CHICAGO (WBBM Newsradio) – Trish Carnevale, owner of Pixie & The Boy, moved into her small shop in Logan Square at 2605 N. Milwaukee Avenue about 5 years ago.
“I just wanted a store honestly, I’m a maker so during the pandemic everything stopped, like all the craft fairs I was attending,” said Carnevale, adding that the craft fair life was a bit of a tough one anyway, “I realized I hated packing up all my stuff, it was like moving in and out every weekend with these craft fairs.”
So, she moved into her current space, referencing her son who is now a teenager in the signage, she is the pixie in Pixie & The Boy.
“I used to be a hairstylist, and the pixie cut has always been my favorite,” said Carnevale.
Pixie & The Boy started as a place to make and sell her own crafts, but it evolved to become something much more unique.
“When I was doing the craft fairs I met a lot of makers in the city, so a lot of the things in here are from friends, and then just people reaching out throughout Chicago wanting their stickers or their artwork in here. But a lot of it is also just small businesses and crafters and artists throughout the country, some through the world actually. I’m a big art fan so I reach out to people,” said Carnevale.
A Made in Chicago small business that provides a space on the shelves for other local makers, when it’s time to talk about the product, Carnevale lets us in on a little secret…she’s obsessed with stickers, so the shop features a decent variety of prints and sticker sheets from local artists.
“A local artist that I love and she does really well, is Kudos. She does a lot of prints and sticker sheets, she also sells sticker books. I’m a big fan of stickers,” Carnevale said, “Soap Distillery makes these soaps by hand and they’re really great.”
Chicago themed socks, stickers, prints, posters, puzzles, there’s even a board game that lets you play as the head of a rat household, trying to survive the city’s urban landscape, Transit Tees is a big part of her inventory.
Pixie & The Boy now ships nationwide through their website.
“One of my Instagram posts, selling candles, blew up and I got more than a million views, that led to shipping. So, I ship all throughout the country. I don’t do overseas yet because it’s just me running the shop and I don’t have the capability, plus it’s really expensive,” said Carnevale.
