Locally-made Gift ideas
Jewelry
Life didn't change as much as we were expecting in 2021, but StreetWise was blessed with help from its friends and so now this holiday season, we are using our city-wide platform to return the favor. StreetWise vendors are entrepreneurs, and so we are promoting other Chicago entrepreneurs of innovative products – many of them nonprofits – from varied cultures. We are all in this together. by Paige Bialik, Suzanne Hanney, & Judi Strauss Lipkin
caromadexo
When Columbus landed in what is now Puerto Rico in 1493, the Indigenous people greeted him with the word, “Taino” – “peace.” A century later, the so-named Taino people were nearly extinct, thanks to intermarriage, forced relocation, starvation, slavery and disease brought by the conquistadors. Recent studies, however, have found that a majority of today’s Puerto Rican people have some Indigenous DNA. CAROmadeXO reflects this heritage with the molded plastic Taino sun god, said to provide strength and longevity to crops and people; and with the coqui, the small frog who is the symbol of the small island. Endangered by deforestation, coqui has survived, and he has a big voice. Taino sun, coqui, hibiscus flower earrings ($10), rear view mirror pendants ($12) at Caromadexo.com.
Lingua Nigra
Alicia Goodwin has been making jewelry since shortly after she graduated from Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Now back in Chicago, her work in brass, silver and gold is inspired by nature, with a focus on ancient talismans and works of the Victorian era. Her use of acid etching and metal reticulation yield random texture to each piece, further transformed when electroplated by 22K gold. Lansana’s Priestess Large Brass Post Earrings ($43), Tiny Sculptured Organic Earrings ($63), Edge of the Earth Gold Plated Wing Earrings ($85) (pictured), Building a Ladder Hand Etched Earrings ($146). Lingua Nigra has also been featured on Good Morning America, The HuffPost, Shoppe Black, and worn by Garcelle Beauvais, Anika Noni Rose, Ava Duvernay and many others. Find it at the Renegade Craft Show, December 18 and 19 at Fulton Market and at linguanigra.com.
Lindsay Lewis Jewelry
Lindsay Lewis Jewelry offers geometrically shaped handmade rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and more. A graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Lewis started creating jewelry after discovering her passion for metalsmithing during a class in 2004. Now in her West Town studio, she creates gold, silver, and brass jewelry by hand. She finds inspiration from architecture and translates those fine lines into her timeless jewelry. Unisex round bands from $250; Bar and white sprong band $825; Billie ring from $975; Sway ring from $68 (pictured). Find her at lindsay-lewis.com and the Renegade Craft Show, December 18 and 19 at Fulton Market.
