Ethically Engineered

Locally made products are springing up all over the marketplace. Welcome Chicago’s Ethically Engineered, a vegan soap company that manufactures hygiene products like soap, shampoo bars and shaving foam. The company has embraced sustainable practices, reducing packaging and using renewable resources in its production. Not only do they limit the amount of packaging material, but they ensure it is recyclable or compostable. Those practices do not compromise the quality of the products but rather make them superior to their mass-produced counterparts. For a final touch, they make a Chicago flag bar of soap—something any resident should be proud to use.

Ethically Engineered
ethicallyengineered.com

Best of Chicago 2011

Chicago Water Taxi to Chinatown

It isn’t London’s Thames, or Amsterdam’s Canals, but the Chicago River via boat (sorry San Antonio) offers the most concentrated, up-close view of architecture and infrastructure of any city. And yes, there are architectural, sightseeing and other high-profile cruises, but if you just want to relax and ride for one cheap all-day fare, the Chinatown Ferry might be your best bet. First of all, the price is right. Regular water taxis will take you one way around downtown for $2. But the Chinatown Trip will not only show you the wonders of Chicago’s Loop, but also take you around the South Loop, through the underbelly of Chicago’s industrial Near South Side rail yards, factories and under the magnificent vertical lift bridges before dropping you off at Chicago’s Ping Tom Park—for only $4. See the pagoda buildings, eat a cheap, magnificent Chinese meal, take in a few exotic cocktails and ride back to the Loop. If you want to sight-see, eat, drink and get a waterside tan, an all-day pass on the ferry will run you a total of $6. You can start your ride underneath the Michigan Avenue Bridge (in back of the Wrigley Building at 400 North Michigan), with stops at Madison Avenue/Union Station, La Salle and Clark and Chinatown. The Union Station stop offers a special benefit for drinkers, as you can take a Metra Train to Union or Ogilvie Station into the city, ride the ferry and take the Metra home, drinking to your heart’s content and never getting inside of an automobile or even traveling on a road.

Chicago Water Taxi
400 North Michigan
(312)337-1446
chicagowatertaxi.com

Best of Chicago 2011

Spa In Your Space

The Tupperware Party Remix. Skincare, mani-pedis, drinks. All at your request, all wherever you want it to be. Keep it corporate, keep it intimate or just go glam (Glam Nights). It’s like Mario Tricoci ringing your doorbell—with a bottle of Effen and a martini shaker.

Spa In Your Space
spainyourspace.com
(800)735-0903

Best of Chicago 2011

Village Eyecare

Lafont? Got ‘em. Lindberg? Got ‘em. Prodesign Denmark? Got ‘em. Tom Ford? Got ‘em. The collection that Village Eyecare carries (and the team/staff that helps select frames for you) is what makes people who don’t need to wear glasses, wear glasses. In an era where Nerd Chic is the new “it” in fashion, VEC keeps it funky. They un-nerd the nerd.

Village Eyecare
1243 South Wabash
(312)663-4250
1116 West Taylor
(312)829-6173
villageeyecare.net

Audience choice:
Eye Spy Optical
3350 North Lincoln
(773)477-2670
eyespyoptical.com

Best of Chicago 2011

“Cop ‘Em & Rock ‘Em” clothing line

A sneaker diva’s haute couture, sold exclusively at SuccezZ. For the Lola Bunny in Air Jordans pictured on a t-shirt alone.

SuccezZ
1329 South Michigan
(312)431-1900
succezzthestore.com

Best of Chicago 2011

The Edit

Morgan Gutterman cements Bucktown’s hold on its title as the shopping destination for the hip and fashionable with her new store, The Edit. Bringing in a variety of imported, hard-to-find pieces, many of which hail from Down Under, Gutterman is exposing Chicago to style on a whole new level. Brands such as Sass & Bide, Bec & Bridge, Keepsake and Rachael Ruddick stock the store’s racks, as do locals like the designers behind the bold and colorful pieces from POUND Jewelry. With personal shopping, one-on-one styling and private parties to boot, we highly recommend visiting, albeit with caution—this one’s dangerous on the pocketbook!

The Edit
1917 North Damen
(773)252-3350
shoptheedit.com

Audience choice:
Violette
2031 North Damen
(773)235-7150
vivelafemme.com

Best of Chicago 2011

Wright-Way Rescue

How much is that doggy in the window? Who cares when money can buy you love from one of the adorable mutts (or cats) from Wright-Way Rescue. Adoptions run $280 for pooches and $115 for the kit and caboodle, but when you consider how much care the Niles-based no-kill shelter gives to their adoptees, it’s a drop in the water bowl. Wright-Way organizes extensive temperament tests and gives each critter a full bill of health before finding them a forever home; plus, they reserve your pet with approved application. Check out the mug shots online and just tell us it isn’t the best dog show ever.

Wright-Way Rescue
7136 West Touhy, Niles
(773)353-9931
wrightwayrescue.net

Audience choice:
PAWS Chicago Adoption Center, 1997 North Clybourn, (773)935-PAWS, pawschicago.org

Best of Chicago 2011

Genesis Art Supplies

Art supply stores were meant to be savored and explored, full of packed shelves of sketch pads and paper, paint tubes and brushes to touch, gaze at and muse upon. If the store is too orderly, mere efficiency pushes out the daydreaming. And if the place is too cluttered, the frustration of trying to find something soon pushes out all inspiration. Genesis is the perfect balance of chaos and order, abundance and reasonable possibility. Clearly a place owned and staffed by people with artistic sensibilities, it is more than just a place to buy supplies: It is a place to gather ideas and make those preliminary mental sketches for future projects.

Genesis Art Supplies
2417 North Western
(773)292-2990
genesisartsupplies.com

Audience choice:
Blick Art Materials
42 South State, (312)920-0300
280 South Columbus, (312)443-3923
1574 North Kingsbury, (312)573-0110
1755 Maple, Evanston, (847)425-9100
dickblick.com

Best of Chicago 2011

Gilt City

Groupon may have longevity on Gilt City, but this offspring of the beloved fashion deals site, Gilt Groupe, has quickly made its mark on the Windy City. Celebrating its one-year anniversary this September, the site has upped the daily-deals ante with its special offers and deep discounts for the city’s best restaurants, shows, salons and stores. Hosting fan-crazed warehouse sales and fabulous soirees throughout Chicago to boot, Gilt City is here to stay. Fine by us. We’re Gilt-y as charged: We officially love Gilt City.

Gilt City Chicago
giltcity.com/chicago

Audience choice:
Groupon
groupon.com

Best of Chicago 2011

Eclecticity

Flensted Mobiles are fun. The whimsical mobiles, all of which are made in Denmark, feature animals like frogs, seahorses and sheep. There are also geometric shapes, patterned in primary colors. Check out the Dinghy Regatta, which is a swirl of sail boats, or the Flowing Rhythm, which is a splash of yellow arcs. Let them float above your desk or spin circles in your living room.

Eclecticity
4718 North Lincoln
(773)275-3080
eclec.com

Best of Chicago 2011