February 2010

A handful of design boutiques in Oak Park are shifting shape, and we’ve got the scoop. Careful Peach is relocating from 128 Harrison St. to 1024 North Blvd.—and gaining 300 square feet of retail space. The new location, slated to open April 1, will boast more room for vignettes and an expanded inventory of home goods. We can’t wait to browse imported French dinnerware by Jars and upholstery fabrics from Broderies Langlet, not to mention jewelry by Parisian designer Anne-Laure Frizot. Tres chic, non? Nearby Maison Suzanne is shaking things up, too. Mid-March, the antiques dealer will close its Glen Ellyn location and expand its 206 S. Marion St. shop to encompass the neighboring storefront at 208 S. Marion, a space that’s currently occupied by Michael FitzSimmons Decorative Arts. (FitzSimmons will be shacking up with Barley Twist over at 144 N. Oak Park Ave.) The expansion will boost Maison Suzanne’s square footage from 4,000 to 8,000, allowing for a deeper selection of European and Asian antiques, custom pillows, and vintage textiles.

–Bridget Herman

As if we needed any more convincing that Holland is totally cool, this tulip-happy design-savvy country that serves spacecakes at its cafes has recently launched a marketing campaign with the slogan “Just Be. In Holland.” I would love to just be. In Holland. Right about now. But here I am blogging about it instead! I suppose it’s to make us all feel better (and to get us on their promotional email list) that the tourism board of Holland has launched a contest (that started yesterday and lasts until March 3), offering the opportunity to win a Moooi Carbon Chair, designed by Dutch designers Bertjan Pot and Marcel Wanders. All you need to do is visit www.holland.com and answer the quiz displayed after you hit: "Just click. To win."

—GINA BAZER

Recently I went to see my friends John and Frances to view the new art-furniture piece they had commissioned. They had asked the artist Matt Hanner (thebuildup71@gmail.com) to have his way with an old wooden dresser. They gave him no restrictions on the design, and now they are so in love with the results that they actually display the dresser as sculpture. In my friend’s own words: “Matt surprised me today when he asked what we were keeping in the drawers. I still don't think he has any idea how much we enjoy these drawers as living-room sculpture. We do not find this chest to be empty... it is quite full.” Just shows that there are no rules when it comes to decorating.

—JAN PARR