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Mr. & Mrs. Digz Boutique Bringing Designer Togs to Ravenswood

By Patty Wetli | January 20, 2016 5:31am
 The owner of Mr. & Mrs. Digz his-and-hers boutique is trading her Andersonville storefront on highly trafficked Clark Street for a second-floor loft space in Ravenswood so that she can occasionally close up shop.
The owner of Mr. & Mrs. Digz his-and-hers boutique is trading her Andersonville storefront on highly trafficked Clark Street for a second-floor loft space in Ravenswood so that she can occasionally close up shop.
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Facebook/Mr. & Mrs. Digz

RAVENSWOOD — Most retailers covet as much exposure as possible for their business.

Not Emilia Dlugolecka.

The owner of Mr. & Mrs. Digz his-and-hers boutique is trading her Andersonville storefront on highly trafficked Clark Street for a second-floor loft space in Ravenswood so that she can occasionally close up shop.

Wait, is she saying she's looking for less visibility?

"In a crazy kind of way, that's exactly what you're hearing," Dlugolecka said.

Dlugolecka opened Mr. & Mrs. Digz, 5668 N. Clark St., in 2009 after being laid off from her corporate job.

"I think I was just so jaded by the corporate world," she said. "Why put your heart and soul into something ... and get treated like nothing?"

With its mix of designer resale, new clothing and accessories, and handmade items crafted by more than 50 local designers, Mr. & Mrs. Digz quickly gained a loyal following, to the point where Dlugolecka is now a victim of her own success.

"I haven't had more than 10 days off in seven years," she said. "When you work for yourself, it doesn't stop. It's 24/7."

A recent health scare caused Dlugolecka to reassess her priorities. (She's fine, by the way.)

"I'm going to be 40 in May and I have a 5-year-old daughter," she said. "She goes to 'Disney on Ice' and I'm getting pictures texted to me at work. I can't keep saying 'no' to things. I need to find that work-life balance."

In moving to Ravenswood, where she'll set up shop in the Deagan Building at 1770 W. Berteau Ave., Dlugolecka is trading "street for suite" and scaling back to five days a week, Tuesdays through Saturdays.

Where before, if she so much as left her post to grab a cup of coffee or a sandwich, she'd see people tugging on the locked Digz door despite a "back in 30 minutes" sign, Dlugolecka anticipates a more relaxed pace in her new home.

"It's this kind of secret area in the city," she said of Ravenswood. "It has a very calm feel but at the same time this really electric vibe — it's a zen-electric combination."

The neighborhood's draws include a cluster of surrounding art studios, including Lillstreet Art Center, more readily available street parking and cheaper rent — as in $20,000 a year cheaper.

Dlugolecka is aiming to open by the first week in February, following a quick bit of remodeling and a short vacation. But at the moment, she still has one foot in Andersonville, where Digz is holding a 75 percent off moving sale through Thursday.

After seven years at the same address, Dlugolecka admitted that while she's looking forward to redesigning her shop in the new space — "The loft ceilings are sky high" — she has some trepidations about picking up stakes and starting over.

"I feel like it's my first day of high school and I'm like, 'Where's my locker?'" she said.

One person unabashedly in favor of the move is Dlugolecka's daughter, and not just because it means more mommy-and-me time.

The two recently drove past the Deagan Building so Dlugolecka could explain the coming change.

"She saw there was a clock tower and she looked at it and said, 'Mom, does Rapunzul live there?'"

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