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Passion for art and decorating spawns antique shop
Janice Mabie MacVicar opened E.G.G., which stands for Eclectic Gorgeous Goods, last April. MacVicar said art is her passion. | Jackie Pilossoph~For Sun-Times Media
E.G.G. Eclectic Gorgeous Goods
378 Park Ave.
Glencoe
847-226-0626
Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday
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Updated: January 21, 2013 2:09PM
WINNETKA
Winnetka resident Sally Schneiders tried to get her friend, Janice Mabie MacVicar to open up an antique shop for years.
“You should see Janice’s house,” said Schneiders, “Her eye is unbelievable, and her connections and the artists she knows is amazing. She just has a great depth of resources.”
Last April, MacVicar finally took her friend’s advice and opened E.G.G., which stands for Eclectic Gorgeous Goods, an antique shop in downtown Glencoe.
“Art is my passion,” said MacVicar, who holds a B.A. in art history and English from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree in business from Northwestern University. “I love giving a home personality and making it someone’s home, and a lot of people don’t know how to do that, especially with art. They think they have to spend a lot of money and they don’t.”
MacVicar had a career in marketing and advertising for 15 years before she became a stay-at-home mom. She always enjoyed shopping at antique markets and going to art auctions with her father.
“We never bought anything, but I would always go just to learn about art and see what they had,” she said.
Three years before she opened E.G.G., MacVicar started a business accessorizing people’s homes. She still does that for clients who shop at the store.
She said decorators frequently hire her, and while they may be great at picking out the right furniture, they don’t know how to incorporate “the little stuff,” by way of antiques and the accessories.
E.G.G. sells vintage goods for the home, 90 percent of which are antiques. The other 10 percent is new merchandise. The store carries paintings, table top accessories, furniture, jewelry, books, ceramics, glassware and other household goods.
“I love her taste,” said customer Teresa Dupe, of Winnetka. “I like the style and the antique flavor and the way she displays it.”
Dupe said her mother owns a shop in Portugal, and Janice’s store reminds her a lot of that.
“I carry really unique things,” said MacVicar, who lives in Winnetka with her husband and three children. “Whatever you get here, you’re not going to see it in anyone else’s house.”
MacVicar said when she first opened the shop, she originally planned on having the store open every other week, but customers started getting annoyed and wanted her to be open every day, so she settled on Tuesday through Saturday.
“The time involved is so much more than I thought it would be, but this is a big business and it takes time to do it well,” she said.
The store has such an eclectic feel to it, and you can find fun stuff that you won’t find anywhere else,” said customer, Lisa Flanagan, of Winnetka, who was shopping for vintage books,. “I come here to find really unique gifts that I won’t find in other stores.”
Items at E.G.G. range in price from $8 all the way up to $600, but the majority of things are under $100. The art ranges from $100-$300.
“I love the uniqueness, the ware and the beauty of the things I sell,” said MacVicar. “I like to think about who used to have them and what their lives were like. It gives it character and meaning, and it’s just so interesting.”
“There’s something very artsy and charming and sophisticated all at the same time,” said Schneiders. ~.
