LOGAN SQUARE — As the pandemic drags on, shopping locally this holiday season can help boost local businesses.
The Logan Square, Humboldt Park and Avondale area is home to a growing number of independent shops and businesses packed with unique gifts.
From house plants at Rooted in Avondale to handmade macrame earrings at Mercado del Pueblo in Humboldt Park, Block Club rounded up some neighborhood gift options for everyone on your list.
Here’s what you can buy:
Logan Square
Penguin Foot Pottery, 2514 W. Armitage Ave. Website.
For the ceramics lovers in your life, Penguin Foot Pottery offers an array of pottery-making classes for kids and adults ($140 for all-levels four-week course and $45 for wheel-throwing workshops on Friday and Saturday nights).
The cozy ceramics studio, which has called Logan Square home since 2010, is also selling ceramics made by students and staff at its wintery pottery sale noon-5 p.m. Dec. 12. Gift certificates are available, as well.
Classes and studio appointments can be scheduled on Penguin Foot Pottery’s website. 773-227-3575.
Lost Girls Vintage and Lost Girls Vintage Home, 2710 N. Sawyer Ave. and 2708 N. Sawyer Ave. Website.
Have a sister who’s into vintage glassware? What about a best friend who loves statement earrings? Lost Girls Vintage is your spot.
The colorful shop is packed with trendy, locally made gifts, such as miniature dried floral landscapes by Amanda Forgash ($80) and “Arlo” polymer clay earrings by Tiger Moth Goods ($32).
A mystery sweater ($25) — which is exactly what you think it is: a surprise vintage sweater shipped anywhere — was a hit last holiday season, one of the shop owners said. The sweaters can only be bought online, starting on Black Friday. For home goods, check out Lost Girls Home, which is filled with vintage lamps, mirrors and other retro finds, and is next door to Lost Girls Vintage.
Lost Girls Vintage and Lost Girls Home are open noon-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. holler@lostgirlsvintage.com. Instagram.
Tusk, 3205 W. Armitage Ave.
There’s arguably no better shop in Logan Square for one-of-a-kind gifts than Tusk, an art gallery and shop offering a curated selection of home goods, clothing and art objects, most of them locally made.
For artsy loved ones and friends, consider the shell earrings by Soft Blonde ($56), perfumes by Marissa Zappas ($80) and the mini garnish aperitif cup by Grace Gittelman ($70).
The shop is open noon-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday “or by chance.” Instagram.
Humboldt Park
Mercado del Pueblo, 2559 W. Division St. Website.
Earlier this year, the Puerto Rican Cultural Center transformed an old laundromat on Division Street into a vibrant market with vendors selling everything from handmade body butter and stone sculptures to Puerto Rican pastries.
Mercado del Pueblo is brimming with artisan goods big and small, including Puerto Rican figures made out of woven recycled paper ($40) and handmade macrame earrings with air plants ($45). And, whatever you buy, you’ll directly support local makers, which is part of the market’s mission.
Mercado del Pueblo is open 10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. A holiday market is set for Nov. 27.
Humboldt House and Peach Fuzz, 1045 N. California Ave. and 1005 N. California Ave. Humboldt House website. Peach Fuzz website.
Similar to Lost Girls Vintage, Humboldt Park staple Humboldt House is brimming with trendy home goods and jewelry that make for excellent gifts, including the Colorama tea pot ($42), the Ebb + Flow knit blanket in cairn blue by Claudia Pearson ($160) and mini plant stakes ($12).
When you’re done shopping for adults, head to the impossibly adorable children’s shop Peach Fuzz, which is also owned by Claire Tibbs. The shop, just down the street from Humboldt House, carries a range of toys and gifts for kids of all ages, from a Loog mini electric guitar ($149) to a Chicago boutique map baby onesie ($29).
Humboldt House is open noon-7 p.m. Monday-Friday and 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. Peach Fuzz is open 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sundays. Both shops can be reached at 312-785-1442.
Vintage Quest, 1105 N. California Ave.
Just down the street from Humboldt House and Peach Fuzz is Vintage Quest, a thoughtfully curated vintage furniture and home goods shop stocked with an always revolving selection of retro finds.
If you’re not looking for a gift that fits under the tree, try one of the shop’s many vintage sets, including a collection of frosted vintage glasses ($65) or spice jars ($90).
Vintage Quest is open by appointment. To shop, reach out to the shop’s owner via Instagram DM or call the store at 773-787-5890. Instagram.
Avondale
Rooted by Pollen, 2918 N. Milwaukee Ave. Website.
Just about everyone on your list will appreciate a house plant in a handmade ceramic pot, which you can pick up at Rooted by Pollen, a plant shop new to Avondale.
House plants cost $5-350 depending on the size and variety. Rooted also sells ceramic pots by Purposeful Pottery ($40), plant accessories and plant-adjacent gifts, like “Plantopedia: The Definitive Guide to Houseplants,” a book by Lauren Camilleri and Sophia Kaplan ($40). The shop is owned by Lynn Fosbender, a floral designer who opened the brick-and-mortar at the start of the pandemic to stay afloat.
Rooted is open 1-6 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays. 773-278-6606. Instagram.
Record Breakers, 2935 N. Milwaukee Ave. Website.
Whether you’re after Taylor Swift’s buzzy new release, “Red (Taylor’s Version),” or an old Nina Simone record, Record Breakers has you covered.
The shop, which has been slinging records since the ’80s, carries a wide range of used 45s and new releases. We recommend Fiona Apple’s “Fetch the Bolt Cutters” ($24.89) and David Bowie’s “Young Americans” ($29.99), but there are thousands of records to choose from — and flipping through them is half the fun.
Record Breakers is open noon-7 p.m. daily. 773-698-8387. Instagram.
Did we miss your favorite neighborhood spot? Not to worry! Add it to our Block Club reader guide, which will come out in early December.
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