Vinz in his Noble Square apartment
At 34, Sam Vinz is one of Chicago’s top patrons of contemporary American furniture and object design. As cofounders of Volume Gallery (wvvolumes.com), Vinz and his partner, Claire Warner, scour studios and graduate student shows and commission emerging designers to create new pieces for pop-up exhibitions. (The next one, which opens April 20 at a to-be-determined location, will feature Snarkitecture, a Brooklyn design duo that builds environmental installations and sculptural but functional fixtures and furniture.)
What does this curator of modern craftsmanship like for his own home? “I tend to surround myself with pieces like an Eames lounge chair or a Black Forest cuckoo clock that have earned their place in history,” he says. “They’ve become timeless and placeless and can go anywhere in any interior.” See below for his favorite items.
20 Things Sam Vinz Loves
COPPER STEP STOOL BY JONATHAN MUECKE ($2,400, jonathanmuecke.com)
“This stool has been featured in design shows in New York and London. Such presence for a tiny little piece.”
PARKER PEN ($150 to $500 for similar vintage styles, Century Pens, 231 S. LaSalle St.)
“My mom got me into pens. It’s from the 1930s, and it still works.”
MATCHSTICK PAINTING
“This unsigned piece came from a garage sale, and I hung it in my kitchen. Besides the very obvious ‘pop’ qualities, I like the potential of an unlit match.”
CITÉ ARMCHAIR BY JEAN PROUVÉ ($3,775, Design Within Reach, 10 E. Ohio St.)
“First of all, it is incredibly comfortable. Second? Classic design by an incredible designer.”
EPHRAIM FAIENCE VASE
“Made in Lake Mills, Wisconsin, my hometown. I like the subject: squid. You don’t see that on pottery very often.”
Photography: Anna Knott
NEW STANDARD STRAIGHT SELVEDGE JEANS BY APC ($175, mrporter.com)
“These are a no-brainer. Good fit and quality denim.”
PIN-UP ($35, pinupmagazine.org)
“This architecture magazine is beautiful to look through and read. Its graphic quality—from font to layout to paper—is great.”
BOOKCASE BY WILLIAM NEWHOUSE
“William is a friend from Lake Mills. When I told him what I wanted him to design, we were probably drinking. I call it the Vader shelf.”
LIGHT FIXTURE BY RICH BRILLIANT WILLING ($100, artecnicainc.com)
“I like the versatility: It can hang or sit on its side or its top.”
TERRARIUM
“My girlfriend went to the corner store, bought the biggest pickle jar, emptied it, and made me this for Christmas. I’m trying to incorporate more plants into my life. Also, I’m a big Packers fan.”
Photography: (jeans) Courtesy of Mr. Porter; (all others) Anna Knott
LANDSCAPE BY GRANDFATHER
“My grandfather was a weekend painter. He worked in a factory and raced horses on the side. I love the little red accent of the skier.”
MOROCCAN SOUVENIR
“A gift from one of my oldest friends. I like its decorative features, which differ a great deal from most things I own.”
KEYCHAIN
“A Christmas gift from Rich Brilliant Willing, a design team that my gallery worked with last year. It’s made out leather by the Chicago company Horween, one of the last of tanneries left in the United States.”
TURNTABLE
“I’ve had this since college. Music is a massive part of my life [Vinz was the drummer for the band Paris, Texas], and I always have tunes on.”
MARC JACOBS BOMBER JACKET AND TUXEDO PANTS ($2,325 and $945 respectively, 11 E. Walton St.)
“I think Marc Jacobs is some kind of genius. This outfit’s clean lines and subtle details are a fresh take on a relatively standard ensemble.”
Photography: (Marc Jacobs outfit) Courtesy of vendor; (all others) Anna Knott
RED WINE ($15.69, winechateau.com)
“I have a mental block when it comes to wine, but the Château Thivin Brouilly has a really well-rounded body that ages nicely.
VERBENA SOAP BY PRÉ DE PROVENCE ($7, RR#1, 814 N. Ashland Ave.)
“It’s a smell that I don’t recognize on a lot of people. Very different from the soaps I knew as a kid like Irish Spring.”
CUCKOO CLOCKS
“I [enjoy] their elements (the carved-wood box, the pine cones, and the air bellows), which have not changed much in the last couple hundred years.”
SIX MEMOS FOR THE NEXT MILLENNIUM BY ITALO CALVINO ($13.95, amazon.com)
“This book is about how to be lighter and more exact in your writing. It’s literary criticism more than anything, and it’s absolutely fascinating.”
TABLE BY ESTABLISHED & SONS ($71,280, Luminaire, 301 W. Superior St.)
“I’ve liked F1 and NASCAR racing ever since I was a kid, and it grew into an obsession. This table combines my love for F1 technology [used to create its ultrathin surface] and great design.”
Photography: (book, table) Courtesy of vendors; (all others) Anna Knott