Behind the Curtain

Brightening up my winter

A few years ago I found this wonderful little honey at a craft fair and fell in love. I finally ran out of my big jar of yummy nectar and went online to find the company to purchase more. enter Chicago Honey Co-op. Not only are their honey products wonderful, so is their mission:

Our purpose is simple, to provide job training opportunities for the under-employed while operating a small business model that is dedicated to sustainable agricultural practices and aims for the highest product quality standards.

On top of restocking my honey supply, I also purchased some items to make winter a bit more bearable; the moisturizing body bar, beeswax votive candles and 10" tapers. My hands have been begging for a thicker moisturizer and the candles will add a nice touch to dinner and/or breakfast with the lack of sun we've been having. On top of the shop on their website, Chicago Honey Co-op also has an Etsy storefront, if you prefer shopping there.

Renegade Haul

Sorry it took me a week to do this, but I was in a Renegade Fair hangover! Without any more delay, here is what I got from Chicago Renegade last weekend:

Pumpkin Patch soap from Rinse
Heart silhouette that says "I still know which records are mine" from Owly Shadow Puppets
Purrfect Play's brown organic fleece mouse and small wool ball
Darby hat in sandy tweed from Squasht

I didn't think twice about the Owly heart - the boyfriend and I have territorial issues with our record collections! Its hanging right above our record case. The soap from Rinse is super yummy smelling; I'm glad I bought more than one. She also has a 100% natural line that I am keen to try. The kitty is entranced with both toys from Purrfect Play and I'm excited for winter to come around so I can wear my Darby hat. I'm loving the ear flaps!

Shops I liked but didn't have time to go back to:
Mis Nopales Art (they sold out of the design/color combo I wanted)
Vaya Bags
Campfire Goods
Kitchen Sink Dyeworks
The Weekend Store

Body & Soul

Image from and © by Numero Group

Whew - so I'm done with my major travels and school stuff, at least until the next semester starts. I'm still trying to get back in the groove and still a little out of it, so this post is broken into three pieces of awesomeness:

1) What Katie Did is having a sale, so jump on that ladies (and generous partners)!

2) On the ride back up to Chicago I put on the album Eccentric Soul: The Deep City Label from Numero Group. None of my car-mates have ever heard of Numero Group and pretty much flipped out over how awesome every single song was in the one album I played. If you've never heard of this "label" either, here is a snippet of their mission:

... to dig deep into the recesses of our record collections with the goal of finding the dustiest gems begging to be released from their exile on geek street. No longer would $500 singles sit in a temperature-controlled room dying for a chance to be played. No more would the artists, writers, and entrepreneurs who made these records happen go unknown and unappreciated...There is no "Numero" sound; instead, Numero offers an aesthetic. A shelf of Numero discs feels less like a "record collection" and more like a library.

Read more about them here. I'm a huge fan of their Eccentric Soul series, but they have plenty of other genres to choose from. The boy and I been subscribed to their annual series club for years now. It's like an awesome music of the month club. We need more of those.

3) Chicagoans who are into soul and R&B, head over to Danny's in Bucktown this Wednesday for Soul Night. The DJs play some great music straight off 45s. Oh, how lovely. It only happens on the first Friday's of the month, so if you miss this week's, you need to wait until next month. Who wants to do that?

Depression Era Movies

Hello all! Just popping in real quick to let you all know that Music Box Theater in Chicago is showing a series of musicals and comedies from the Great Depression. I just saw the cute movie Easy Living today at the theater (will do a post on it when I return to regular blogging). I already missed 42nd Street, but I wanted to give locals a heads up that Golddiggers of 1933, My Man Godfrey and Footlight Parade will be showing at the Music Box, one each coming week. I am so freakin' upset I won't be in town for Goddiggers - can you imagine seeing that on the big screen? Anyway, check the schedule and go see it for me. After there depression era movies, Music Box will also be doing a series of double features of Chicago noir movies. I'm loving their weekend matinee line up this season!

Chicago Knitters, News

Image from ninachicago.com

I just found out that Ysolda Teague is going to be at the ever awesome knitting shop, Nina, tomorrow (Wed, June 10th) from 4 to 7pm. She's going to be selling and signing her book Whimsical Little Knits and Nina will be offering a discount on the book as well as any yarn you buy for the projects. How awesome is that? Find out more info on the event here.

Lyonel Feininger

The Art Institute opened up its new Modern Art Wing this weekend. Since I am a member, I was able to attend an early viewing of the wing last week. I went with my friend Dillon and we meandered around all the Modern and Contemporary art. Our favorite floor was the third, which had the likes of well-known artists such as Picasso, Braque, Marc, Cornell, and Brâncusi (hands down my favorite modern art sculptor). It also has some works from a few artists I've never heard of. One in particular that I really became fond of is Lyonel Feininger. It seems that he is most well known for his cubist phase, but I adore the two paintings they have displayed in the new wing, Carnival in Arcueil (1911) and Longeuil, Normandie (1909). His characters is what get me. I love the way he styles them and the energy they seem to embody.

While standing in front of Carnival in Arcueil I was next to a woman and we both discussed how we loved the work and yet never heard of the artists before. I was happy to know I wasn't the only one in the dark about him. I am so happy I discovered this artist in my trip to the AIC. If you live in Chicago or are planning on visiting, I highly suggest you check it out. Even if you have already been there before and don't give a lick about Modern or Contemporary art, the main museum has a lot of "new" items being exhibited since they were able to make room for them with the new wing. My favorite little hidden gem within the museum is the Thorne Miniature Rooms. I found this exhibit by accident on one of my visits and was so happy to find it. But then I'm a sucker for dioramas/model rooms.

Belles & Whistles

Image © Frenchie Kiss, from her website gallery, www.frenchiekiss.com.

Saturday night we went to the burlesque revue Belles & Whistles, hosted in my very favorite theater, the Music Box. It was a classic vaudeville line-up with comedy acts, tricks and ladies taking off their clothes - and- it was completely sold out. Amazing that they sold out that entire theater!

The entire night was wonderful and very entertaining. I loved every part of it and all the acts were great. I especially enjoyed the hostess/MC of the evening, Nadine Dubois (link has music) and the slapstick comedy of Silent Theater (link has music) was surprisingly entertaining. The For those who couldn't make it, I found two similar acts done Saturday night by Fanny Tastic and Michelle L'amour on You Tube. (Click the next two links to view videos). I love the theme carried out by Fanny and the wonderful surprise of her unique pasties at the end. Michelle did a similar act to this except that at the end she finished her act on an enormous heart-shaped bed (tilted up so the audience could see) and interesting aerobatics on said bed. I enjoyed myself so damn much that I really hope they are able to do such a full-on revue again at the Music Box. Am I a nerd for liking full-on classic vaudeville? Hmmm.

On the striptease topic, I've been taking burlesque at Michelle's school, Studio L'amour. I am really enjoying it and am planning on taking more as soon as I am done with the basic class. My teacher, Frenchie Kiss, was one of the many ladies in the Belles & Whistles revue and it was amazing to see her in action. I was unable to find any video of her tassel twirling prowess, so the photo at the beginning of this post will have to do. I was in sheer amazment of her twirling. If you ever have the chance to see any of these ladies, do so!

Chicago Interiors: Views of a Splendid World

Here is a snippet of some of the lovely images from the book, Chicago Interiors: Views of a Splendid World (ISBN 0809275783). Click to view larger.

     

And to keep on the Chicago theme, a map from the 1933 World's Fair (and the poster for the fair at the top of the post, though neither of these fair images are from the book):

Paperdoll

I was recently at the Chicago History Museum (which if you have yet to go, you really should) and picked-up some interesting period paper dolls in their shop. I have never really been into paper dolls, but I am a sucker for vintage clothing. These two are just a sample from the many sets they have, click to view the images larger. Unfortunately, the color in the scans came out quite bad in comparison to the vivid hues and delicate lines that are in the original. I'm absolutely in love with the sport dress on the left, I think it is the tie and collar detail. I have a couple more paper doll sets that span different eras, I'll put a sample up sometime next month when I get a chance to scan them.

Speaking of vintage clothing, the Chicago History Museum is going to have a great exhibition of historically important clothes/costumes called Chic Chicago, which is opening on Sept. 27th. I'm excited to see it all done as I saw the behind the scenes of them setting up while I was doing my internship there in the archives.

Murder, My Sweet

This weekend I was over at the Music Box Theatre (they spell it the old way) for their matinée series. I've been in love with this theater since the moment I moved to Chicago those few years ago and especially love their choices for their matinée shows. This season they are doing a whole line of detective/noir films and on Saturday we caught Murder, My Sweet, which is a Philip Marlowe story. I'm a big fan of Philip Marlowe, mainly through the radio show, because of his smart ass remarks and the like. We enjoyed this film, I would give it 3 out of 5 stars, and would suggest you see it if you are interested in vintage detective stories. Its a bit of a winding story and you are not sure how things relate or will get tied up until the very end, which is just how I like them.