InBox | 07/27/10

Seltzer Studios

When Chicago-based Merrideth Kalil was laid off from her job as a copywriter two years ago, it wasn’t all bad—she’d always wanted to start a retail business, and she finally had her chance to go for it. In November of 2009, Kalil had a soft “opening” for her online store, Seltzer Studios, named for her obsession with vintage seltzer bottles, which she has been collecting for 20 years. A real potpourri of fun-meets-functional, the stylish shop has everything from colorful kitchen storage containers to sets of wooden pencils and push-pins for the office. Some home décor highlights include the “floating” feather ornaments (plumes inside of hand-blown glass), shown above ($34 to $45), and the cheeky Mrs. Flashlight pendant, made of white porcelain, shown here in a bunch ($36 each). Will she open a street-level store? “I’m probably fated to have one,” says Kalil. But for now, she’s happy online. And until August 15, she’s offering Design Dose readers a 15 percent discount; use the code: desdose15.

—Gina Bazer

Posted at 2:12 PM in InBox | Back to all posts