Strange Closets

Despite the fact that Threadless motto is Nude No More, the Chicago-based company has developed a rabid, cult-like following thanks to their innovative use of crowdsourcing, a hot trend in consumer design. Here’s how it works: Threadless invites designers, artists and anybody with a cool idea to submit their graphics to Threadless, who puts them [...]

House Beautiful’s January 2010 issue features a neat little piece Today’s 4 Big Design Forces; which are: The Glams, The Ruralists, The Accesorators and the subject of today’s post The New Victorians (aka The Steampunkians).  For those not familiar with steampunk, it was inspired by literature written during the beginning of the industrial revolution – [...]

Former Open House star, interior designer and fashion guru James Andrew has released a line of paper dolls to celebrate his first year of blogging.  Because imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I’ll soon introduce a line of Open House doll houses lit for perfect ambiance with tiny LED lamps (on dimmers of course).  [...]

Next time you visit Vintage Pine, Antiques and Interiors or the Andersonville Galleria, please stop by the always delightful Figaro Antiques.  Owner Jeanne Steen has assembled a lovely selection of one-of-a-kind products, including furniture, tabletop and vintage fashion illustrations.  Also check out her Monopoly money uncut sheets (below), a product which is now worth more [...]

As I’ve often said, the best part about writing Strange Closets has been meeting so many interesting people, and today’s Open House stars, Mark Heister Designs owners Mark and Linda Heister are two of the most fascinating and enjoyable.

Last week I had the opportunity to hang out with the Flor team during a shoot for their upcoming spring catalog.  Like many companies who produce catalogs, the Flor folks use actual homes for their photo shoots, but unlike many companies who will remove all the furniture, change out window treatments and sometimes even paint, [...]