PORTAGE PARK — The owner of a funky and colorful resale shop filled to the brim with affordable goods and trinkets wants to increase business and community on the western end of Portage Park.
Julie Alleyne opened her shop, Ecclection, last month at 6049 W. Irving Park Road. It has everything from vintage items to home decor, kids and dog toys, shoes, local artwork and holiday gifts, and going through the extensive collection can feel like a treasure hunt.
Alleyne, who lives in Belmont Cragin, said opening a retail shop has been on her radar since organizing a holiday pop-up market last year. She wanted to blend her interests of art, retail and collaboration into her first business for a more fruitful experiment, she said.
“I’m looking forward to getting into the community, meeting new people and providing a service that maybe isn’t quite available,” Alleyne said. “I’m really excited to bring more of an art element into the shop.”
The shop sells work from Northwest Side artists and offers artisan spaces for $25 a month. Two artists have their work on display for now, and Alleyne hopes to add more and rotate out the work on a monthly basis, she said. As a maker herself, she also wants to host art reception events so people can meet the artists.
Many of the items at Ecclection are things Alleyne has collected over the years that need new homes. With the variety of items on sale, customers are bound to find something they like, or something for a friend, she said.
In addition to selling secondhand items and artwork, the owner offers a custom shopping experience for people who want a collection of gifts from the store. She takes requests for unique-themed collections for those who may be “hard to buy for” or who are obsessed with a particular style, animal or color, she said.
The shop is in holiday mode, selling cheap items like lights, Christmas ornaments, winter-themed home goods, candles, mini Christmas trees and more. Ecclection also offers complimentary gift wrapping for the holidays, the owner said.
Once the holidays pass, Alleyne plans to offer curated party bags for children’s birthday parties, bridal showers or other themed celebrations, she said.
“I need to offer something that’s a little different, something convenient to people,” she said. “That means party stuff to go or if people want to find something really specific, I can get that for [them].”
The Portage Park storefront, which was originally set to become a tattoo parlor, felt like an appropriate start for Ecclection because of its size and location — and its owners being willing to work with Alleyne on the price and design, she said. Upon her request, her landlord installed another wall and a front-facing window to create a mini back room and hang station — a place where Alleyne can work while having eyes on her customers, she said.
Store items start at $1, which can attract kids who want to have a shopping experience or those who only have a little to spend, the owner said. As the shop grows, items will cycle out, Alleyne said. She also hopes to sell some of her own recycled art in the shop.
“I have so much stock I want to get rid of right now, but if I’m still here in a year, I hope to have more functional art that are found things, like trash to treasure,” Alleyne said.
A few businesses have come and gone along the Irving Park Road strip in recent months, but Alleyne hopes her shop can get more people out into the neighborhood and build on of the flow from the nearby restaurants and businesses, and a potential dispensary, if approved.
Alleyne sees Ecclection as a destination experience as opposed to solely a shopping stop, she said. And as more art gets on the walls and in display cases, the shop can increase exposure for local artists and be “like Etsy” but in person, she said.
“I hope to stick around; I need people to come support and notice me,” Alleyne said. “I’m not a destination, but once people come in and we talk a little bit, they know what’s here.”
Ecclection is open 2-8 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. The store will be open 2-8 p.m. Wednesdays after Thanksgiving week.
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