LOGAN SQUARE — An independent boutique carrying over a dozen clothing and jewelry brands from local artists has joined Logan Square’s Milwaukee Avenue business corridor.
Owner Carli Goltowski opened Good Neighbor, 2319 N. Milwaukee Ave., at the beginning of the month. Her shop carries men’s and women’s clothing and gender-neutral items curated from brands not typically sold in the area, she said.
The boutique is Good Neighbor’s third store, with two other shops in Detroit and Indianapolis. The owner — who recently moved to Logan Square from Indianapolis — adds to the women-owned businesses next door, FELT Chicago and Steel Petal Press.
Accessories like jewelry, purses and socks are also sold in the store, and prices don’t exceed $200, Goltowski said.
People can find items from Humboldt Park jewelry designer Lindsay Lewis, coastal-inspired sustainable outerwear brand Outerknown, certified B-corp clothier Good Man Brand, Los Angeles-based Project Social T and ABLE, a lifestyle brand focused on ending generational poverty.
“Chicago was always No. 1 or No. 2 on the list, especially with how close it is to the other cities we are in,” Goltowski said. “I love Anthony Bourdain, and I distinctly remember him being like, ‘Chicago is the only other city, besides New York, that’s a real city in the U.S.'”
Goltowski has a background in retail and design and used to live in Chicago, where, in 2008, she worked at a Lakeview boutique called Tragically Hip. She traveled and started a business in Detroit, but she always yearned to come back to Chicago, she said.
Goltowski picked Logan Square because of its strong independent retail market and its restaurants and culture, she said.
Good Neighbor takes over the former Birdseye Rule boutique and home goods store, which opened in 2017 and closed in May.
After seeing the news of Birdseye Rule closing, Goltowski reached out to the landlords and secured the location — even though an expansion of her boutiques wasn’t necessarily planned this year, the owner said.
“Expanding did make sense, and getting into creating our own product makes sense, so having outlets to sell it is the model moving forward,” she said.
Good Neighbor recently began selling its own jewelry and other accessories, Goltowski said.
With simple paint colors, locally made wooden furniture and relaxing music, the store’s vibe complements its items, Goltowski said. Her friend, Detroit artist Martyna Alexander, designed and painted the Chicago store’s mural, which features bright geometric shapes.
“I wanted the artwork to be a bit bold because our product is pretty neutral,” Goltowski said. “When you go into independent shops or corporate shops, I don’t like a lot of clutter, and I want it to be organized, clean, chill and calming.”
Good Neighbor’s other locations have donated proceeds to local nonprofits, and Goltowski plans to do the same with proceeds from the Logan Square store, she said.
“We are thrilled to have an independent, small retailer that makes an effort to sell local labels dedicated to making the world a more compassionate and inclusive place for everyone,” Jessica Wobbekind, executive director of the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. “They are joining a vibrant and thriving group of local businesses on Milwaukee Avenue just in time for the holiday shopping season.”
Good Neighbor will host a ribbon-cutting event with the chamber 11:30 a.m. Saturday for Small Business Saturday. Customers will also get 20 percent off their purchase of $150 or more Black Friday through Cyber Monday, the owner said.
Goltowski is proud her company has been successful and plans to keep expanding to other cities.
“We do everything, so [Logan Square] is a great extension of our brand, and I’m super proud of it,” she said. “We’ve been open five years, and I feel like this is a fresh start and it’ll tell us a lot about like where we should go in the future.”
Good Neighbor is open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sundays at 2319 N. Milwaukee Ave.
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