The latest Chicago issue focuses on our city's best: "Whoever said 'good enough' probably didn't get very far in life. In our pursuit of better living through extreme pickiness, we discovered the best reasons to celebrate our ever-expanding city." Below, we highlight the few with "home" written all over them:

Best New Stores:
Branca
Post 27 (look for AT features soon!)


Best Closet Organizer:
Nina Lee, Closet Works

Best New Green Entrepreneur:
Cassie Green, Green Grocer Chicago

Best Local Artist to Invest in Now:
Karen Reimer

Best Place to Buy Cheap Art:
School of the Art Institute of Chicago Graduate Exhibition

Best Custom Framing:
FredEric's Frame Studio, Inc.

In addition to the August '08 bests, we spotted several artistic endeavors familiar to Apartment Therapy:

In the magazine: Process of Illumination
Apartment Therapy: Chicago Design: "Get Lit" Design Competition (*note Caroline Lindner's LED Leaning 2x4s in featured in both places)

In the magazine: Weeknight Find: Uncorked
Apartment Therapy: PINK: A Traveling Artistic Experiment Delivers Love Notes to Chicago Homes

In the magazine: Found Art
Apartment Therapy: The Gallery: Howard Henry Chen (below):


(Above the jump: Image via Branca)