MCA Chicago Store

The MCA store is one of my favorite places to buy unique and fun gifts for family and friends! There’s an assorted variety of household items, books about Chicago and art, gadgets, as well as one-​of-​a-​kind greeting cards that aren’t more expensive than what you can find at Walgreens ($ 2-​$ 5). Members of the MCA also get a discount off all purchases!

***This is a 2-​level museum store that features quirkier and more interesting stuff than most museum stores; there are several fun and/​or useful knickknacks /​novelties as well as a few tie-​ins with the museum (I wish they had more price friendly tie-​ins with the museum’s collection; maybe they do and I just missed them); if it is important to you, this museum store features several attractive cashiers***
I am not sure what the parking situation is at this gift shop.

This is a cool little store, better than the museum itself. A good place to buy a gift or just something different for yourself

great store to shop for unique gifts, especially if people are into music, art, architecture, and graphic design

A hidden gem and a great place to come for a unique gift. While it is filled with a million things you would never NEED, they are all things you would love to have. Jewelry, movies, books, décor, toys, children’s gifts, and more. Everything inside is so interesting. Just be sure you don’t miss the second floor! It is also open later that the MCA itself.

They have a lot of super cool stuff here. Prices are on the expensive side, but I think its worth it since everything is so unique and you cant find it at other stores. My cousin bought a floor mat that I thought was really unique. I came in here today in search for it but it wasn’t here anymore!!! Lesson learned! If you think something looks great, just buy it! Otherwise it may not be there tomorrow!

I said it before and I’ll say it again. THANK YOU MCA. You have plagued my life with multitudes of kidrobot designs and labbits galore. If I hadn’t been here, I would have never bought my first labbit and gotten pulled into the craze that kidrobot has inspired today.
Other than crazy fun kidrobot /​Japanese pop-​culture toys, this store holds hordes of books on every subject art and contemporary society related. This store is very reasonably priced (read expensive kidrobot labbit story above …) and have some of the newest, coolest toys around. No wonder people are set on buying Christmas presents for their friends and families here. I would too! … if I didn’t hog all of it for myself.
This store is just as a must visit as the museum itself. Tons of great finds and fun things to browse.

I just love this store, great unique gift ideas here. Just came here last week for an update on the new exhibits. Good times. Love the MCA.

Anyone who who shops Michigan Ave. for gifts would do very well to walk a couple blocks down Chicago Ave. and shop here. I buy a lot of books from the upstairs bookstore, some really unique stuff that is hard to find anywhere else in the city, or even on the internet. It’s a nice way of contributing to the museum by shopping here, as well.
Like Andrea pointed out, the staff is very nice and helpful, a nice change from the cliched hipster attitude you get in similar shops out in the neighborhoods. Prices for some of the items seem a little high, but it helps to keep in mind that many of them are limited artist editions with secondary market value, and often go up in value in the future. Some great stuff for kids, too – yet another reason to avoid the Disney store.

All my friends and family members will be getting CHristmas present from this store. I will be buying myself a Christmas present — or 3– from this store.
Upstairs has a fantastic card selection in particular; the book selection was interesting to me, as I’m not a big art buff, but it didn’t look enormous… then again, I’m spoilt by seeing thousands of books like this in one place because it’s the family business. I did spend twenty minutes looking through a retrospective of Marc Jacobs advertising imagery while seriously considering buying a cushion in the shape of a dunkin’ donut (it had sprinkles, people!) The point is, there is something for everyone.
Some of the jewellery is heart breakingly expensive, some of it heart breakingly beautiful, some of it heartbreakingly crazy. When these 3 things align, I am in retail heaven.
My mum bought a cheese grater in the shape of a mouse and a post-​it note holder in the shape of a moose, and was ecstatic.
My brother inspected Gloomy bears and crazy Japanese toys for a full half hour.
Like I said, something for everyone!

Scored 4 CF spring beaded bracelets here for $ 18. Who knew I would find jewelry? Lots of other cool stuff for visitors young and old. If I could pack more in my suitcase (and not break it), I would buy so much more.

Okay, one question… why have I never been in this store?! I’ve lived here for 3 years! I went in over the weekend, and I loved it. I could’ve spent so much more time in there, but I had impatient family members waiting on me. This place has two levels of awesome. Going to be such a great place to buy holiday presents this year. The second level is full of toys and books that I swear were meant for me. I bought a Kidrobot toy that is a pair to one I already own. I have not seen this toy in stores, or for retail price, since last summer, at least. So seeing it in stock, and buying it, totally made my day. The staff were really helpful and friendly as well. I would definitely recommend checking this place out if you are into art or any sort of quirky trinkets.

This is where I get like 80% of my holiday shopping done. I could browse in here forever. They have jewelry and handbags and motorized birds that sing and hop around. They have dishes and books and baby onesies and little plastic dudes that wave and smile when the sun shines on them. Ahhh, love. PS, you get a discount with your membership.

Things you don’t know you want yet. This is the perfect place to spend some time looking through a bunch of stuff you didn’t even know you needed. It’s also one of my favorite places to shop for Christmas and birthday presents. The store is huge [2 levels] and offers a wide selection of merchandise from coffee table art books to jewelry to toys for the kid in all of us.

I could live in this store! Loving my adorable solar panda. Was able to pick up a herpes Giant Microbe for a friend’s housewarming. So much to see, read and explore in here. I want it all.
And imagine my excitement to find the second floor of books and japanese toys!!! Graffiti, interior design, fashion, robots??? I almost did cartwheels in the aisles! I only spent an hour in the store and that was not nearly enough for me. MUST GO BACK!

one of my favorite places to shop, browse, get lost. it’s such an awesome store, great for getting gifts for the person who has everything (because trust me, they don’t have a string doll keychain or a bag made out of rubber bands).
upstairs — you will find sweet books on artsy topics, architecture, design, fashion, music, film. i have gotten some great books here and a few that inspire me in my work as an ad-​peep. you’ll also find hard-​to-​find-​anywhere music, cards, notebooks and figurines.
downstairs — very cool Ts (original, few made), artsy jewelry, bags, homewares, trinkets, etc.
also, random but i have to comment on this — the bags they give you are so ultra-​sturdy and have a cool design on them, you’ll want to reuse them again and again… and you won’t want to put your clothes to give-​away to the salvation army in it!

Cool little shop. I feel like about half of the stuff in there is a bit overpriced, but hell, it’s a gift shop at the MCA. Of course I think half of it is overpriced. The staff is fairly friendly, and with the amount of unique books, posters and knick knacks inside, you might spend as much time checking out the store as the museum.

Great store! I was so pleased to find a poster from an exhibit that they had 6 years ago. I also love the bathrooms at the MCA. Sleek, elegant.

Oh man. This place is dangerous. Often better than the exhibitions themselves. A huge library of coffee table-​worthy books, funky clothes and room décor. Very commercial Warhol-​heavy though. In all a great place for gifts that you’ll end up keeping.

With holiday shopping just around the corner it’s helpful to have a few ‘special’ gifts in one’s kit-​bag.
The MCA store, located adjacent to the Museum of Contemporary Art, carries a wide selection of intersting items including fun stuff for the kiddies. There’s a book store upstairs, too.
Hours:
Tuesday 10AM — 8PM
Wednesday — Sunday 10AM — 5PM
(free Museum admission on Tuesday between 5 and 8PM)