Lula Cafe

If you’ve ever walked by Lula Cafe and admired the stained glass in the front window, this story is for you.

For the 2023 holiday season, I had the chance to visit Lula Cafe in Logan Square for the first time. I was there as a vendor at their Holiday Bazaar—how I ended up being one of the ~20 vendors invited, I’m still not quite sure.

As I pulled up to the restaurant that night, I noticed the large, beveled stained glass piece hanging prominently in the front window of the dining room. Fittingly, that spot became my setup location for the evening.

Fast forward to August 2024: a message lands in my inbox. Lula Cafe was interested in recreating their iconic glass piece as a limited-edition item for customers. We agreed to make 20, which would be sold at that year’s Holiday Bazaar as part of Lula’s holiday merchandise line. All 20 sold out within the first two hours—and the energy around the pieces brought a wave of new faces to my booth. People were excited, asking questions, signing up for updates. It was the kind of connection you can’t plan for, but are lucky to catch when it happens.

Grateful for the response, we opened up preorders and ultimately got over 60 of these pieces into the homes of Lula Cafe supporters.

Thank you, Lula

(especially Taylor Botticelli for thinking of me for this project!)