to make your own candles, this is the place to stop by! My friend introduced me to this lovely shop and I instantly fell in love. The price is so reasonable for its quality and design and I love the exclusive designs. This cozy store has wide variety of candles and soaps, with different designs and unique scents (like tomato leaves, my fav). It was my first time making candles and the whole experience was so much fun and went so smoothly, it was actually quite soothing overall. I am definitely returning and can't wait to try other designs next time!

ABSOLUTELY MY FAVORITE CANDLES OF ALL TIME. First of all, EVERYTHING is made with organic…read moreingredients so they're all perfect for people with allergies, pets, babies, and every other problem that you might have... Evie is the cutest person who genuinely cares about every pour, and will always suggest the best candle for you and your family. I used to always have a headache whenever I lit candles (which made it hard for someone who loves candles and scents), but ever since I started using Evie's candles, I haven't heard a headache and I haven't been able to go back to my old candles. You absolutely need to check Evie out if you live in the area, and if you're not, I believe she's launching her online store soon so STAY TUNED. THANKS EVIE FOR AN AMAZING CANDLE MAKING CLASS and FOR ALWAYS CARING ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS!!!!!!!

Aura Candle Bar has a calm, quiet, relaxing atmosphere with exposed brick walls, light flooring,…read morehigh ceilings and floating shelving. One wall holds all the candle inventory with fragrances like old books, dad's den, dragon-blood or more identifiable scents like elderberry, dark chocolate, bonsai, yuzu. The candle experience starts with an explanation of the experience and setting expectations before exploring fragrances that speak to us individually. Off we went to the shelves, making notes and sniffing coffee in a silver sifter to reset "nose fatigue". Our "chandlers" curated our blends with us and instructed us on blending technique to help us build the scent. Vessels were selected, wax poured, fragrances added and candles created. Candles are available for pick up the next day. I have been back three times. I highly recommend this business. They are a family owned business.

I have been to Aura a handful of times and each experience is just as enjoyable as the last. It has…read morebecome one of my go-tos when spending time with friends, family, or a date night. The owners are lovely and each of the people who works there is extremely knowledgeable. No matter what your scent pallet is, you will be able to find smells you love and create candles that will last all season. Highly recommend also grabbing one of their sugar scrubs. It has become a staple in my house as well as a great gift for other others!

It was 10 of my family members and from the time we walked in, they treated it us all with such…read morecare. They took are jackets and purses and hung them up within our eyesight, talked us through on selecting whatever scent we desired to mix to establish our candles, From the step by step directions on how to prepare the candles, they offered a variety of games for us to play while we wanted for our candles to become ready. This is a very clean establishment. The price for the class was reasonable. I recommend anyone who loves candles to go for the experience

I'm SO glad Jackson Junge Gallery is next door to Oiistar. While we waited for a table we visited…read morethe gallery. The place is bursting at the seams with beautiful works of art. I was attracted to their current exhibit, Ten by Ten... over 300 works of art all in a 10 x 10 format. Kaitlyn was super helpful and took plenty of time to explain the exhibit. She also mentioned all the pieces were available online. We looked and looked and looked. We found a few pieces we liked, but the prices seemed out of our price range. We liked one that was affordable, but we didn't love it. When we were called for our table next door, we didn't think we'd get to come back before the gallery closed, but that wasn't the case. We were excited to be able to come back in for another view. Here's the thing. I am more likely to spend money online than I am in person. I suppose it makes no sense, but as soon as we got back to the hotel I checked out the art online and ended up buying the piece we both loved and decided (in the gallery) that it was simply too expensive. Hmm, I suppose it wasn't too expensive after all. We would have had any art purchased shipped to us even if we had purchased it in the gallery. Ordering it online was no different. We can't wait for it to arrive.

We attended the "Ten by Ten" art exhibit opening at the Jackson Junge Gallery on November 7, 2025…read more It is a fun show that involves about 300 artists, who produced artworks that measure 10" x 10" each with different media. The styles cannot be more different from each other. If you are an artist, this would be a good chance to get inspired. If you are a patron, this is a compact exhibit with so many artworks in very reasonable prices. The show runs through January 11, 2026. The gallery is about 3,500 sq. feet. On a normal day, it would be airy and modern, providing a tranquil environment for patrons or any walk in to appreciate the art. However, with about 300 artists, who also invited their friends and relatives to the show opening, it was loud and very crowded, and was even chaotic at times. The "Ten by Ten" show took up about ¼ to 1/3 of the space, causing attendees to congregate in that small area. With the opening running from 6:00 pm to 10 pm, we arrived around 8:30 pm, it was still jam-packed with people. There was a bar station close to the entrance, with white wine, cranberry juice (or some fruit juice), and water available. There was a sign suggesting a $2 donation for each of the beverages. Pop corn was free and self-served, that attracted some pop-corn lovers. I accidentally saw stacks and stacks of 10" x 10" art work on a table in the back room that were still not hanged. Apparently, if an artist has more than one piece of art chosen for the show, he/she would only get one piece of art displayed at a time. It is only after his/her first piece of art is sold that the second piece would be displayed. Some artists only had one piece of art in the show, after their art had been sold, there's an empty spot on the wall. I also saw three pieces of artwork like a set in display, and also two similar artworks in the exact style being displayed at the same time. Their system seems to be flawed and unfair to some of the artists. Expect to use street parking as the gallery does not have a parking lot or garage. All-in-all, it was a fun night to the artists and the people whom they invited. There's a group of 5 to 6 friends who all wore a green beret to support their artist, who had a green beret in the little self-sculpture that he made. Fun!

Some other review stated "I think the promo videos hyped it up for me A LOT to say the least. It…read moresays it's a 60-90 min thing, however the whole tour took 20-25 min. I was expecting more artwork however it was very small and a quick tour." I agree with this statement and will add that the idea of the concept of "Immersive" is not accurate. I attended the Van Gogh Immersive in February 2021, was expecting similar experience -- to be surrounded by murals, walls, floor, celling --- not that experience. Some pieces were interactive, which was unique and fun. Other were not particular impressive at there was too much daylight coming through the windows -- they would have benefit from having window coverings. Overall it was below average.

If I'm not mistaken, I saw this event on Facebook and bought tickets through the Fever app,…read morealthough Artopia has its own website as well. I am so happy I did this. It was a cool event. Lots of interesting things to look at and great photo taking opportunities for your social media pages. They respected COVID distancing / masking and it was not crowded in that they spaced out the people / scheduled times very well. I don't want to spoil it, so I will only put a few photos up. If you like art and want to support something safe and fun to do during these strange times, this is a great event. Yes, maybe a little "pricey" for some, given it's about an hour, but we are not going out / spending money during the pandemic so I figure people need to make a living. Money is going to support the folks putting on these events. Good times! Highly recommended.