Alternative Apparel Blog

Valentines from Scratch: Printmaking with Kaitlin Kostus

I would bet it is safe to assume that you are like me and not terribly thrilled to give commercial greeting cards for Valentine’s Day. Sure, if we found something especially clever or beautiful it wouldn’t be an impossibility, but given the choice between Hallmark and something with a little more character, we’d choose the latter, right? Therefore, consider a tip: Support a local artist. As someone who creates, I know how important this is and was reminded again when I spent the afternoon with interdisciplinary artist Kaitlin Kostus last weekend. We spent the snowy Chicago day in the print studios at Columbia College while she printed nearly 60 handmade valentines to share with her friends and loved ones.

Out in Chicago: Terrarium Class at Sprout Home

So, I’m what you could call an inadvertent green thumb. I’m not that knowledgeable about plants per se; I’m just good with plants because I forget about them long enough to make them need me and remember them often enough to make them love me. Given my inadvertent skill set, awhile back I discovered Sprout Home, now one of my favorite stores in Chicago. Whether you’re into plants or not, I promise you’ll be into this store because you’ll see things you haven’t seen elsewhere. You’ll also be able to pick up some great gifts for friends, or quirky accents for your home—things like plants that grow upside down or don’t need water to live, as well as unique pots and what I’ve been most intrigued by as of late, terrariums.

Out in Chicago: Debbie Carlos's Wandering Cloud

I've known Debbie Carlos for about six years. We met back in the day when people used social media as an opportunity to meet strangers with similar interests. We were early twenty-somethings, living in Chicago, taking pictures and displaying them somewhat obsessively on our LiveJournal pages. The truth of the matter is she always managed to take the kind of pictures I wanted to take, but couldn’t quite make happen. Once I met her, I found out that not only was she talented, she was also incredibly nice. So, when I recently got the invite for an exhibition opening of her work at one of my favorite spots in Chicago, Lula Cafe, I was committed to being there.