'American Pickers' Star Opens Wicker Park Boutique (PHOTOS)

Wicker Park's latest boutique combines handmade apparel and vintage accessories with an aesthetic that's all antique Americana.

4 Miles 2 Memphis, a boutique run by "American Pickers" co-star Danielle Colby and her husband Alex De Meyer, opened at 1734 W. North Ave. this month. The shop carries handmade clothing and jewelry made by Colby and a few other local designers, as well as shirts and artwork printed by De Meyer. Vintage clothing and accessories and antiques are also available.

De Meyer runs the shop on a day-to-day basis, while Colby splits her time between the Chicago store and travelling to Le Claire, Iowa to film episodes of "American Pickers." De Meyer said Colby typically spends three or four days a week filming in Iowa.

The couple rented the store's space from Broken Cherry owner Remy Rozin, a longtime friend of Colby's. When they moved to Chicago from Iowa last year, they began to speak with Rozin about opening a shop here, and the idea of a business partnership came up.

They eventually decided to close the 4 Miles 2 Memphis store in Iowa and set up shop on North Avenue. The two stores are connected via an open doorway to allow customers to move from one to the other, and they plan to coordinate and host events together in the future.

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Part of Colby and De Meyer's decision to move to Chicago last October was motivated by problems arising from Colby's fame and prominence in such a small town.

"Le Claire was very nice, we loved Le Claire, but it was very small," De Meyer said. "So we had a lot of people who found our house and we had issues sometimes. People tried to come inside the house. The last month we lived in Le Claire, three nights (in a row) there were people who tried to break into the house. It was kind of scary. We didn't feel very safe with the kids. We always wanted to come back to Chicago, so we decided it was a good opportunity."

Opening the shop in Chicago also allowed them to shift the focus of the business. Rather than being so closely related to the TV show and its audience, De Meyer said the Chicago location allows the store to stand on its own and put more of a spotlight on the original work for sale.

"It was odd in Iowa because it was more like people came for the show," he said. "So we sold more, like, T-Shirts with Danielle (on them), like touristy stuff, and we didn't have a big clientele for handmade stuff or jewelry or antiques."

A grand opening party is planned for the store for a weekend sometime in February or early March. De Meyer said the grand opening would involve performers from Colby's burlesque troupe dancing in 4 Miles 2 Memphis and Broken Cherry, as well as circus-styled sideshow performers either inside or outside of the shop.

De Meyer said they were waiting to put some finishing touches on the store—such as its window sign and exterior hanging sign, which were installed this week—before planning the grand opening, and now it's just a matter of coordinating a good date with Broken Cherry.

4 Miles 2 Memphis is open Monday through Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. For more information, see the store's website or Facebook page.