CHICAGO — Looking for offbeat hockey gear now that the Blackhawks are back on the ice?
On Etsy, where vintage and handmade are the rage, there is plenty to choose from.
For the littlest Hawks fan, there’s a custom knit Hawks baby helmet, complete with knit black or pink baby “skates” (actually, booties) for $35.
Or, for the fashionista looking to sweep Patrick Kane right off the ice, try a pair of smoking hot red pumps with delicate chief logos around the toes. A little bit more of an investment at $100, and they take a month to make, so don’t plan on wearing them to next week’s game.
Lisa Maceda, an interior designer by day and Etsy seller by night, creates headbands using guinea feathers with the same colors as the Blackhawks logo.
The loyal Blackhawks fan got the idea for the headbands when she was on her way to a game and wanted to show some Hawks pride.
She was originally going to make a sign, but then some leftover feather extensions from a previous Etsy venture caught her eye.
“Something clicked and I was like, ‘I can use my feathers to make this!’” she said.
Maceda, 33, who lives in the West Loop, said the headbands, which cost $20, are her most popular item. She also said she'd seen her headband sales surge this past week.
Not so over at Strange Cargo, a T-shirt shop in Wrigleyville. Hockey shirts haven't been selling much lately, according to the store's manager.
“Haven’t seen much of an increase. I think everybody’s still angry,” manager Jay Schwartz said, referring to the NHL lockout and Blackhawks loss in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.
The shop’s best selling Hawks shirt is a “Coach Q” tee with red lettering and a picture of Blackhawks Coach Joel Quenneville.
“He’s the constant,” Schwartz, who describes himself as a “fairweather fan,” said of Quenneville.
Lisa Maceda said she’s just as excited about watching some hockey as she is about selling her Hawks headbands.
“I can’t wait until I go to one of the Hawks games and actually see somebody wearing one of them,” she said.
