Rad Rodent

Hi, we're Rad Rodent! We are a couple of Chicago creators who first met in high school. Stay tuned for many more designs to come!

Zoe is an experienced Etsy Star Seller of 5+ years (she sells antiques in an Etsy shop called "TomsBasement"), and Hugh is a professional designer. We are both multi-disciplinary art makers who love science, crafting, animals, the natural world, vibrant colors, funky patterns, the fantastical, and quality memes. :)

This shop is an exploration into new territory for both of us, since we have been wanting to make cute, cool, and colorful things together for a very long time!

08/31/2026

Over the years, I've collected a ton of assorted charms, so I figured I'd make a charm necklace for fun! 🌞 I made a few dangly beaded pieces to tie the variety of gold tones together, but the rest was just kind of experimenting with placement and shapes and sizes~

After wearing this a few times, there are a some charms I'm going to reposition (like the leaf which is a little too big for its current spot, and the horseshoe + moon combo because they are too similar for my liking), but that's the fun part of making things yourself! You get to change whatever doesn't feel quite right. 😉

I have many more charms, so I'll make some more of these! (I also plan on making a silver colorway, since I am personally more of a ~silver girly~ myself. 💿) What kinds of charms would you want on your charm necklace? 🤔🪎

08/23/2026

Some more new things we've been cooking up! 🎉 Bag charms made from vintage and upcycled beads, beaded hair clips, and Chicago-centric accessories! Much more to come~ What kinds of things would you like to see us make next? 🤔

08/21/2026

If you saw us at Square Roots in July, you may have seen our ~brand new~ bolo ties! 🌠 They honestly just started out as a fun experiment, but we're so glad you all loved them! 🤩 We had a lot of fun with the hot dog bolo ties, in particular...

The fancy hot dog wearing a top hat is a character I've been doodling in notebook margins for decades, so seeing him come to life in acrylic and sparkly resin (and then worn by other people!!!) was truly so surreal. 🥹 We are currently sold out of them, but we'll be adding a ton of new bolo ties to the shop very soon! 🫶

08/20/2026

Well, it took me a while to make a formal post about Square Roots back in early July... 😅 But that's only because it was such an unbelievable experience! 🤩 We were truly blown away by the kindness and generosity of our neighbors. 💖 We had so much fun talking to cool folks, petting cute dogs (and cats and ferrets!), admiring the talents of our fellow vendors, and listening to great live music! This was our biggest and longest market to date and we truly had the best time. Thanks to all of you for making it possible. 🥲💕

Also swipe toward to end to see some extremely cute photos my parents took! They drove 6+ hours as a surprise just to come and cheer me on!!!! 😭

Thank you also to Lincoln Square Ravenswood and Square Roots Chicago for the opportunity! 🫶 Rumor has it we'll be back at Apple Fest 👀 so keep your eyes peeled (hehe) for us! 🍎🥧

08/15/2026

If you've been to one of our recent markets, you may have noticed these little guys... 👀 We made a bunch of magnets! 🎉 Doodling these lil' stinkers was so much fun, and I'm delighted that so many of them have been adopted into good homes across the city. 🫶 If you picked one (or several) up, where are you displaying them?! 🤩

08/13/2026

A lil' collection of one-of-a-kind pieces that have found new homes at recent markets (including a bag charm, which I love making now that I know how, and some new hair clips I've been working on)! 🤩

Thank you for supporting my small business dream and my busy little gremlin hands! 🫶

07/25/2026

Last month, we participated in our first-ever Trinket Fest with Not Just Business💫 at Artifact Events and it was a dream! ✨ What an incredibly fun, cute, and passionate community of artists and trinket collectors alike! 😍 Plus, the trinket trading table?! Incredible to behold. Who picked up the Chicago rat hole earrings we left behind? 👀 If you were there, thanks for stopping by and saying hi! If not, hope to see ya at another one! 🫶

07/24/2026

In late June, I had the super cool opportunity to work on a few beaded pieces during the Field Museum's "Art in the Gardens" event! 🌿🌱🐜🐞🐛🌻🪻 It was really lovely to take a moment to sit in nature (right in the middle of an otherwise hectic workday lol) and let the colors and sounds of the gardens guide me. 🥰

I ended up doodling with colored pencils, making a pair of earrings (inspired by the Red-winged blackbird who angrily supervised us the entire time 😬), and I also started on a lil' bug necklace incorporating a shrinky d**k I made during my bday crafting party months ago~ 💖

Pollinators 4ever! ✨🐦🐝🦋🐞🐛✨

07/03/2026

We've got some BIG news! 🎉 Rad Rodent will be selling our wares at the Square Roots Festival next weekend! 🥳 You can find us on Sunnyside Ave. all three days of the festival! 🌞 Thank you to for the amazing opportunity!

This will be the biggest market we've ever done, both in terms of scale and duration! We've been working on a ton of new designs that we have never released before, so we hope to see you there~ 🫶

Festival Hours:
Friday, July 10th from 5-10pm
Saturday, July 11th from Noon-10pm
Sunday, July 12th from Noon-9pm

The festival is free to attend, but there is an optional donation at the gate, which would be used to support the work that Old Town School of Folk Music and the Lincoln Square Ravenswood Chamber of Commerce do all year long. Find more info at squareroots.org 🌟

06/26/2026

Some one-of-a-kind pieces that have found new homes in recent weeks! Thank you, as always, for supporting our tiny business! 🥰🥲

Address

Chicago, IL

Website

https://www.etsy.com/shop/RadRodent

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