Who remembers this J&B holiday campaign? If you grew up in the 90s, you might remember it. It’s one I’ll never forget. I was probably 11 years old at the time and this campaign was the first ah-ha moment I had with advertising. I was sitting in the backseat of my parents car, stuck in downtown traffic on our way to see the city lights and holiday window displays. Bored out of my mind, I read every billboard on the highway and that’s the one that stood out. I didn’t even know what J&B was, but at 11 years old, I figured out that’s what was being advertised. It was simple and clever. Just the way I like it.
This time of year is when a few great art festivals and craft fairs open their doors to allow so many talented artists to share their handmade goods. I can’t get enough of it. The last 2 weeks have been so much fun, bouncing around to all the different booths and seeing what treasures people are making these days. Two weeks ago was Renegade, where I found a great handmade something-or-other that I can’t announce since it’s a birthday present for Kyle. This past weekend was the One of a Kind Show at the Merchandise Mart, where we found a laptop bag made from vintage leather by Poetic Earth in Syracuse, NY.
On Sunday, we finally made it over to Dose Market. I’ve been hearing about Dose for a few months now and I can see why. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s an indoor market held once a month at the River East Art Center. It was started in 2010 and the focus is food and fashion, with a selective bunch of midwestern artists. It does cost $8 to get in ($10 at the door), but it is so worth it. That $8 gets you 2 drink tickets. Yes, you can drink while you shop the fair. (Bonus: We noticed that nobody seemed to care about the tickets) We decided we were getting the most out of this experience, so we went hungry. There were so many great things to choose from—hand spun cotton candy, popcorn, pickles, chocolate—but we went with a spicy bloody mary from Koval Distillery, a mixed concoction from Bittercube, a stout from Begyle Brewery (a new Chicago brewery), a donut from Do-Rite Donuts, and a couple sandwiches from the Brown Bag Lunch Truck. We are pigs, yes. And it was all too good. Aside from the food, there are seriously beautiful handmade goods for sale like jewelry, posters, knits, ties, clothing, home goods, etc. Think Renegade, but a bit higher quality and price point. All in all, we had a fantastic experience and I’m hoping to be a Doser myself at the February 10th market. I’ll keep you posted if it happens.
