Planet Access Celebrates Grand Opening in Wicker Park and Spotlight Chicago Feature 

It’s been an exciting few weeks for Search360, Planet Access and Visibility Arts as we celebrate a new chapter in Wicker Park and introduce even more people across Chicago to our mission and work! 

On September 10, we officially opened the doors to our new Planet Access location at 1905 W. Division St., followed by a grand opening celebration. Friends, supporters and community members joined us to shop, enjoy food from Devil Dawgs and learn more about the mission behind Planet Access. 

We’re especially grateful to the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce and Alderman Daniel La Spata for welcoming Planet Access into the neighborhood and joining us for our ribbon-cutting. Their support, along with the warm welcome we’ve received from our new neighbors, has made our first few weeks in Wicker Park very meaningful. 

The new location marks an exciting expansion for Planet Access, a social enterprise created by Search360 and Toad&Co. The store brings together thoughtfully selected brands that prioritize social good, local small businesses and environmental sustainability, while giving shoppers an opportunity to support our mission with every purchase. Proceeds from Planet Access empower adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities to travel and experience more opportunities in their communities. 

We also introduced brand-new Visibility Arts merchandise, featuring designs and products that have never been available at Planet Access before! The new collection gives shoppers even more ways to experience their creativity, with stickers, magnets, crewnecks, T-shirts, art prints, glassware, greeting cards, playing cards and more. All products are now available in-store at Wicker Park and Lincoln Square. 

We’ve also been finding new ways to bring Visibility Arts and Planet Access beyond our store. This year, we participated in Renegade Craft Fair for the first time, connecting with art lovers and introducing more people to the artists and mission behind Visibility Arts and Search360. It was a great opportunity to share the artists’ work with a new audience and see the excitement around their designs. 

As Planet Access has settled into its new Wicker Park home, we had another opportunity to share our story with Chicago through WGN’s Spotlight Chicago. The feature, “Visibility Arts: Empowering Artists, Inspiring Community,” gave viewers a closer look at Visibility Arts artists and their work while introducing audiences to Planet Access and the broader mission of Search360. 

Watch the WGN Spotlight Chicago feature 

The feature offered a chance to show how these parts of our organization come together: Visibility Arts creates opportunities for artists to share their creativity, Planet Access provides a place for those stories to reach the community and every purchase helps support Search360 programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

Between our grand opening, our first Renegade Craft Fair and the warm welcome we’ve received from the Wicker Park community, we’re grateful for all the ways people have helped us celebrate this new chapter. We look forward to continuing to build relationships with our Wicker Park neighbors, introduce more people to the artists and brands behind Planet Access and create more opportunities for people with disabilities throughout Chicago. 

Here’s to new beginnings, new connections and many more good times in Wicker Park!