Strange Closets

I stopped in at Andersonville’s Brown Elephant last weekend. If you haven’t been, you must go even if just to see the gorgeous space, a former theater with excellent bones and just the right amount of grit. I promise you’ll never experience a cooler thrift experience*, and there’s always something interesting just waiting to be [...]

Imagine for a moment that business has once again taken you away from your friends and family. The flight’s long and the peanuts are expensive, just like any other. The glass of wine and Xanax finally lull you to sleep, but you awake with a start when the plane seemingly slams into the runway, a [...]

If you passed by Father Time Antiques because you thought that it was only a watch repair shop, then please, be a bit more curious (you thought I was going to say think again, didn’t you? Think again!)

If Decoratus Absurdum is your drug, RR #1 is the friendly neighborhood dealer, which is appropriate because the store inhabits a large space that began life as an old school pharmacy (think leaches and other treatments Medicina Absurdum), complete with vintage tin ceiling, tile floor and the original built-in cabinets and drawers.

After a long hiatus (more accidental than self-imposed I suppose), I recently wandered into Crate and Barrel. Although chains can restrain one’s imagination, this big box shop boasts one of the better furniture selections with a fair number of interesting pieces mixed in with the standard generic ones (i.e. the leather club chair*, chenille rolled [...]

While Caste’s showroom is modest in size, don’t expect your trip there to be a quick sojourn as the well-designed space demonstrates that indeed, appearances are often deceiving. Caste is Latin for “clean and pure,” an apt name that accurately represents both the store and the merchandise, which includes furniture, accessories and lighting. White and [...]

When Kelly Donovan, the owner of European antiques importer, Griffins & Gargoyles, emailed me about an upcoming sale, I was puzzled and a bit embarrassed. As you know, I am a self-acknowledged expert of Chicago’s shopping scene, and my guide on the topic is glanced at by literally hand-fulls of people, but I’d never heard [...]