Best Sellers in Chicago
One Strange Bird
Nicole Northway, owner
www.onestrangebird.com
Nicole Northway was a fine artist before she decided to open her first gift shop without any type of retail experience or business training and just $3,000. What she lacked in experience and capital she made up in her willingness to learn to create new forms of art that was more accessible to the buying public.
Northway taught herself how to make jewelry by watching YouTube videos and began selling her line, Lady Bird, in the store along with teaching others through the form of arts and crafts classes.
“Our target market is a 28- to 35-year-old funky and cool mom,”
she said, many of whom live in Wicker Park where her shop is located. Most of her shop’s merchandise is $20 to $40, with the average on the lower end. In addition to her arts and crafts classes, art-based gifts and baby and kid’s gifts round up her best sellers. If she’s not in the shop herself, her husband, Cody Kirchner, is behind the register or unpacking merchandise while Betty, the resident dog, greets customers.
Best Sellers
Best Seller Arts and crafts classes
Stationery Good Paper
Bath & Body Royal Apothic
Jewelry Lady Bird jewelry (Northway’s own line)
Accessories Papaya! Art (wallets, coin purses)
Art Supplies Abracadabra Color Changing Magic Markers
