Be fashionable, hip and environmentally correct, all in one stop.
The shop: Notice, 2057 Green Bay Rd., Highland Park, focuses on home decor and personal products made from recycled material. “We try to choose carefully what we carry here and make sure it’s exceptional,” says store manager Becky Barnes.
Why it’s hot: Old records become clocks ($28), bowls and snack trays ($26) and coasters ($20). Even record labels get new life as eye-catching note cards ($4). Old bike chains and gears are turned into wall clocks ($36 to $64), bracelets ($9.50), bottle openers ($9.50), key chains ($3.50) and — our favorite — a large bowl made of wound bike chains ($88). Wine bottles are recycled into attractive vases ($44 to $60), and magazines are rolled tightly and become bowls ($15 to $58).
What it’s not: Substance without style. Notice takes a good cause and makes it better by offering cool items, including handbags that get bling from soda-can pull tabs, made by a women’s co-op in Brazil ($72 and $88).
Bottom line: Barnes’ offerings are not only functional but also eco-friendly, and they have interesting stories behind them (847-432-1212, notice-this.com).
— W .H.
