This Week’s Top Story

Beautiful things should not be limited to special occasions—so says Reed Krakoff, chief artistic officer at Tiffany & Co. (730 N. Michigan Ave., tiffany.com). So the designer took everyday items like a drinking straw and a First Aid Kit and had Tiffany artisans reimagine them as functional objects. The team also reached deep into the brand’s archives for inspiration, leaping off of John Loring’s tea set (inspired by the steel tread patterns found in subways) and the brand’s iconic blue hue to craft colorblock pens, trays, saucers, even small leather goods. Here, Habitat speaks with Krakoff about why home accessories are having a moment.

Habitat: What is the philosophy behind the collection?
Reed Krakoff: I think what makes the Tiffany Home & Accessories Collection unique is that it incorporates the best quality, craftsmanship, and design with a level of functionality and practicality that allows you to use these things every day. And that’s a concept that I think is at the heart of American luxury—a sort of effortless, off-handed, understated luxury that is in your life every day as opposed to something precious that you put on a shelf and take out only for special occasions.

H: There seems to be a lot of humor in this collection.
RK: The idea was to embrace intelligent irreverence and incorporate that quality into the designs themselves…[and] to really embed it into our storytelling. That sense of wit and charm embodies an approachable, offhanded kind of luxury.

H: What makes a home beautiful?
RK: A home is beautiful when it incorporates someone’s personal style in a comfortable, livable way, when you can really feel their essence in the space. That whole idea that luxury doesn’t equal formality is so important.

Interior Intel

It’s not too soon to start thinking about sprucing up your house for the holidays. Portland-based home improvement general store Rejuvenation (1000 W. North Ave., rejuvenation.com) has plenty of ideas in its latest look book. There are also items perfect for gifting, like pewter cheese spreaders, forged-iron fireplace tools, and filament-bulb tree ornaments.

Head to Alapash New Home (4835 N. Damen Ave., alapash.com), which just got a new cache of Native American-influenced blankets, stained-glass ornaments, and pillows to go with their excellent selection of succulents and glassed-in terrariums.

Sales

Get Vitra’s miniature replicas of classic chairs at a discount: an Eames La Chaise lounger (with ottoman), a Marcel Breuer Wassily chair, an Eero Saarinen Tulip chair, even a George Nelson Marshmallow sofa, all at 25 percent off plus free shipping from Design Within Reach (755 W. North Ave., dwr.com).

Cookware can get spendy. Enter the Sur La Table (900 N. Michigan Ave., surlatable.com) sale, where ScanPan, All-Clad, Calphalon, and more are going for up to 65 percent off.

Events

The 24th annual SOFA Chicago (an acronym for Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art, and Design Fair) returns November 2–5 to Navy Pier. Billed as the biggest and most visually engaging show thus far, the fair will feature a sculpture garden with massive glass and ceramic sculptures, glass-blowing demonstrations by the Corning Museum of Glass, and the works of established and emerging Chicago artists and those from galleries from around the world. Last year, 36,000 people attended and collectively spent around $20 million, so arrive early and bring your credit card. Buy general admission tickets here.

In August, Melissa Gonzalez, the brains behind New York-based pop-up architect Lion’esque Group, transformed Water Tower Place into a showcase of pop-up stores called IRL: In Real Life. Stop by this Saturday, November 4, from 12 to 3 p.m. to see how UGallery—a curated online art gallery that delivers original art from around the world to your doorstep—can turn a shopping mall into a living art studio, with Chicagoland artists working at their easels for an audience. “Customers can click to buy anywhere, but there are some things that can never be replicated with solely an online presence,” Gonzalez says.