independent shop in May and June, helps get
Wink & Belle ready for holiday shoppers.
Dodi Wians feels fortunate to know and work with a lot of creative people. She decided she wanted to share the experience.
The result is Wink & Belle, a holiday pop-up shop at 2049 Ridge Road in Homewood, where local artisans will show what they can do and shoppers can buy the result.
paint designs on the
windows at 2049 Ridge Road
Saturday, Oct. 23.
Homewood-area holiday shoppers will be able to explore the store starting Wednesday, Nov. 4, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. when the shop holds its grand opening.
Wians describes the shop as a kind of “creativity central,” a temporary co-op of artists and craft vendors, most of whom are from Homewood, Flossmoor or other nearby communities. The artisans will be on hand whenever they can to talk with shoppers and, in some cases, demonstrate their work.
“It’s about sharing your joy,” she said. “It allows creative people who don’t otherwise have the time or the money to open up their own shop to be able to share their talents with others.”
The operation of the shop will be a collaborative effort, Wians said. The vendors already are working as a team. On Friday, Oct. 23, three of them were helping Wians prepare the space. Jill Debardelaben and Allison Burnett were painting walls, and Debardelaben’s daughter, artist Bianca Xunise, came in to paint designs on the shop windows.
The shop will have a lot of vintage items and furniture, including creatively repurposed household goods.
There will also be a do-it-yourself section. Wians said the refinishers in the group often have surplus used furniture, so they decided to offer some of it for sale in the shop and help patrons learn how to create something new and cool from the old and shabby.
“We’re going to offer beat-up furniture at lower prices,” she said. “And because we’re going to be selling the chalk paint, they can buy the piece and the paint, take it home and do it themselves. And we can tell them how to do it and give them the advice they need.”
The vendors who will be part of the shop include:
- Alli B (Homewood) resells vintage items, paints furniture, makes signs and more
- Antique Candle Works (Northwest Indiana) sells homemade soy candles
- Black Olive Vintage (Flossmoor) resells 1950s to 1970s vintage items, repurposes old pieces
- It’s Just Serendipity (Hammond) sells vintage furniture
- Locavore Farm (Grant Park) sells fresh eggs from non-GMO-fed hens, available Wednesdays from 5 to 7 p.m.
- Lo Lou Lou (Homewood and Flossmoor) sells vintage furniture and home décor
- Old Things Gone Wild (Homewood) crafts old books into alphabetic letters, repurposes vintage items
- Poppies (Flossmoor) sells new clothing and accessories and home décor
- Prairie Godmothers (Flossmoor) sells gardening books and items
- Unique Creations (Manhattan) reinvents and repurposes wood items
- Urban Threads (Homewood) refinishes furniture and sells home décor
- Wink & Belle (Flossmoor) sells handcrafted jewelry, vintage furniture and accessories and inspirational T-shirts
- Logan (Chicago Heights) sells handmade hats and gloves and women’s jackets from recycled materials.
Regular hours will be 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.
More information:
facebook.com/winkandbelle
[email protected]
garments, helps paint Wink & Belle’s walls
Friday, Oct. 23, as a team of vendors worked
to get the shop ready to open Nov. 4.
Photos by Eric Crump/HF Chronicle.