Artists take over the 7th floor of Chicago’s Merchandise Mart for a one-of-a-kind show

CHICAGO (CBS) – The annual One of a Kind Show returns to Chicago for its holiday tradition – hundreds of artists from across the country and beyond take over the Merchandise Mart.

Located on the seventh floor of the massive building on the north bank of the Chicago River, the exhibition occupies a two and a half block radius and showcases unique artists and buyers.

One of those shoppers is Graunk Enzenberger, who said he was 90% done with his Christmas shopping list thanks to Thursday’s show.

“My nephews are getting beautiful handmade dinosaurs this year,” he said. “They’re beautiful.”

Enzenberger has been coming to the One of a Kind Show for four years.

“I just like handmade things. I support bricks and mortar,” he said. “You know, I love artists and all the interesting things they do – and I love unique gifts.”

The One of a Kind Show offers 20 different categories to choose from, from $5 groceries to custom works of art like Marissa Recker’s Astuary Art.

“It’s the best show and it was actually the only show I do,” Recker said. “It was so good and amazing that it’s the only show I do all year and it was better than any other show I tried.”

Recker – a resident of Madison, Wisconsin – creates mixed media artworks that, in her words, “focus on themes of fluidity, movement and growth,” with each piece the result of “the personal practice of letting go.”

This is the 23rd annual One of a Kind Show. Last year the fair had 500 vendors. This year there are 600.

“We see that our visitors really love what we do here, and so we’ve been able to bring in more artists to meet that need,” said Kathleen Hogan, sales manager for the One of a Kind Show. “We love having both our returning artists and new artists.”

One of the new artists in the “Emerging Markets” section was Sasha Jardine – the founder of SteMargScot. The company markets gender-inclusive wool outerwear – free of plastics and metals – and aims to “break out of the sea of ​​unsustainable, ubiquitous winter coat styles.”

“So we’re a Toronto-based company. Toronto and Chicago have a lot in common,” Jardine said. “So we thought, let’s give it a try and see if our warm wool coats in bright colors resonate with the community here.”

Last year, the One of a Kind Show attracted between 40,000 and 50,000 people over four days. This year, organizers expect the same, if not more.

The One of a Kind Show is open until Tuesday.