Liita Forsyth helps student Sitota Blomquist, 6, in her The Little Bits Workshop, which she recently opened in River Forest after the Foryths were forced to downsize due to the economy. JASON GEIL/Staff Photographer


Paul and Liita Forsyth and their two children went from a five-bedroom house in Chicago to an apartment in River Forest. They’ve embraced their simpler lifestyle change.

Worn down by the rat race, many professionals dream of ditching their high mortgages and stressful work obligations to build a life centered on more personal fulfillment. In this economy, leaving debt behind to pursue a more rewarding life can seem like an impossible dream. Don’t tell that to new River Forest residents Liita and Paul Forsyth. In the past year, the couple has downsized their lifestyle and ended up with something bigger than they ever imagined.

In 2008, the Forsyths embarked upon a life-changing path, and they aren’t looking back. Hoping to leave city life for suburban schools for their two children, Paul accepted a job in River Forest managing housing for students of International English as a Second Language schools. The job includes an apartment in the building he manages, so the Forsyths sold their five-bedroom, three-bathroom house in Chicago. They welcomed the opportunity to live and work within walking distance of their children’s new school, and leaving behind a heavy mortgage was an exhilarating bonus.

Liita acknowledges that the recession spurred their decision to move and embrace a new lifestyle.

"We’ve been hit hard by the economy, that’s why we downsized," she says. "We got rid of debt, and the house and almost everything else."

Cramming an entire home’s worth of furniture and collectables into a two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in River Forest initially proved a challenge for Liita, an admitted pack-rat. She recently found a receptacle for all of the little things she just couldn’t let go of: A garden level apartment turned artist’s workshop. Formerly a real estate agent’s office in a brick condominium building across from River Forest’s Village Hall, the zoned-commercial space had been renovated as an apartment but never lived in.

"This little place was on the market, and we came to look at it, with the thought that it might be good overflow housing for our international students," explains Liita. "When I first saw it, I changed my mind and realized that it would make a wonderful studio, and I’ve always dreamed of having a studio."

As a former art director and a current freelance graphic designer, Liita admits she always wants her hands to be busy, expressing her love of art through watercolors, collages and creations of everyday objects such as stationery and reusable shopping bags. She delights in seeing her 7-year-old daughter Miika’s love of creating grow. Inspired by Miika’s interest in art and wanting to provide equal education and opportunity for her 4-year-old son Nathan, who has Down Syndrome, Liita decided to open The Little Bits Workshop for classes.

"I’ve been thinking about a workshop for about 10 years, and when my son came along I thought about what kind of projects people with disabilities can do, something to give them a sense of purpose, something that they can work at and sell to give themselves some pride in accomplishment," says Liita. "There is need for all people to create something with a purpose. Over the years, I’ve dreamed up an endless array of projects, and I thought, with all that, there’s got to be something I can do with it. The obvious answer seemed to be a workshop. Kids love to create, grown-ups love to escape, and people with disabilities need something to do with their time.

"I like to say that The Little Bits Workshop offers something for everyone. My mission statement is ‘It’s a cozy and creative space for people of all ages and abilities to create something new from something old into something functional.’"

Those with real estate savvy know that the term "garden apartment" is really a euphemism for "basement," but the workshop is not your everyday basement. Sunny yellow walls and chairs upholstered in contemporary floral fabrics brighten the room. A ledge wraps around the south wall, displaying projects, books and art.

The space is a working studio that looks like someone’s carefully curated home. Liita emphasizes that her workshop aims to repurpose ordinary or discarded things into useful items. Materials, including buttons, beads, paint, ribbons, yarn, found objects, old boxes and books, are stored and displayed throughout the room. Storage is incorporated throughout the space in a colorfully painted dresser, in her grandmother’s old salt cellars, and in wooden crates affixed to the walls.

A lot of the materials for the workshop come from collections Liita had stored in the basement of the couple’s previous home.

"We went from having a basement and an office to a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment," she says. "We had so much in storage that we are still unloading into the workshop. I spent a lifetime saving things because I knew I’d do something with them someday. I’m very frugal, to a fault maybe, so if I can make something from nothing, I’m happy."

Liita notes that she never stops looking for materials.

"I’m a junkie in terms of collecting items. When my grandparents passed away, no one else wanted all of their vintage linens, so I added those to my collection," she adds. "I also do lots of thrift store shopping. I find things everywhere."

Already the Forsyth family relishes using the workshop space after school, and this month’s opening to the community for classes represents a dream fulfilled.

"It’s an adventure. We had half a house’s worth of furniture and arts materials sitting in storage, so we decided to take the plunge and create this workshop," Liita says. "We’re hoping it’s something that pulls the community together."

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