Jewelry company Catbird will open a store in Lincoln Park on Thursday as part of a nationwide expansion from its Brooklyn, New York base.
Catbird, founded in 2004, is known for minimalist jewelry such as knuckle rings, thin stacking rings for $54 and up and customizable chains and charms .
The company has a following in Chicago through its pop-up events held over the years, said Sriya Karumanchi, vice president of marketing at Catbird. The city is the company’s fourth-largest source of e-commerce, she said.
The new store at 904 W. Armitage Ave. features Catbird’s signature black-and-white floors and a Murano chandelier from Belgium.
In 2019, Catbird expanded beyond its store in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood to Manhattan, first in SoHo followed by Rockefeller Center. In 2022, private equity firm Victor Capital Partners invested an undisclosed sum in the company. Catbird began opening stores across the country in 2023, first in Los Angeles and then Boston. The brand now also has shops in San Francisco and Georgetown in Washington, D.C. It plans to open a Philadelphia store next, along with locations in other cities.
Although Catbird has been on a store-opening spree, e-commerce accounts for 60% of its business, while 40% comes from retail locations, Karumanchi said.
Catbird and the designers its carries uses recycled and ethically-sourced gold and diamonds. It sources gold chains, wire, findings and castings from vendors that buy a mix of recycled metal and ethically-sourced materials and then make their own alloys.
Catbird uses reclaimed diamonds that are removed from older pieces of jewelry. It buys stones from suppliers who specialize in recycled diamonds. Tracing their origins is not possible, but using recycled diamonds creates no additional environmental impact from mining nor exploitative labor practices, the company said.
Prices range from $144 for diamond stud earrings to $3,100 for a diamond band ring.
The Lincoln Park store is offering promotions through Sunday. The first 200 guests to spend more than $250 will get a custom tote bag. On Friday, Catbird will offer pizza, wine and flash poetry. On Saturday, it will feature a floral market with complimentary mini bouquets for purchases over $200. It also plans to have complimentary pastries from local bakeries on April 26.