Stacey is a magical paper fairy. Stationery and paper goods feel like an easy thing to overlook…read morewhen wedding planning, but you have no idea what Stacey can do. Steracle's services from Save the Date envelopes to our wedding invitation to all the day-of goods made a tremendous impact on our wedding, and we had numerous guests praising the attention to detail throughout our events. A large credit for that goes to Steracle. First off, we were trying to use Minted for our Save the Dates, and when they messed up all of our envelope addressing, Steracle was able to quickly turn around custom envelopes. That remained a constant theme throughout. The team was extremely responsive, turning around many many revisions very quickly as we proofread every single comma. Second was our wedding invites. We had this crazy idea to try and create a book for the invite, similar to special editions of famous books that evoked memories of fairy tales. It was just a vague concept, but Stacey and team took that idea and ran with it, creating the invitation of a lifetime. We actually cried when we saw it, and it will be forever placed on our bookshelves as a memento. Numerous guests sent personalized praise for these invites. A quote from one of them: "This is so refreshing in the days of e-invitations. Very very beautiful and elegant design. What a GORGEOUS wedding invitation!!!!!! The invitation reminds me a lot of the fairy tales I used to read growing up. The invitation brought back the romance of weddings. Nowadays people try to save time and (especially) money by sending e-invitations and those make me sad because there is something special about receiving an actual invitation. And this one blows all invitations out of the water. It sets the stage for a royal wedding." Needless to say, the bar had been raised for the rest of the paper goods, and somehow Stacey and Steracle met them. We had four separate events, and the team crafted unique feels for each event. They took certain themes and motifs and blended them across all events while maintaining the unique identity of each of them. Stacey kept coming up with brilliant ideas that made every element feel personalized, creative, and completely unique. Our wedding menu somehow had a 3D butterfly effect, and she took our love of fantasy books and created a completely custom fantasy-inspired map for the food stations at our reception. There were so many other brilliant design choices that we can go on and on about the quality and craft that Steracle illustrated. We want to keep all of these items as mementos, and we are probably going to be using our bar menus in our home going forward. It might be easy to overlook stationery as a crucial part of wedding planning, but trust us, if you go with Steracle, you will see the impact it can have and how it can elevate your entire wedding. Plus, you'll get to work with Stacey, and that's reason enough.

We loved working with a local stationer for all of our wedding paper goods. From start to…read morefinish--Stacey, Ruby, and Dvorah helped make the design process easy and created an invitation suite we were really happy with! Our day-of paper goods were also perfect - everything had a cohesive feel to it. Everything felt bespoke with the use of their original artwork and custom monogram of our initials! Already looking for another reason to work with them!

We worked with Erica to create our wedding invitations and she went above & beyond to help us! She…read morewas able to take our very high level vision and help make it a reality. I appreciated her responsiveness and ability to guide the decision making process so it wasn't too overwhelming. I would absolutely recommend Erica for her painting & calligraphy services!

Erica was simply amazing to work with. Fast turn around, amazing service, and easy communication…read more Simply flawless. Every bride should be so lucky to use her services!

After interviewing a few calligraphers, Mike was the stand-out…read more Getting married the day after Thanksgiving and ISO a creative calligrapher to convey our particular pizzazz, we found Mike on a list of Chicago-local calligraphers recommended by the Paper Source, a local, excellent, well, source for paper. Mike worked with us to create the perfect invites for us. Each is as unique as our invited guests, including the recipients names on the invites, envelopes and enclosed RSVPs. They are entirely hand-written, nothing machine-printed nor stamped about them, except for the postage stamps (we'll be using the 2014 Jimi Hendrix). Our wedding is a second wedding, a small affair for which there's only room for 30. We had to be draconian when it came to whom to invite. However, we had substantially more room for a planned Thanksgiving. So, half of the invites included invites to both our wedding and Thanksgiving, while the others were invites for Thanksgiving alone. Mike worked to customize the invites and RSVPs for each guest, they turned out as well as we'd hoped. For the amount of attention he paid to us, and work he put into the invites, it was a remarkable value. Plan to recommend Mike to friends and family ISO a responsive, professional and considerate calligrapher. So you can see his work, uploaded a scan of some of the items, with the names/address/locations blurred for privacy. Cream, orange and brown colors. Mike came up with the handwritten turkey himself, we love it, very cute! Also, he illustrated a seven-pointed star, only a bit of which is shown in the scan, sorry. These star were drawn on round cream stickers with which to close the envelopes. Well done!

Mike is creative, patient, prompt. The finished product is wonderful,, exactly what I wanted. I…read morewill definitely use him again.

Christy is absolutely incredible! She gold-foiled initials onto wallets for my groomsmen and the…read morework turned out perfect. Exactly what I was looking for! She delivered under a very tight deadline and even went out of her way to meet me to make things easier. On top of her amazing craftsmanship, she could not be sweeter! Truly one of the nicest people I've ever met. I can't recommend her highly enough!

I was referred to Christy by my Wedding Planner: Urban Allure Events. In short - SHE IS AMAZING!…read moreHer final product, pricing and customer service are all WONDERFUL! Christy provided a seating chart mirror for us, as well as a "Hello Gorgeous" mirror for selfies. She answered questions via email quickly. Everything at our event was on time and high quality. We were thrilled! Hire her now with confidence and move to the next item on your wedding planning list. Wishing you much success and love in your happily ever after!

I love small letterpresses. I love the creativity; the history; the art; the passion of those who…read moremake this their craft. Every once in a while I do a search online to see if there's one I should follow on Instagram, because I love buying cards, and I like to support small businesses, so that works out pretty well, right? I've searched for letterpresses in Chicago more than once. More than once in the last couple months, even, when I was trying to decide where I wanted to purchase my holiday cards. Somehow I've only come up with one or two, and Starshaped Press was not one of them--though I live less than half a mile from where it's located. I lucked out and found Starshaped two days before their annual open house. Perfect timing. The studio is in this really awesome Art Deco building that of course I've seen in the neighborhood but have never had reason to enter. We got there right at noon so we could beat the crowd, and Jen was a gracious host. She had samples of her work out, consisting of pieces decorating the studio as well as prints and cards for purchase. (I ended up spending... way too much money). She also had delicious cookies for us too! She was so open to any question we had, and showed us how the press worked. She had set up many examples of the letterpress dies set in various designs, and they are so incredibly intricate. There may be hundreds in a single print of all sizes. I loved seeing those set up with an example of the pressed item next to it. Starshaped Press also has a print club, which is a subscription service where you get printed goodies from the press on a monthly basis. There are a few different options so you can choose based upon your budget. I signed up for the print club and will get my first this month (January 2022), and can't wait! It was suggested that I might want to get my own holiday cards printed at a letterpress--perhaps Starshaped Letterpress--and I find that idea quite intriguing. Review 641 - January 23, 2022 22/2022

A bit of a belated post but still highly relevant. We came across Starshaped press during an art…read morewalk in Ravenswood. I did a secret project / present for my 1 year anniversary, "the paper anniversary " . I wanted to give a surprise Christmas present to my wife and had the idea for a concept. Reached out to Jen and she got back very quick, and we had a call to price out . I was able to give her a proof of concept to develop the unique paper print and she turned it into a forever treasure that is hung up in our home . A very cool unique thing but we gave our Chinese characters of our last names and she made it into a press and we got to keep it as a keepsake. Please consider her for projects like that but also cards and invitations . Wonderful experience

This review is long overdue, so let me start at the beginning…read more.. A couple years ago, my boyfriend (now fiancé) purchased a vintage locket for my birthday from Stella Blue Design. Despite not offering it as a service, Angie helped me laser cut and set a picture of him into the heart-shaped locket, only charging me a small fee. I really appreciated her generosity and knew I would return to her shop. About a year ago, I decided it was time to purchase a new gold chain for a pair of cloisonné pendants that belonged to my grandmother. Angie makes her own chains, and she was so patient while I looked at the various patterns and tried on different lengths. I originally planned on buying a single chain to share, but after reviewing my options I decided to purchase two of different pattern and length. The cloisonnés vary in color, shape, and size, and the chains we chose reflected their differences. Angie even added my grandmother's birth stone (peridot) to the clasp of each one! To use her words, these necklaces are now truly "heirloom quality" that I hope to pass down to my future children. Finally, this past fall. My fiancé worked with Angie to create a custom engagement ring. It has the Art Deco style that I love, and it's absolutely perfect. The ring is everything I wanted, and I have received so many compliments. The fact that Angie designed it makes it all the more special to me. Angie is kind, patient, and honest - every quality you would want in a jeweler. Her cozy little shop is welcoming, and everything is artfully arranged. You can feel Angie's passion in her craftsmanship, dedication to quality, and ability to make any project - from a gold chain to an engagement ring - incredibly unique and personal. We will be lifelong clients and will of course be asking Angie to design my wedding band. I will update this review with more pictures as we continue to work with Stella Blue Design. Thank you Angie and the team for all of your help! - Maureen & Tim

Angie was able to repair my rope chain which required some intricate and detailed work. She is…read morepersonal and detail-oriented to work with. She explained the details of the process with me and made sure I felt comfortable with timing and intricacies of the repair. Best yet, she's super talented--the repair is flawless. It's amazing to find a jeweler you can trust!

I've been a patron of this establishment for almost 10 years, and I've always appreciated the…read moreuniqueness of the items and the friendly support from the artisans. Over the years, I've had the pleasure of purchasing several pieces, including a beautiful set of prayer beads they created for me. The craftsmanship is wonderful, but what really stands out is the knowledge behind the stones and the willingness to explain their meanings and properties. It's the kind of place that feels personal, thoughtful, and worth returning to.

Yesterday at 6pm the manager here denied me services because two years ago I was victimized by…read morethree teenagers who stole a free people bag filled with dog treats, cat treats, a cute house vintage Christmas ornament and tiny cup I recently purchased at a boutique shop in Lincoln Square. Two years ago I repaired two broken ankle bracelets at this store and right before closing the store manager noticed three teens entering the store and didn't even warn me to return to my table at the front where my backpack, my pyrenees and my free people back full of belongings were. She and her associate just watched unemotionally as I begged the one teen not to leave with my bag and chased him down an alley all by myself. One sweet woman in the alleyway grabbed the kid but he kept running and the police outside were also unhelpful and wouldn't take my name and information for a police report because they said they were too busy. I called the police from my smartphone but no one arrived. I was exhausted and sad and traumatized and I asked the manager that evening why she hadn't locked the door for my safety since I was the last customer that evening and they were close to closing anyway and she shrugged her shoulders non chalantly and said it's a fire hazard to lock the doors. I was given footage and photos of these kids so I uploaded the images on the Nextdoor app hoping someone would recognize the teens so I could press charges and get names for the police. The owner offered me $25 and begged me to remove the incident from the Nextdoor App permanently so I honored her wishes and Yesterday when I wanted to repair two anklets again the manager screamed at me and told me I had been permanently banned because I had defamed them on the Nextdoor App. First of all I was trying to get help from the neighbors in the Ukrainian Village area and the neighbors stated multiple stores do get targeted on Division Street by teens who target shoppers and store owners. Secondly I wasn't dissuading people from shopping there. Before the theft I always enjoyed picking out beads and found it relaxing to put back together my anklets and I shopped there often or whenever I was in the neighborhood. I didn't realize the owner was paying me $25 to never come back but that's exactly what the manager said to me yesterday evening so in honor of their wishes I will not shop there again. It's odd how they were more concerned about their "reputation " than the well being of the customers. I feel they lack empathy especially for their female customers and supposedly this boutique is female run and owned. Relaying a true story and making sure others are safe is important to me. If they knew that store owners are being targeted by teens along Division street they should have warned me not to leave any of my personal belongings on the work table with my dog unattended. They could have locked the door for my protection!

I went to get a ring resized here and Igor had great communication with me throughout the process!read more

Komal at Windy City Diamond is the best. I was super picky and went back and forth so many times on…read moremy custom engagement ring, but she was so patient and helpful the entire time. I never felt rushed or pressured, and she genuinely cared about getting everything just right. Everyone at the shop was extremely nice and kind. Also, the ring came out perfect. Exactly what I wanted -- the diamond, the setting, the proportions -- all of it! It looks stunning and I AM OBSESSED with it. And somehow, she managed to give it all at an amazing price for a natural diamond and keep us within budget!! But seriously, can't stress enough how The customer service was top tier. We went to a diamond store next door before miraculously heading into Windy City and what a day/night difference it was. The last place didn't have a nice sales person whatsoever but Komal was so so kind from the beginning. She was always quick to respond, explained everything clearly, and made the whole process feel easy and stress-free, even for someone as high strung about this as me.. She really knows her stuff and makes magic happen so run, don't walk to Windy City! Thanks again for everything because I am obsessed and this couldn't have been more perfect! Thanks for making my dream ring