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We will be in Chicago from June 18 to 21 and will be staying for 3 nights downtown at the Travelodge Hotel.
I was wondering if there are any stamp/scrapbooking stores in the area. Even though we are in Toronto, we only have the LSS here and Michaels in the outskirts, actually, not in the city itself.
I keep reading in SCS about the wonder stores you have in the US, such as ACMoore, Hobby Lobby, Loomis, Archivers, probably lots more. As far as I know, we do not have those here in Canada.
My dh will be at a convention but I have time and can get a transit pass but don't want to go too far away on my own as I could easely get lost.
We have our car as we are driving but I never drive in the actual city. We leave in the north west end of Toronto and I only drive in the immediate area. I certainly wouldn't even think of driving in an unfamilar place.
Any information or suggestions would be most appreciated.
Hi, I live in a southwest suburb of Chicago, so I did a little searching for you... There really are not any craft stores (Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Archiver's) in the downtown area. They are all out in the burbs, but I did find two stamping/scrapbooking stores in the city.
Stamp On In
2320 N. Clark St. Chicago, IL 60614 (773) 857-0452 closed Mondays
Stampology Chicago
5031 N. Harlem Ave. Chicago, IL 60656 (773) 631-0352 open every day
I'm not a huge city person, so I'm not real good with directions up there, but I do know that you are way closer to Stamp On In than Stampology. Perhaps, some more downtown people will respond with more info.
The trip to Stampology is really worth your effort. The owner (Dave) is fabulous as is all the staff. It's a small shop crammed with wonderful stamps and accessories as well as many beautiful samples.
Classes every Tuesday and Thursday nights. $20, four cards and dinner! Our groups goes as often as our schedules allow! Well worth the trip.
I've been to both of the stores slraff mentioned and I like Stampology better, although they are both worth a trip. You could probably get to Stampology on the Blue Line (the transit system, sometimes called the "EL" is color-coded by line. The Blue Line goes out toward O'Hare airport. Stampology is just a block or two off the el stop just a bit before you get to O'Hare. If you call them, they will give you directions - they are very nice.
Stamp On In is probably even walkable on a nice day, depending on where you're staying downtown. Otherwise, the #22 Clark street bus should talk you right there.
Also, there is a DickBlick Art Supply Store downtown, I think on State Street. Great for stocking up on colored pencils and markers.
If you're on your own downtown, be sure to check out Millenium Park on the lakefront - simply stunning to walk around in on a nice day. Most of the shopping is up on Michigan Avenue.
Chicago is very easy to get around in and taxis are plentiful if you don't want to take transit. Have fun and PM me if you need more info.
I love the Paper Source. There are two locations near downtown:
River North - 232 W Chicago Ave (I think it is near the Chicago stop on the "L's" brown or purple line), 312-337-0798.
Lincoln Park - 919 Armitage Ave (near Armitage "L" stop/brown line), 773-525-7300. Stamp on In, mentioned above, is also in Lincoln Park but further northeast.
If you sightsee in Oak Park (go to see Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio), there is also a branch of Paper Source there, at 1109 Lake Street, about a block from the "L" station.
Thank you all so much for all your responses. I have printed some of them and it looks like I will definitely visit Stampology and this Dave everyone raves about.
I have also perused the previous threat on Chicago which was in the reply and it looks great. Lots to see and do.
I will look into the blue line and the day pass.
As far as Clark Street and State street - the map of downtown Chicago I have shows there are many miles long so the north and south part is very important as is the actual address.
We will be there a full day on Tuesday and Wednesday so perhaps I can take part of the dinner and card making. Sounds wonderful.
It seems that the box stores, like everywhere else, are mainly in the suburbs where there is a lot of new housing. That is what it is like here. Well, we only have Michael's for crafts as far as large box stores and they are in the bedroom communities surrounding the big city. Well, not to the south, that is the lake.
Johanna, if you're staying at the Travelodge on Harrison (I looked it up on their site) then you are starting out just a bit south of the main downtown area. Go NORTH for everything. The addresses for Stamp On In and Stampology are in the posts above. Chicago is set up on a "grid" system - State Street is the "0" for the East/West streets (you'll be about a block east of State Street.) Madison is the "0" for the North/South streets (you'll be about 6 or 7 blocks south of that.)
The Blue Line is underground downtown but is above ground as it gets just north of the city. It runs underneath State Street. Just look for the signs that say "Blue Line to O'Hare" and ride it TOWARD O'Hare (it will run very frequently on a weekday). The Harlem Avenue stop is just a few short of O'Hare and is a pretty major stop.
One more thing I remember my dad telling me when I was young and trying to find my way around downtown that I thought was really helpful: the East/West streets in the downtown area are named for U.S. Presidents. You'll start out on Harrison, going north (don't count Congress - that's a pretty major street for traffic) than Van Buren, Jackson, Adams, Monroe, Madison and Washington. That helped me if I couldn't figure out which direction I was headed. Also, up on North Michigan Avenue (near the great shopping) the East/West streets are named for the Great Lakes.
Rubbernecker - that is certainly an interesting street layout. I will keep that in mind. There are just 5 great lakes, easy to remember with the HOMES thing, Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie & Superior.
I'll try to remember the presidents too and of course I have to remember the Blue Line. Yes, I will get a daily pass.
Thanks again for all the help from you and the others. It has been great and I am sure it will be of help.
Make sure you tell Dave at Stampology you are from out of town -- he'll give you a ten percent discount. At least that's what he told my sister when she was visiting from out of town so it's worth a try!
I would definitely try to get to Stamp On In on Clark Street. It's worth a visit.
It's too soon to know my schedule for June, but here's my email. Let's keep in touch. If I'm able to take a Tuesday class at Stampology, I'll pick you up. We'll have a great time! Pizza, stamps and laughter.....what could be better!
...and if you ever get down to London they have 3 rubber stamp stores to spend your money in - one is home to the Artful Stamper line of stamps which are manufactured in London, the other 2 stores have tons of stamp lines.
Yes, I know about the Busy B place. They are usually at the Spring and Fall CreativFestival shows and have a booth and teach classes. They have mostly the free 'make & take' classes at the spring show - 45 minutes and the more elaborate ones at the Fall show for which you pay a fee.
As for London, Ontario, it is about 100 miles from here and it isn't that close to the 401 which is our freeway which goes from Detroit/Windsor to Montreal and we are close to it here. It can resemble a parking lot most of the day.
It looks like I will have lots to keep me busy in Chicago next month.
Johanna--once you've exhausted the stamping/scrapbooking stores, hit Millenium Park (as I mentioned above) and Navy Pier if it's a nice day. If it's rainy, you'll be very close (walkable) to the Art Institute and a quick cab ride away from the Field Museum, the Planetarium and the Shedd Aquarium (they're all right next to each other). Have fun!
Chicago is AWESOME. Don't forget State Street and Michigan Ave for some good old fashion shopping.
I work downtown on Michigan Ave and this is the best time of year to be in Chicago.
Enjoy and have fun.
__________________
Marcia ..."Stamping is not just my hobby - it's my mission!"
One other great thing to do in Chicago is to take an architectural tour. There are all sorts of tours offered by the Chicago Architectural foundation. Most walking tours leave from their store which is located on Michigan Avenue just a little bit south of the Art Institute. Here is a link for their website: http://www.architecture.org/tours.aspx
I would highly recommend their walking tours and also their river cruise. Other companies, like Wendella, offer river cruises as well, but the CAF is the best. They also offer some bike and segway tours. HTH!
Chicago
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