For Algonquin's Funky Things, location is everything

Becky Barrus loved the old house in downtown Algonquin where she first opened her business Funky Things.

But more and more stores kept closing around her, and she started seeing fewer and fewer customers coming through her doors last year.

So this spring she transplanted Funky Things to the Randall Road corridor in the Winding Creek shopping plaza along Algonquin Road.

And she couldn't be happier with the new location, and the hundreds of new customers she's seen come through her doors.

"What a difference four or five miles makes. It's amazing," Barrus said. "We have our regulars and a lot of new people too."

The family-owned business still carries all of the fun items it had in downtown Algonquin, including handbags, jewelry, funky lamps and fun items for kids.

"We're getting new items in almost every other day to keep up with the demand," Barrus said. "It's all trendy and affordable, functional and fun."

Pretty much everything you find the store is for women and girls. However, she said, a popular seller for the men around Christmastime is the leg lamp from the "A Christmas Story" movie.

Barrus, who has a knack for finding fun handbags and lamps, started selling the funky items on eBay in 1999.

Then she and her family took their sales on the road, selling at flea markets and street fairs.

When it turned cold in 2006, they realized they couldn't sell outdoors any more and started looking for a permanent spot.

She was driving by through downtown Algonquin one day and spotted an old house with space available for a new business. She just decided to go for it, rent the house and open her own business in November 2006.

The house was good to her for a while, she said. But this past year, with the economy and other businesses leaving downtown Algonquin, she knew she had to get out to stay afloat.

"We got our start there. It was awesome to be in the old house. But I barely survived Christmas. And I lost two weeks because it was so cold," she said.

So, she found a spot in a window treatment business that closed along the Randall Road corridor and took the gamble.

"This was just the right thing," Barrus said.

Now, she said, more and more people are finding Funky Things, and traveling from all over to check out the shop's merchandise.

"We love it here," she said.

Color me busy: Color Me Mine along Randall Road in Geneva has fun events for both kids and grown-ups this week.

From 6 to 9 p.m. today, the store is holding a "Confessions of a Shopaholic" party. You can watch the movie, enjoy snacks and paint. You can also make it a special ladies night by bringing in your own beverages. The business will supply the snacks.

The cost is $15 per person, plus the pottery you choose to paint.

For the younger crowd, the business is holding a Kids Pizza Party from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday.

You can paint a balloon bank or your favorite character from the movie "Up" on a piece of pottery.

The folks at Color Me Mine will teaching painting techniques, while you eat pizza and play games. The cost is $10 plus pottery.

For information call (630) 845-0043.