Purveyor of all things interesting, amazing, unique, unusual + badass in Chicago.
Growing up there was a Chinese Restaurant at the top of my street that my family would go to almost every weekend. The decor was 1950’s movie set ironic. The elements I remember best were the paper place mats that told you what year you were born and what that said about you (I’m a horse). The hot tea served in little metal tea pots poured into handle-less cups. The pu-pu platters with the blue jelly on fire and my personal favorite the glass case at the check out where you could ogle over cheap plastic dolls and chopsticks. It is this nostalgia that made the House of Wah Sun on Lincoln Ave originally stand out to me. It had all of my favorite things and more (see fancy drink glasses above). Then I ordered and I was really surprised by how good the food was. So much better than that joint I went to as a kid in Boston. I highly recommend the szechuan green beans and they make a mean pina colada. Yeah that’s right … green beans and pina coladas. What?
Allow me to introduce you to some of the most amazing women in Chicago, the artisans and staff of WomanCraft.
Who they are in their words:
WomanCraft, a social enterprise of Heartland Human Care Services, located in Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood, uses recycled office paper and reclaimed flowers to create unique, sustainable, handmade paper products, such as wildflower seed notecards, memory books, gift tags, frames and custom wedding invitations.
WomanCraft provides artisan positions and transitional jobs to women facing barriers to employment, so that they may earn income, improve job skills, build a work history and increase economic self-sufficiency.
WomanCraft is a winner of Mayor Daley’s GreenWorks Award for environmentally responsible products!
So, the next time you need invitations, holiday cards, announcement cards, gift bags, etc you should reach out to these amazing women!
They will even take your wedding bouquet, dry it, and include the petals in handmade paper that you can use for your Thank You cards!
Named “Glimpse” and tagged a “social collective experience”, this pop up restaurant will focus of family style tasting. Each table creates its own tasting of seasonal cuisine. Specialty drinks, wine + beer will be available a la carte.
So who’s part of the yum?
Logan Square Kitchen @LoganSqKitchen
Hum Spirits @humspirits
Gaztro-Wagon @wherezthewagon
Fritz Pastry @FritzPastry
Where? Logan Square Kitchen - 2333 N Milwaukee (next to Revolution)
Meet the answer to your Chicago shared working spaces needs … Desktime.
It’s simple really, people/offices with empty desks, conference rooms or entire offices list them on this Chicago-developed website and you go on, type in your needs, pick your favorite and reserve your space.
Some of your favorites are on here: Post Family, Woman Made Gallery, The Conservatory, Spudnik Press. They currently have 46 Chicago locations AND an app that will help you identify what’s closest and available to you when you are on the go.
Matchmaking done right.
There are so many amazing things to say about the Thinkubator. Deemed “Chicago’s Innovation Lab” this beautiful, inspiring, and down right fun space is home to the Solution People. Gerald “Solution Man” Haman, is a force of innovation. I took a 2-day innovation + creativity workshop with him that rocked my world. Read my Crain’s Article for more info on that.
Besides all of that, the Thinkubator is available for rent for all of your innovation needs. It’s the perfect space for meetings that need a little something more. Look at that view and the giant lip couch! I was there most recently to tape a webisode (soon to be a series) with the amazingly talented gals of Sassy CEO (that will explain the pictures).
Next time you are looking for an inspiring place for a meeting, workshop, retreat, or special event you should call Gerald.
If you don’t know The New Millennium Orchestra you really need to! These brilliant musicians are doing the coolest mashups of chamber/hip hop/electronic Chicago has ever seen.
Lucky for you they are performing the third set of their Mix Tape Series: Mozart in the House, on Saturday April 9th at Mayne Stage in Evanston. Tickets are a mere $15.
Here’s what you can expect: Wolfgang like you have never heard him before! Conductor Francesco Milioto will lead the NMO chamber ensemble from the piano in accompaniment to his favorite Mozart arias. Arias will be sung by the awesomely talented singers: Juliet Petrus, Saira Frank, Rene Barbera and Corey Crider.
Then things get funky as this chamber partners with Dojo vs Twitch and DJ Ryan Fausshauer for the mashup to end all mashups. Progressively building into what will be one killer dance party!
Formerly of St. Paul, MN, the theater company recently relocated to Chicago (Welcome and Yeah!). The mission of Commedia Beauregard involves producing works in translation. Recent productions have included the hugely popular A Klingon Christmas Carol, which made its Chicago debut in 2010, The Jeweler’s Shop by Pope John Paul II, which was originally written in Polish and The Young Lady’s Consent, translated from the Spanish classic “El sí de las niñas” by Leandro Fernandez de Moratin.
Yes, you heard me A Klingon Christmas Carol…HELL YES!
Conveniently, you don’t have to wait until Christmas to welcome Commedia Beauregard to Chicago. Their latest show MasterWorks will be playing at everyone’s favorite theater Gorilla Tango Sundays now through April 10 th. Performances begin at 7:00pm, with doors at 6:30pm. Tickets for the show are $15.Buy Here.
So what’s the new show about? Get this -
MasterWorks:The Museum of Bad Art Plays is the company’s first shot at translating visual art into a performance medium. Inspired by the Museum of Bad Art (MOBA), which coincidentally is located near my home town in Massachusetts, select works of ‘Bad Art’ will be translated into performance art.
I think it is pretty clear this show is going to be a great so I’ll see you there.
The day-long event runs from noon until midnight. A St. Patrick’s Day Mass will be held at 11:30am. Activities include Irish dancing, traditional and modern Irish music and food. Confirmed performers include Tim O’Shea and Patrick Buckley, the Matt Stedman Band, Barry Fagan’s Band, the Chancey Brothers, The Boils, the Sheila Tully Academy of Irish Dance and the O’Hare School of Irish Dance.
11:30am Mass
1:00pm Tim O’Shea and Patrick Buckley
3:00pm Sheila Tully Academy of Irish Dance
4:00pm Chancey Brothers
5:00pm O’Hare School of Irish Dance
6:30pm The Boils
9:00pm Barry Fagan’s Band
Tickets are $10 for adults and children 12 and under are free with a paying adult. Tickets can be purchased at the door.
I know what I’m doing this weekend!!! Get your pasties, boas, and fishnets out people because this weekend is the 2nd Annual Windy City Burlesque Fest.
Chicago truly has one of the hottest Burlesque scenes in the country (thank you Michele L’amour). This is your chance to see the hottest Chicago has to offer in one amazing weekend. Shows at Greenhouse Theater Center.
The guys behind it Len Kendall + Daniel Honigman (Chicagoans) successfully ran it for all of 2010 and have begun the 2011 installment.
Here’s the skinny in their words:
Every day for 365 days, a different person will write an entry about their experiences that day. The key is that each post somehow relates to what’s happening in the world that day and how it relates to them.
By doing so, we will have a snapshot of the entire year, told from the perspective of 365 individual voices.
Each author will write a 365-word reflection which will be posted to “lifestreaming” site Posterous. If all goes well, our dream would be to publish the3six5 as a book. We suppose you could call it a crowd-sourced journal of the year.
If you are interested in being a future participant, please email the3six5@gmail.com. Please include some information on the unique perspective you would bring to this project.
