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“We had passed by this building all the time and it always said for rent,” explained Lisa Muscato, co-owner of Paperish Mess, a gallery and storefront located near the corner of West Chicago and Damen Avenues. “It was just one of those things where we were like, you know, I would love to be in this space and I would love to combine our interests with supporting the local economy.”
Muscato, along with her partner, Sean Murty, opened the business in 2012 after moving to the Ukrainian Village in 2011. Their choice of neighborhood was a conscious one. She explained that while still living in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood she used to walk through the Ukrainian Village with friends admiring the greenery and the neighborhood’s “quaintness but also quirkiness.”
When Muscato and Murty decided to open their business, there was no question of where they would do so.
“We had already chosen to spend our lives in this neighborhood, and so by default we were like, let’s spend our livelihood in this neighborhood. We thought ‘let’s do everything we can here and let’s plant our roots a little bit further.’”
After more than four years living and working in the Ukrainian Village, she feels entrenched in the community. “We walk from our store to our house and in two minutes we see so many of our customers-turned-friends and our neighbors. Literally we are saying hi every twenty seconds to someone else and it’s awesome. It feels like a really tiny village we’re in and I love it.”
Muscato describes the Ukrainian Village business profile as “very community-driven,” with a strong network of small businesses in close contact, including many Ukrainian-owned stores and restaurants. In order to better understand her neighborhood, she is currently teaching herself Ukrainian.
“We had passed by this building all the time and it always said for rent,” explained Lisa Muscato, co-owner of Paperish Mess, a gallery and storefront located near the corner of West Chicago and Damen Avenues. “It was just one of those things where we were like, you know, I would love to be in this space and I would love to combine our interests with supporting the local economy.”
Muscato, along with her partner, Sean Murty, opened the business in 2012 after moving to the Ukrainian Village in 2011. Their choice of neighborhood was a conscious one. She explained that while still living in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood she used to walk through the Ukrainian Village with friends admiring the greenery and the neighborhood’s “quaintness but also quirkiness.”
When Muscato and Murty decided to open their business, there was no question of where they would do so.
“We had already chosen to spend our lives in this neighborhood, and so by default we were like, let’s spend our livelihood in this neighborhood. We thought ‘let’s do everything we can here and let’s plant our roots a little bit further.’”
After more than four years living and working in the Ukrainian Village, she feels entrenched in the community. “We walk from our store to our house and in two minutes we see so many of our customers-turned-friends and our neighbors. Literally we are saying hi every twenty seconds to someone else and it’s awesome. It feels like a really tiny village we’re in and I love it.”
Muscato describes the Ukrainian Village business profile as “very community-driven,” with a strong network of small businesses in close contact, including many Ukrainian-owned stores and restaurants. In order to better understand her neighborhood, she is currently teaching herself Ukrainian.
A Local-Minded Economy
The Paperish Mess storefront featuring handmade artisan jewelry in the window display. Photo: Jenny Montagne