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September 2009
A Three-Way at Carl Street Studios
By Dennis Rodkin
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... Read more
Rug Sale, Estate Tour, Accessories Swap
By Bradley Lincoln
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... Read more
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 Read more
Road Trip: Iowa

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

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Johnson’s Stacks
By Dennis Rodkin
Over the past few months, as the new 47-story condo tower at Van Buren and Franklin Streets has taken shape, it’s become clear that the city has another Ralph Johnson dazzler on its hands. Known as 235 Van Buren, the building impresses from all viewpoints, be it the seemingly crazy pattern of box balconies projecting off the south side; the ribbon of concrete running... Read more
Weekend Photos: White Shoes Party at Hub 51
Maybe they didn't get the memo: Despite the chance to don their white kicks one last time before Labor Day Fashion Police put the kibosh on said footwear, a Sunday night crowd showed up to Hub 51’s White Shoes Party largely white shoe–free. Oh, well. At least this way folks weren't crying over spilt wine on their sparkling Choos... Read more
Designer Boutique Opens in Pilsen
By Bridget Maiellaro
Half and Half
When the economic crisis hit, boutique owners immediately began buying fewer garments and accessories, leaving many designers with overstock for each collection. Instead of accepting her loss in profit, one of those designers, Annie Novotny, creator of Frei Designs (freidesigns.com), decided to transform the front half of her Pilsen studio space into a retail shop. Opening last month, Workshop (818 W. 18th St., 312-226-9000, workshopchicago.com) features Novotny’s locally produced, eco-friendly line of coats, dresses, tops, and... Read more
Summer Home Lovin’

Just because summer is over doesn’t mean your summer home doesn’t need you anymore. Sure it does—it needs you to buy it gifts and make it feel better about the fact that you won’t be coming to visit as often anymore. Seagrass is a wonderful spot for outfitting your beloved second home with an East Coast cottage vibe, and it’s having a big sale through October 15, including floor samples.

—GINA BAZER

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