http://www.mickeyalicekwapis.com/

Mickey Alice Kwapis, 2233 South Throop Street, Chicago, IL (2026)

09/09/2022

🥳STUDIO OPENING!!!!🥳
Saturday, September 10th
5-8 pm

I have worked REALLY hard to get my career and my workspace to where they are today. Whether you’re new here or have been around since day one, thank you for your support. This still doesn’t feel real but I hope it will tomorrow when my new space is filled with friends!

Please come celebrate ten years in business (!!!) and the grand opening of my studio with me! All are welcome, if you are reading this you are invited and so is anyone you want to bring. Let’s watch the sun set together through my west facing windows with all of my glass work hanging up! You can view my personal collection of over 200 specimens, see my stained glass in person, and peruse my full line of jewelry.

My studio is located at 2233 S. Throop Street, Chicago, 60608. Park in the lot and enter through the doors on the east side of the building. You can’t miss the colorful murals outside and the gigantic neon inside. Take the elevator or stairs to the 8th floor. From the elevator doors, turn left and keep going to the left until the hallway dead-ends right at my studio door. I’m in studio 840, you can’t miss it.

Building policy requires masks in all common areas including hallways and elevators. Please bring one with you.

THANK YOU for being here for the last decade and I can’t wait to see you!

🎞: 🥰

02/28/2022

STOP… $1 raffle time!

You know I love raising money for a good cause and this time some friends are joining me. There are 14 prizes for 14 winners!

WHO: There are THREE causes.
1: A man named Gerry Thomas was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for 30 years. During that time he learned the art of leather work and got REALLY good at it. His conviction has been overturned and he is free but left with little resources. To set him up with the tools he needs to get back to his passion, I have spoken to one of his advocates at to get a supply list from Gerry, which add up to $414.49 plus shipping and tax. Read Gerry's story on the IP page.
2: Ukraine. My heart keeps breaking over and over. Once the raffle raises enough funds to cover Gerry’s leather supplies, 50% of the funds will be split between Razom Emergency Response, Revived Soldiers Ukraine, and Nova Ukraine.
3: Texas. The remaining 50% will be split between Thrive Youth Center, Out Youth, and Lambda Legal, providing support and legal aid to battle the bigoted new laws in Texas requiring trans kids’ parents to be investigated for child abuse.

WHAT: This is a raffle! 100% of the art was donated and 100% of the proceeds go to the orgs/causes above. Tap through to see what’s available!

WHEN: The raffle is open NOW through 6 pm CST on Wednesday, March 2nd. At that time the entries will be tallied and winners will be drawn and contacted via email.

HOW to enter: Visit www.mickeyalicekwapis.com/raffle (linked in my profile and my stories). Click the button, donate as much as you want, and if you win something you will get an email! Every $1 is one entry. ENTER AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT. Please try to make your donation(s) in one or two transactions rather than donating $1 at a time in many small transactions.

This post will be updated when we reach our goal to help Gerry, when the raffle closes, and finally when donations are tallied.

Makers are tagged in photos of their work as well as in the comments. Check them out, and PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD about this fundraiser! Together we can do so much more than any one of us by ourselves. Good luck!!!! ⚒️🇺🇦🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

11/27/2021

Heard it was SMALL Business Saturday so I wanted to share some of the smallest things in my studio! Each of these items can be set in your choice of a 14kt gold vermeil or sterling silver locket (swipe to see).

Pictured from the top going clockwise are a genuine Campo del Cielo meteorite from Argentina☄️, a python tooth🐍, a cluster of grape agate🍇, a fossilized shark tooth🦈, an opossum bone🦷, a forget-me-not seed🌸, and a squirrel tooth🐿. Penny for scale!! I also have jasper, moonstone, ammonites, sand dollars, sea urchin spines, and so much more — all waiting to be made into cute jewelry and all 100% real!

Visit my table at the upcoming to peruse my trays of small natural objects and pick out something (or a few somethings) to be made into a locket as you watch! You may also bring your own sentimental materials (ash, hair, teeth, soil, etc.) to the event to have pieces made there. Make sure to get your tickets before they are sold out.

Can’t make it to NYC on Saturday? Only the squirrel tooth is listed on my website, so if you’d like something else, just email me the item(s) you’re interested in and let’s get a locket made and shipped out to you ASAP! My email is [email protected] and I can’t wait to work together! ❤️ Thank you so much for your support this weekend!

10/13/2021

I MADE THIS WITH MY OWN HANDS. Surreal doesn’t even begin to describe it. Since June I have been learning how to make stained glass and now I’m officially a ~third generation~ stained glass artist, following in the footsteps of both my mother and her mother before me. I’m so proud to be able to continue their legacy — even if their style is more “birds and seashells” and mine is more “gigantic beetle larvae.” 🤪

I spent eight hours a day, three days a week in the glass studio all summer, transitioning to four-hour days in the autumn and continuing into the winter. Having this creative outlet, making my own patterns and problem-solving with a brand-new medium, and developing my own illustrative glass style has been a godsend for my heart and soul. The feeling of hanging a new piece in my studio window and seeing the sun stream through it is a feeling unlike any other I have experienced. I’ve also met so many incredible people in the glass studio — together we laugh and cry and celebrate each other’s accomplishments and get each other bandaids when the glass breaks, and it feels like a second family on those days that it just stings to be so far away from my own.

This piece in particular is one of my favorites because I ordered the glass for a different project and the color could not have been more wrong. I looked at it and I just kept thinking “that looks like a grub” so I made a grub. Two of the segments broke as I cut them so I ended up with unbalanced solder lines that I disguised by adding in wire details and it turned out WAY more perfect than it would have if the cuts had gone according to plan. Gotta roll with the punches because you never know what you’ll end up with!

Putting myself out there with new forms of art always feels a little scary for me so I wanted to say a quick thank you to my love, my classmates and teacher, friends, and family who have seen my stuff over the last few months and encouraged me to finally share here! And y’all — go learn how to make something you’ve always wanted to make! It feels sooooo goooooood!

I can’t wait to share the rest of what I’ve been making!! 🤩

09/09/2021

CUSTOMER CALL - kind of a long post but worth it

I have a few things on my wanna-do list and figured I would throw them out there and incentivize you with a little discount! I am working on new lockets that can accommodate larger items than my existing designs (shown with a squirrel tooth inside — details on that at the bottom of this post). I am interested in the following projects:
-Someone who has held onto one or more of their child’s baby teeth (I can fit one tooth per locket) 👶🦷
-Someone who has soil from a sentimental place (honeymoon, childhood home, favorite park, burial site of a loved one, etc.) 🍃🪨
-Someone who has ashes from a loved one. I have been learning glass arts all summer and would like to create some fused pieces using glass and cremation ash. These would be 12mm cabochons (glass stones) in the color scheme of your choice set in the type of setting shown in this picture (instead of clear lenses/stuff inside). You just have to send me a tiny bit of ash to work with! Human or animal ashes are welcome. ⚱️❤️

If any of these potential customers sound like you or someone you know, email [email protected] so I can give you my mailing info for your items. Though these projects will be discounted (so that I can take example photos and experiment with new processes), what you receive will be heirloom quality just like the rest of my work. I work in sterling silver and gold vermeil for these lockets and every project mentioned here will be under $100.

Right now I’m doing this without limits so take advantage! I will update this post if I get swamped with emails but for now, hit me up and let’s see what magic can happen. I can’t wait to work together!

🐿🦷Regarding the new squirrel tooth locket design: If you’re interested in this piece in silver or gold vermeil (14kt plated silver) please email to purchase one, I haven’t had a chance to add it to my site yet. They rotate on their bails and are $75 each.

05/05/2021

New work! I think this will cause some major nostalgia for a lot of us!
👩🏻‍🤝‍👨🏿🧍🏽‍♀️👨🏽‍🤝‍👨🏼🧍🏻‍♂️👨🏽‍🤝‍👨🏻
Each of these vial pendants contains a real, fair-trade Guatemalan worry doll made in the tradition of the legend of the Maya princess Ixmucane. According to legend, the princess possessed a special gift from the sun god which allowed her to absorb the worries of humans. They are traditionally given to children, who are instructed to tell the dolls about their worries and place them under their pillows as they sleep. In the morning, allegedly the worries are supposed to be gone.
👩🏼‍🤝‍👩🏾🧍🏽👨🏽‍🤝‍👨🏻🧍🏼‍♀️👨🏽‍🤝‍👨🏼
I definitely can’t guarantee that your anxieties will go away if you buy my work, but I can assure you that these pendants are super cute! The dolls are each unique and these three are available on my website.
www.mickeyalicekwapis.com ⚡️ Link in profile!

05/03/2021

MURDER HORNETS ARE BACK 🐝🐝🐝 Orders must be placed by the end of the day TODAY. Please spread the word!

Last year I offered a limited edition murder hornet spreading kit. I’m not doing it again because limited means what it means, but since LOTS of people have been asking, I am doing something else… entomology kit expansion packs! You will receive one unspread Vespa mandarina specimen AND a digital copy of my murder hornet preservation guide.

The step-by-step guide in full color teaches you everything you need to know from initial preparations to the steps needed to place the finished specimen in a display case. If you were a recipient of one of the limited edition kits last year, tag me in pics of your finished hornets so I can see them!

Only $30 while supplies last! Get all the details at the link in my profile and don’t forget to place your order by 11:59 pm tonight. 🐝 www.mickeyalicekwapis.com

04/29/2021

Learn how to prepare and preserve your own death’s-head hawkmoth specimen using my limited edition kit! 💀Each kit contains all items needed for the preservation process — even your own sustainably sourced specimen! No prior insect experience is necessary because you’ll learn the whole process using the included full-color, step-by-step instruction book and entomology tools. These kits were made in a limited quantity of 50 and once they’re gone, that’s it! Suitable for all ages (kids with adult supervision).

👉🏻Don’t forget MOTHer’s Day is May 9th! If you’re a mom who wants dead bugs as a gift next Sunday, send this post to whoever helps your kids buy your gifts! Today is the last day to order from me with guaranteed arrival before May 8th, and you can save a LOT using the following codes which expire tonight!!
🪲Get free US shipping on ANY single insect kit ($5 savings) with code BUGSHIP
🦋Buy 2 butterfly and moth kits ($90 value) for only $75 with code 2KITS
🐞Buy a beetle kit, butterfly/moth kit, and death’s-head hawkmoth kit ($214 value) for $170 with code LOADUP
Codes cannot be combined into one transaction and only apply to the deals listed above.
Ends at 11:59 pm CST

💀WWW.MICKEYALICEKWAPIS.COM💀

Thank you for your support!

04/27/2021

MOTHer’s Day is May 9th! Let your mom know how much you love her (even though sometimes she BUGS you!🙃) with an insect spreading kit. Pictured here from top to bottom (and in consecutive slides!): death’s-head hawkmoth, false tiger moth, Java silk moth, sunset moth, and green-banded Urania moth ready and waiting for one of you to spread their wings! Is your MOTHer not into moths? I’ve also got dozens of butterflies and beetles to choose from! Using my kits you can learn to prepare and spread your own sustainably sourced specimens with an affordable tool kit that can be used over and over. No experience necessary!

Of course you can treat yourself (or anyone you love!) by taking advantage of the following. These are really fun to do together with a friend or loved one in person or over Zoom! I recommend that each person have their own tool kit as they can only be used with one specimen at a time.

MOTHer’s Day special codes (which I never ever ever do, so take advantage!):
📦Get free US shipping on any single insect kit ($5 savings) with code BUGSHIP
🦋Buy 2 butterfly and moth kits ($90 value) for $75 with code 2KITS
🪲Buy a beetle kit, butterfly/moth kit, and death’s-head hawkmoth kit ($214 value) for $170 with code LOADUP
👉🏻Codes cannot be combined on one transaction and only apply to the deals listed above. Feel free to make multiple purchases if you want to use multiple codes or reuse the same codes.

Don’t live in the US? Have you own specimens already? Beetle & butterfly tool kits can be shipped without specimens — just check the listings.

Please place your orders by the end of the day Thursday, April 29th for arrival in time for Mother’s Day. Codes will expire at 11:59 pm on the 29th.
WWW.MICKEYALICEKWAPIS.COM
🐞🦋🪲

04/04/2021

Hoppy Easter! 🐇👶🏼🐣 Nobody is being raised from the dead around here. In the jar on the left are five fetal rabbits from a pregnant female I worked on way back in 2013 (this jar was my second wet specimen preparation ever!) and on the right is a chick that died halfway through hatching. The sediment in the jar is from the calcium in the shell reacting with the preservation fluid, and both jars need their liquid changed at some point in the future. If you want to learn more about the history of fluid preservation dating back to the 1600s as well as instructions for safely preserving a modern, stable specimen. Find it using the menu at the top of my website!💉💧www.mickeyalicekwapis.com/blog

03/31/2021

Dead beetles! Get your dead beetles here! 🪲💀 Right now there are over a dozen sustainably sourced species to choose from in my DIY beetle spreading kits, or FOR A LIMITED TIME you can take your chances and get a ~mystery specimen~ in your kit and save $10. If DIY isn’t your thing, you can also purchase beetles and other insects already prepared and framed for display in your home! Find it all on my website using the link in my profile 🐞😊www.mickeyalicekwapis.com

Mickey Alice Kwapis

09/09/2022

02/28/2022

11/27/2021

10/13/2021

09/09/2021

05/05/2021

05/03/2021

04/29/2021

04/27/2021

04/04/2021

03/31/2021

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