Contributors
October 2009: Catey Sullivan, Brian Kuhlmann, Jeff Sciortino, Geoffrey Johnson, Rebecca Little
Year: 2009
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In October’s letters: A food reaction, more on sex, and a few clarifications
Transformer
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I’m a sucker for furniture that does tricks. The Swiss Army Knife Kitchen Island at Sawbridge Studios works as a chopping block, marble pastry slab, breakfast bar, and computer work station/desk. There’s also extra storage space from two drawers, and bottom shelf perfect for cookware. Closed, it’s a mere 30”wide x 30 long" x 36” high. Designed and built of cherry, maple, and marble by husband-and-wife woodworkers Mike and Emily Kincaid of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, the island is $3,995. For more furniture perfect for tight spaces, see our story here.
—JAN PARR
Twitter’s New COO Sells in Wilmette
List Price: $1,449,000
Sale Price: $1,400,000
The Property: Two weeks before he was named chief operating officer of the San Francisco-based microblogging service Twitter, Dick Costolo sold his 12-room home in central Wilmette…
Scavenger Hunt
Elaine Matsushita, a former Tribune editor, celebrates the launch of her The Snoopster, a home- and design-centric Web site, with a party and scavenger hunt in Andersonville tonight starting at 7 p.m. Get your instructions at Urbanest, 5228 N. Clark St., and then head to one of many participating Andersonville home shops to gather clues and win cool prizes.
—JAN PARR
A Three-Way at Carl Street Studios
List Price: $2.6 million
The Property: Beginning in the late 1920s, Sol Kogen and Edgar Miller, two former classmates at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, transformed a faded Victorian mansion in Lincoln Park into what Kogen originally hoped would become an artists’ compound like those he had seen in Paris’s Montmartre district. Unable to rein in their urge to…
Reaching Out to the Ranks
Two University of Chicago MBAs take their concept from the classroom to the virtual couch to help troubled veterans
Rug Sale, Estate Tour, Accessories Swap
The Evanston location of fair-trade retailer Ten Thousand Villages is hosting an Oriental Rug Event from September 11-19, bringing in a selection of more than 300 heirloom quality hand-knotted Pakistani pieces in all sizes. The event kicks off with an educational seminar and reception on Friday…
Seeing Red
Don’t-miss picks for 09.09.09 through 09.15.09: Something’s in the water this week: Redmoon gets wackier … Del Close returns to the screen … R.E.M.’s Peter Buck plays a starter-band stage … Niffenegger and Hemon go head to head … plus, CSO tickets for crazy cheap
Road Trip: Iowa
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We spent the long weekend in Iowa City visiting friends, and then heading north to a Usonian-style Frank Lloyd Wright house, Cedar Rock, on a bluff overlooking the Wapsipinicon River. The Walters, a wealthy couple, had the house built for them in 1950 with the intention of leaving it to the state as a tourist attraction. The result is a time capsule from the 1950s: everything has been left as is. It is considered one of FLW’s most complete designs—he designed and dictated everything in the house, from the furniture to the dishes and flatware and accessories.
My friend Bob, a city planner, also took me to a great new design store in Iowa City run by architects, Akar, a cross between the Museum of Contemporary Art store and I.D. I bought some Marimekko potholders. Chilewich, Eva Solo, Blomus, Built NY, Iitala, and other iconic brands are represented here. Also in Iowa City is Design Ranch, a source for Artemide, Knoll, and other design greats.
Iowa City is four hours west of Chicago; the FLW house is another hour and a half north.
-JAN PARR