11/10/09
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A few weeks ago, I stopped by Morlen Sinoway’s shop and he told me I have to start covering the Chicago indie-design pop-up scene. After he said this, I started hearing about pop-up plans brewing left and right. For those who haven’t gotten the memo on this whole concept, it’s when independent designers and online shopkeepers without permanent gallery or retail spaces “open shop” temporarily in a random space to sell or exhibit their wares. This past summer, a few of these types of shows took place around the same time as NeoCon and Morlen’s Guerilla Truck Show. (Ironically, Target had a pop-up store this summer as well, in the space next to the Tribune Tower—not so indie, but still very fun.) One of the non-corporate under-the-radar shows was put together by Object Design League, which we blogged about on Design Dose this past June. Now, the group is partnering with the Bucktown antique shop Pavilion for a special holiday pop-up store-within-in-a-store on Black Friday (November 27). This is a great opportunity to buy some completely unique design objects for gifts, while also supporting local designers (along with others from across the country). Shown above are two items that will be on display, designed by Chicagoans: Steven Haulenbeek’s Dubbot modular lighting system and Materious’s Piggy (a new take on the popular mini-bank featuring a mommy and baby pig that must be together to stand). Also popping up for a short holiday run is Willow, which closed its brick-and-mortar doors recently and is now open online only. This temporary shop is open now at 850. N. Damen Ave. and will be there through the end of January. We recommend… um, popping by both. And let us know if you hear of others!
—GINA BAZER
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11/09/09
Just when we thought we knew of every design source in the area, we discovered Den Antiques (1810 Central St., Evanston, 847-424-0048). North Shore designers love under-the-radar Den, run by Darren Puffer, a midcentury modern aficionado who is an expert at restoring old lighting. He’s got lots of great chandeliers packed into his small, red-walled space, and now he’s moving and having a sale. Because he intends to focus on midcentury in his new, as-yet-undetermined digs in the city, he’s having a sale on more traditional items ‘til November 30, when he closes shop. Stay tuned to our blog to find out where Den lands. And watch for a story on Puffer’s own treasure-filled home, scheduled to run in the March/April issue of Chicago Home + Garden.
–JAN PARR
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10/16/09
Furniture designer Bladon Conner, who has been featured on this blog and in our magazine several times (his groovy designs are carried at Scout and Post 27), is going to be on TV this weekend, talking about his “edgy sustainable furniture,” which is the topic of the NBC show “Open House” Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Connor will also be hosting an open house of his own at his new studio space at 1845 W. 35th St. in McKinley Park (near Bridgeport), Saturday, November 14, from 3 to 8 p.m. Check out the designs that will be on the show, and plenty of his other fantastic work. Snacks will be served. Check his Web site for more details as the event approaches.
—GINA BAZER
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10/16/09
Vintage junkie Katie Ernst, who has a great eye and has amassed loads of furniture and accessories from estate sales and flea markets over the years, has just opened Revision Home in West Town. It’s by-appointment-only, but every few months, for back-to-back weekends, it will be open with regular business hours. The first sale of this kind will start today (Friday, Oct. 16) and go through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day; next Friday through Sunday, there will be a repeat performance, same hours. After that, the next sale will not be until February, but you can order select pieces online or call Katie at 312-226-2221 for a private viewing. The showroom is clean, pristine and put together, thanks to the stylings of interior designer Susan Swanson, who has purchased a lot of Ernst’s inventory in the past for clients. Prices are good, as is the quality: lamps hover around $200, smaller accessories are less than $100 (the Deco stool shown above was $95; it sold). At a press preview, we also saw a cool factory-cart coffee table for $800 and a set of four white-lacquered Hollywood Regency-style chairs for $1,600. I bought the bronze bird above ($35) and it’s already perched on my mantel.
—GINA BAZER
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08/27/09
Oak Park will soon have a new consignment shop for upscale home furnishings and accessories. Kellie Scott, the owner, is accepting consignments at 111 N. Oak Park Ave. She says she’s already got a ton of great finds, from a 1920s vintage art deco dining set to ultra modern tables and couches. Of particular interest: some 80 pieces from a modern furniture store that closed in Wisconsin recently. These brand-new pieces are at least 50 percent off their original price. She’s also got a $7,000 sectional that a North Shore interior designer is looking to unload because it’s the wrong color—it’s just $1,999. Divine Consign is open from noon–5 p.m. through the end of this week to accept consignments. It will be open to shoppers beginning Friday or Saturday, Scott says.
—JAN PARR
Photos courtesy Becca's Blog at livehereoakpark.com
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07/01/09
In the past 75 years, Rode Bros., a firm that installs fine hardwood flooring, has created floors in The White House, the Getty Museum, Christies in Beverly Hills, and the Ronald Reagan Library, among other places. Now Rode, which has showrooms in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Honolulu, has a showroom here, at 300 W. Grand Ave. (by appointment only; call 773-398-8758).
—JAN PARR
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06/12/09
There’s a new exotic wood showroom in town. San Juan Ventures, based in Bali, exports wood from all over Indonesia to the United States. The company’s flooring has been available through Holly Hunt and Birger Juell in the Mart and its furniture and architectural elements, through de Giulio Kitchen Design in Wilmette, but last week, the company opened a freestanding showroom at 664 W. Hubbard, managed by Kandis Wrigley. I stopped by for the opening party and was floored (pun intended) by the showroom. It’s open by appointment only and mostly caters to design pros.
—JAN PARR
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05/29/09
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Full disclosure: The following paragraph contains shameless self-promotion. Please proceed with cautious optimism! In my “spare” time away from mommydom and scouting scoop and styling for Chicago Home + Garden, I am a partner in crime at M&B Vintage, a jewelry company that was started with long-time BFF and styling cohort, Marie Moss. We were recently asked by interior designer and all-around-generous-pal and client Nate Berkus (he recently gave our charmers to Marc Jacobs and chef Jamie Oliver’s new daughter, Petal) to be guests on his Oprah and Friends radio show. You see, a few years back, when the search for one-of-a-kind baby gear turned up cookie-cutter finds for our own daughters, Marie and I headed to the flea market. We shared the ideas and inspiration in our book, Flea Market Baby (Stewart, Tabori & Chang). It’s a little you-can-do-it-too guide for decorating and gift-giving with a hint of history. Nate helps share our scoop on nurseries, memory making and our own M&B style with his listeners May 30 at 10AM EST on XM 156 and Sirius 195. We hope you’ll tune in to hear us dish about our digs. Thanks Nate!
—Barri Leiner
Flea Market Baby photography, courtesy Aimee Herring
M&B Vintage necklace, courtesy Tyllie Barbosa
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05/20/09
Chicago Home + Garden will be at the opening day (Saturday, May 23) of the Randolph Street Market with decorator Laura Soskin, who will pull together a fab room furnished with her favorite finds at the Market that day—and she will do so over the course of several hours! The room will be on display Saturday only on the second floor stage inside the Hall. All items in the room will be for sale (last year, when our stylist Barri Leiner pulled of the same feat, the items sold right off the set)! Look for behind-the-scenes coverage on our blog and a peek at the final product in our September/October issue.
—Gina Bazer
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05/13/09
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Ever checked into Fort Pitt? Known for its warehouse full of used hotel furnishings from across the country, they’ve recently hit the penthouse! The Ritz-Carlton Chicago is redecorating 23 top-floor suites and Fort Pitt is selling the furniture and accessories the hotel is unloading—Louis XVI styles complete with ball and claw foots details, solid and stately pieces from big-name makers Traditional Hickory, Thomasville, Baker, as well as Frederick Cooper lamps in marble and solid brass (owner Scott Zawitz scored a few for his hip homestead—see his place in the July/August issue of Chicago Home + Garden). I’d love the half-moon tables in an entry hall, decorative side tables mixed into a more modern interior, elegant armoires, sleeper sofas as instant guest quarters. It’s all in great shape but a tad traditional for our eye. At these prices ($99–$299) we say the occasional upholstered chairs are ripe for your reupholstery, and fine wood pieces ready for a repainting, refinishing, or lush coat of lacquer. DIY or ring Agnes Barron, at Meble Custom Design Studio, 773-772-8200; she’s done the trick on many a find. See the Ritz haul at 1400 W. 37th St., Saturdays 9:30AM to 5:30PM and Sundays noon-5PM.
—BARRI LEINER
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