Home > Chicago Style > Store Type > Grasshopper 510

This stylish Bucktown shop focuses on eco-friendly gifts -- not just for the new homeowners, married couples and hostesses in your lives, but yourself, too. Husband-and-wife team Jean Taylor and Mike Roberts are the brains behind this biz (you'll find Taylor, a former attorney, behind the counter on most days) and it's clear that their earth-friendly intention has permeated every facet of this boutique. Organic cotton thread ties on pricetags, soothing beige low-VOC paint covers the walls, and a recycled glass chandelier hangs from the ceiling.

In true reuse-reduce-recycle fashion, they chose to preserve the bevy of built-ins left by the former tenant, beauty and lingerie boutique Raizy, so you'll find colorful vases, serving platters, bubble bath and stationery on shelves where lacy camisoles and lipstick once sat. The jewelry stocked here has taken shape from myriad reclaimed materials, including sea glass, vintage pottery and recycled gold and silver. Paper-wrapped soaps have already become a favorite hostess gift among locals, while recycled glass lamps with tin shades will up the eco-friendly factor of any living room. Some items give back to the community directly, such as graphic tees by St. Louis-based Interwoven Threads, which donates a T-shirt to a local homeless person through Chicago organization Threshold. And while this store's name might seem slightly random, there's a story behind it: Grasshopper symbolizes nature, prosperity and "taking a leap of faith," says Taylor, while 510 nanometers is the wavelength measurement of the color green.

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Bucktown/Wicker Park stores, Chicago stores