HomeOpen House Dinner Party: Decorator Dave and Jeremy’s subterranean supper club
26. Oct, 2009 
12 Comments
The typed invitation for Dave and Jeremy’s most recent dinner party, which I attended last Saturday evening, advised guests to be punctual and to wear comfortable shoes, and I arrived as instructed to find his spectacular apartment filled with a very attractive, cosmopolitan crowd of people speculating about Dave and Jeremy’s machinations anxiously as they eyeballed one another’s footwear.
The suspense was short-lived, however, because at the dinner hour, Dave ushered everybody through the small kitchen, out the back door and down the stairs into his Wrigleyville courtyard apartment building’s unfinished basement. Having been to a magical party Dave and Jeremy threw in the gangway between two buildings last summer, I was expecting something special, but I was not prepared for the atmospheric subterranean supper club that awaited.
The holiday light strings’ warm glow and the increasingly debaucherous party shenanigans made the dirty concrete, exposed pipes and general decay feel like a 20’s era Speakeasy, with the exception that all substances ingested were legal (or should be) and we now have penicillin. The lighting made everybody look sexy, which reminds me of the old adage, “overhead lighting ’tis the devil’s preference.” And don’t even get me started jabbering about the way Dave and Jeremy lined up identical vintage porcelain sinks to serve as the base of the buffet table. There’s something about the iconic porcelain pieces assembled and displayed in such a manner that reminded me vaguely of that era’s propaganda / advertising imagery, and whether the couple arranged them so consciously or subconsciously, the overall effect was pitch perfect for the mostly zozzled design-minded partiers.
Continued . . .
But none of that matters without the right mix of people, and if it’s true that you can judge a man by his friends, Dave and Jeremy are as cool as I had suspected. Guests included friends old and new, including former Open House stars Matthew and Craig, interior designer Laura Soskin, artist Michael McGuire (who’s represented by Andersonville’s Las Manos Gallery and Scout) and Agent Gallery owner Mariano Chavez and his girlfriend Kathy, who urged me to chuck it all and move to Paris if that’s what I wanted, which made me love her instantly.
At one point, Dave’s cousin Rhonda and I were having a lovely conversation on his back porch when she remarked that she thought mid-century and industrial enthusiasts shared a certain friendly sensibility, which rang true to me, certainly of the party-goers I met that night, a diverse group that included a marketing consultant, a writer and a couple like-minded designers who wondered out loud which of Dave’s amazing things we’d steal. Rhonda’s comment also gave me a flicker of hope that those of us who love the salvaged and the industrial, who covet Dave’s lights, sinks and other objets d’patina are not sheep following a trend but the first connoisseurs of a genuine movement. But I doubt it.
Thanks for the inspiration Dave and Jeremy (and the dinner).
Please visit Apartment Therapy to see Dave’s former Andersonville apartment.
Yet another use for vintage pedestal sinks. How many does that make?
These cupcakes were yum frickin' yum.
This photo (by Matthew John Rice) gives me so many sudden ideas.
Although to be sure, Dave is appreciated.
A guy named Dean with designer Laura Soskin.
Mariano, Kathy and Matthew
(Clockwise from approximately 10:30 p.m.: Matthew, Craig, Laura and Jan)
And Dave doesn't have a TV show why exactly?
Dean, Laura and Dave a split second before their incineration.
The unforgettable Elizabeth Krueger and boyfriend Brent Sanders.
Dave, Matthew and artist Michael McGuire
Dave
Panoramic by Michael McGuire
Jaw dropping excellent job with the basement party.
That fantastic couple was Brent Sanders and Elizabeth Krueger. Best party ever.
I’m wowwed.
or is it wowed? I’ve never said those words, let alone written them out.
So, so beautiful!
Some people have a gift and Dave is definitely one of them. Who would ever think their grungy old basement would be a perfect place for a party?
Okay, Tate, I will grant you a new word, “debaucherous” = full of debauchery. Well done. Where on earth did he GET all 8 of those cloned pedestal sinks, anyway???? Sounds like a top-notch time was had by all.
Great credit should also go to Jeremy, the co host for the event. He got the rather thankless job of chief electrician and mop boy and devoted almost as much time to the transformation as I did! He tirelessly washed and polished all 268 pieces of china, glassware, and silver that were used during the course of the soiree.
I am so jealous. Jim and I had a prior commitment and there was no way we could get out of it but this is beyond, beyond, amazing. It’s MAJOR!!!! I know I’m too old to describe your party that way but hey, it looked like it was MAJOR!!! Next time.
That’s a good question Hannah. Who indeed?
It was VERY major Albert.
A great night, an inspired idea & a clever host. What more could you ask for, except someone to document the fun, so thanks to you as well. Dave may not have a TV show–yet–but he’s already famous among the people who count. Everybody else will figure it out in time.