LOCAL GIFTS: Shops & Markets

Absolutely Anything Essential Gift Shop is a Minority/Woman Owned Business and supply chain incubator set in a three-story brownstone, a platform for local and global brands, entrepreneurs and small business owners who seek an all-in-one space without expensive overhead. You can find wholesale and bulk distribution of jewelry, stones, beads and gems; bath and body products, art supplies, artwork, hair products, paper goods, clothing, and home décor items. 3521 S. King Drive, absolutelyanythingessential.com 312.238.9447.

Chicago Fair Trade pop-up offers quality fair trade products from over 30 countries – coffee, apparel, jewelry, candles, holiday decorations, home goods, toys, self-care and more – brought by two dozen locally-owned (90% women-owned) businesses. Chicago Fair Trade cultivates a community dedicated to an economy that values the labor and dignity of all people. Through December 23, hours are 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 11 a.m.- 6 p.m. Sunday (closed Mondays). Located at 2717 N. Clark St., the pop-up offers in-person shopping or virtual appointments, an online marketplace at chicagofairtrade. org and curbside pickup. Try dark roast, whole bean Just Haiti Coffee, $12.

Local Goods Chicago features locally crafted, one-ofa-kind items, many emblazoned with the city’s name, from jewelry to pillows, tea towels, glass and ceramic housewares, totes, T-shirts, maps and artwork, like “Foods Invented in Chicago” by Joe Mills. Yes, we all know about deep dish pizza, Italian beef, Twinkies and Wrigley’s gum, but there’s also the jibarito: the Puerto Rican meat and cheese sandwich that uses a fried plantain instead of bread. Local Goods Chicago is offering online shopping at localgoodschicago.com and curbside pickup Wednesdays and Saturdays in Norwood Park. Or, sign up for a semiprivate warehouse shopping appointment at https://calendly.com/localgoodschicago/ shopping

Mestiza in Pilsen offers a place for artisans to share their love of color, beauty, energy, their culture and their ancestors. You can find brightly painted ceramics, cut paper banners (papel picado), pinatas, jewelry, miniatures, T-shirts, tote bags, folk art and books like “Sounds/ Sonidos Chapulin Colorado,” from the international sitcom, to introduce little ones to sounds in English and Spanish, $9.99; or “The Life of Ritchie,” $9.99, about Ritchie Valens, the Mexican-American singer born in 1941 who started his career at age 5 when his father gave him a guitar. His last record at age 17 featured hits like “Donna” and “LaBamba” and sold more than one million copies. 1523 W. 18th St., mestizashop.com; Ph. 872.395.1814.

Oak Park River Forest Infant Welfare Society Holiday Housewalk & Grand Raffle is virtual this year, through December 30. Tour five beautiful homes decorated for the holidays, watch holiday how-to videos from local merchants and enter the raffle for a chance to win $10,000. Donations of $55 and up will let you join the fun at childrenscliniciws.org/holiday-housewalk-and-marketThe IWS Clinic provides pediatric medicine, dentistry and behavioral healthcare to infants, children and young adults.

Since it opened in 2008, Shop Columbia College has raised more than $350,000 in revenue to over 1200 emerging student and alumni artists in media ranging from drawings, prints, jewelry, photography, fashion, housewares, music, plush sculptures and more. The "Desenradando Fronteras" (Unraveling Borders) 100% polyester, 21.5 by 21-inch scarf by noted Chicago muralist Hector Duarte re-creates a work he did for 1014 S. Michigan Ave. as part of Columbia’s Wabash Arts Corridor and relates to immigration. “The butterfly flies from Canada to Mexico. The butterflies fly freely and the human being does not – they go and come back,” Duarte said. Located at 619 S. Wabash Ave., the brickand-mortar shop is closed for the pandemic, but you can order at shop@colum.edu or shop.colum.edu; Ph. 312.369.8616.

Ten Thousand Villages has spent more than 60 years cultivating trading relationships in which artisans receive a fair price for their work and consumers have access to distinctive handcrafted home décor, personal accessories and gift items from across the globe: 130 artisan groups in 38 countries.

Ten Thousand Villages Evanston will host benefit shopping days for local charities, which will receive a portion of the sales from people who notify the cashier in advance, and online with curbside pickup. The store is located at 915 Chicago Ave., Evanston, and open daily 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; tenthousandvillagesevanston.com; Ph. 847.733.8258. Beneficiaries include:

• Monday, December 7: Medical Ambassadors of Haiti

• December 10 (by 7 p.m. Zoom) 11 & 12 in-store and online, for Rotary Green Team

• December 11 (by 7 p.m. Zoom) 12 & 13 in-store and online, for Partnership in Education

• December 14 (by 7 p.m. Zoom) 15 & 16 in-store and online, for Rogers Park Historical Society

Ten Thousand Villages Oak Park will offer benefit shopping days through Friday, December 11 at its 121 N. Marion St. location and online at tenthousandvillages. com/oakpark with curbside pickup; Ph. 708.848.4572. Regular store hours are Tuesday-Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday 12-5 p.m. Monday the store is closed, but curbside pickup is available for online orders. Beneficiary charities include Oak Park Women’s Guild, Housing Forward, Beyond Hunger, Nineteenth Century Charitable Association, BUILD Inc. (Broader Urban Involvement & Leadership Development), OPALGA (Oak Park Area Lesbian and Gay Association) and St. Catherine- St. Lucy parish. Shoppers need only tell the cashier which charity they are supporting before they check out and the charity will receive a 15 percent rebate on the sale.