WICKER PARK — Detroit watchmaker Shinola is opening Thursday along a tony stretch of Damen Avenue that is quickly becoming a shopping destination for higher-end brands as several independently-owned shops have moved off the fast-changing strip.
Known for its handcrafted watches, which use leather from Bucktown's Horween Leather Co., Shinola's Wicker Park/Bucktown outpost at 1619 N. Damen Ave. is scheduled to open at 11 a.m. Thursday.
Shinola also sells bicycles, journals, pet accessories, leather goods, and shoe polish, the latter of which inspired the namesake for the new company. Shinola was a shoe polish used in the 1940s.
Following a November opening in Los Angeles' Silver Lake neighborhood, Shinola’s Chicago store marks the brand’s sixth dedicated storefront. However, since its founding in 2011, Shinola has also sold its watches at Downtown's Nordstrom and Haberdash stores.
Steve Bock, CEO of Shinola, said in a news release that, "The reception our Shinola products have enjoyed in Chicago has been nothing short of amazing."
Bock said the fact that the Bucktown area is "steeped in manufacturing" makes the new location "that much more exciting," as well as the store's proximity to The 606's Bloomingdale Trail.
Shinola's new outpost is less than two blocks south of Churchill Park, one of six ground-level access parks leading to The Bloomingdale Trail, a 2.7-mile elevated biking, jogging and walking path spanning four neighborhoods that is the centerpiece attraction of the overall 606 project.
Scheduled to open in the summer, the trail's eastern end is just west of the Horween Leather Company and several other legacy Chicago manufacturers.
Shinola, 1619 N. Damen Ave. Hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 24 and Dec. 31. Ph: 773-904-2417.
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