Top 5 Dead Architects
Mies van der Rohe
Bertrand Goldberg
Edward Dart
Milton Schwartz
Harry “Deever” Rockwell
–Ben Schulman
Top 5 Pocket Neighborhoods
Marionette Manor
The Villa District
Little Arizona
Edgewater Glen
Jackson Park Highlands
–Ben Schulman
Top 5 Chicago Markets of Handcrafted Everything
Renegade Craft Fair
Dose Market
Sauced Night Market
Vends + Vibes: An Arts Marketplace
One of a Kind Show + Sale
–Vasia Rigou
Top 5 Lessons on Design from Expo Chicago
Design criticism can push for sustainable practices and material sourcing
Democratize design by bringing it to the vernacular spaces of your neighborhood
Design is the future for expanding a critical cultural dialogue
Design deserves its own critical space in journalism apart from art
Study the object throughout its lifecycle—even to the landfill
–Gregory Maher
Top 5 Places to Get Coiffed
Stylisted—request Bianca Rich
Johnathan Breitung Salon & Spa
Goldplaited
Civello
Drybar
–Amber Gibson
Top 5 Reasons Why The 606 is a Game-Changer
Midwestern passive-aggression at its best
FREE penthouse kitchen tours. That exposed timber, though!
Real-life Frogger
So many great butts
Built-in parade route
–Anjulie Rao
Top 5 Chicago design institutions
MCA
AIGA
ChiDM
Merch Mart
Chicago Cultural Center
–Fletcher Martin
Top 5 Chicago design events
Open House Exhibitions at 50,000feet
AIGA Chicago Annual Meeting
AIA Design Excellence Awards
NeoCon
SOFA
–Fletcher Martin
Top 5 Overused Chicago design motifs
Skyline or Sears/Willis Tower
Hot Dog
“Da” + (Noun)
Stars from City Flag
Chicago Neighborhood Patchwork Thing
–Fletcher Martin
Top 5 Underused Chicago design motifs that don’t include guns, gangs, corruption, failed infrastructure, insurmountable debt
City parking ticket
Bald babe on top of CBOT building
The Chicago River Lifeforms
Burnham’s furry silhouette
Plastic bags caught in fences and trees
–Fletcher Martin
Top 5 Reasons Chicago Should Be a Fashion City
The SAIC fashion department, one of the best and oldest in the country
A really vibrant creative community, efficiently connected by Chicago’s optimum size
Affordable cost of living for new talents and lower rents for new brands
We have such stunning architecture, why not the clothes to match?
We can count on Ikram Goldman’s discerning eye
–Isa Giallorenzo
Top 5 Fashion Events of the Year
Fashion Meets Music featuring the Chicago Fashion Incubator at Virgin Hotel’s Commons Club
SAIC’s The Walk at Millennium Park
Ikram Goldman’s talk at Lake FX
The Fashion Brunch promoted by DCASE at Cindy’s rooftop at the Chicago Athletic Association
Uniqlo Train Takeover on a CTA El train traveling in the Loop
–Isa Giallorenzo
Top 5 Shops to Find Local Designers
Humboldt House (Humboldt Park)
Milk Handmade (Andersonville)
Eskell (Wicker Park)
Wolfbait (Logan Square)
Modern Cooperative (Pilsen)
–Isa Giallorenzo
Top 5 Local Fashion Designers to Watch
Agnes Hamerlik
Daryl Sneed (of Ricorso)
Elena Bobysheva
Lagi Nadeau
Shernett Swaby
–Isa Giallorenzo
Top 5 Best-Dressed Fashion Bloggers
Dani McGowan of Mermaid Waves (mermaidwavess.blogspot.com)/Photo: Kelly McGowan
Jena Gambaccini of ChiCityFashion (chicityfashion.com)/Photo: Heather Talbert
Jenn Lake of Style Charade (stylecharade.com)/Photo: Robert Zigmund
Lauren Fern of The Chicago Chic (thechicagochic.com)/Photo: Miguel Ontiveros
Nakea Laveé (nakealavee.com)
–Isa Giallorenzo
Ben Schulman is the editor of the design section of Newcity and co-host of “A Lot You Got to Holler,” the Newcity podcast on design, architecture and urbanism. His work with Newcity is one of many ventures he engages in to communicate the value of design and cities. Ben serves as the communications director for Small Change, a real estate crowdfunding platform that works to catalyze the development of transformative real estate projects. Previously, he was the communications director for the Chicago chapter of The American Institute of Architects, editor of Chicago Architect magazine and communications director for the urban think-tank, the Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU). His writing has appeared and been noted in outlets such as ARCHITECT Magazine, Belt Magazine, ICON, New Geography, Streetsblog, The National Review, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pop City Media and as a contributor to The Urbanophile, among others. When not writing about cities, Ben serves as an editorial assistant for the journal New Media + Society, and helps head the Contraphonic Sound Series, an attempt to document cities through sound.
Contact: ben@newcity.com | Website: benschulman.com
