In our September/October issue, we asked four shop owners and managers to give us their predictions of what the top sellers would be at their respective stores. The results are in: Steven Burgert of I.D. predicted it would be the balloon stool from Umbra ($300). “The stool did very well,” he reports. “The ones in the shop sold immediately when they arrived and we had many requests for them as well. It is now on an indefinite back-order.” Devin Kirk of Jayson Home & Garden says this about the ram’s skull lamp ($675) on which he put his money: “This was far and away the top-selling new lamp of last year. What a relief, since my reputation was on the on the line!” (Editorial note: Reputations are definitely not at stake here.) Jonathan Goodman of Elements was quite pleased with his bet as well—a monogrammed metal tray for $650. “We sold 12 of them,” he says. “Not bad for a $700 tray.” What recession? The people need trays! The one pick gone awry was Orange Skin’s Graunk Enzenberger’s: the egg-shaped footrest ($987). “We had tons of inquiries but no orders yet on the footstool,” he says. The surprise big seller there was the Pasmore lounge chair (around $5,400 in leather, shown above), which sat for a while on the showroom floor before it got any bites. “A little unusual that it was suddenly so popular since it’s expensive, but that’s how these things go sometimes,” he said.

—Gina Bazer

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In our September/October issue, we asked four shop owners and managers to give us their predictions of what the top sellers would be at their respective stores. The results are in: Steven Burgert of I.D. predicted it would be the balloon stool from Umbra ($300). “The stool did very well,” he reports. “The ones in the shop sold immediately when they arrived and we had many requests for them as well. It is now on an indefinite back-order.” Devin Kirk of Jayson Home & Garden says this about the ram’s skull lamp ($675) on which he put his money: “This was far and away the top-selling new lamp of last year. What a relief, since my reputation was on the on the line!” (Editorial note: Reputations are definitely not at stake here.) Jonathan Goodman of Elements was quite pleased with his bet as well—a monogrammed metal tray for $650. “We sold 12 of them,” he says. “Not bad for a $700 tray.” What recession? The people need trays! The one pick gone awry was Orange Skin’s Graunk Enzenberger’s: the egg-shaped footrest ($987). “We had tons of inquiries but no orders yet on the footstool,” he says. The surprise big seller there was the Pasmore lounge chair (around $5,400 in leather, shown above), which sat for a while on the showroom floor before it got any bites. “A little unusual that it was suddenly so popular since it’s expensive, but that’s how these things go sometimes,” he said.

—Gina Bazer

" />

In our September/October issue, we asked four shop owners and managers to give us their predictions of what the top sellers would be at their respective stores. The results are in: Steven Burgert of I.D. predicted it would be the balloon stool from Umbra ($300). “The stool did very well,” he reports. “The ones in the shop sold immediately when they arrived and we had many requests for them as well. It is now on an indefinite back-order.” Devin Kirk of Jayson Home & Garden says this about the ram’s skull lamp ($675) on which he put his money: “This was far and away the top-selling new lamp of last year. What a relief, since my reputation was on the on the line!” (Editorial note: Reputations are definitely not at stake here.) Jonathan Goodman of Elements was quite pleased with his bet as well—a monogrammed metal tray for $650. “We sold 12 of them,” he says. “Not bad for a $700 tray.” What recession? The people need trays! The one pick gone awry was Orange Skin’s Graunk Enzenberger’s: the egg-shaped footrest ($987). “We had tons of inquiries but no orders yet on the footstool,” he says. The surprise big seller there was the Pasmore lounge chair (around $5,400 in leather, shown above), which sat for a while on the showroom floor before it got any bites. “A little unusual that it was suddenly so popular since it’s expensive, but that’s how these things go sometimes,” he said.

—Gina Bazer

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Year: 2009

Stud or Dud?

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In our September/October issue, we asked four shop owners and managers to give us their predictions of what the top sellers would be at their respective stores. The results are in: Steven Burgert of I.D. predicted it would be the balloon stool from Umbra ($300). “The stool did very well,” he reports. “The ones in the shop sold immediately when they arrived and we had many requests for them as well. It is now on an indefinite back-order.” Devin Kirk of Jayson Home & Garden says this about the ram’s skull lamp ($675) on which he put his money: “This was far and away the top-selling new lamp of last year. What a relief, since my reputation was on the on the line!” (Editorial note: Reputations are definitely not at stake here.) Jonathan Goodman of Elements was quite pleased with his bet as well—a monogrammed metal tray for $650. “We sold 12 of them,” he says. “Not bad for a $700 tray.” What recession? The people need trays! The one pick gone awry was Orange Skin’s Graunk Enzenberger’s: the egg-shaped footrest ($987). “We had tons of inquiries but no orders yet on the footstool,” he says. The surprise big seller there was the Pasmore lounge chair (around $5,400 in leather, shown above), which sat for a while on the showroom floor before it got any bites. “A little unusual that it was suddenly so popular since it’s expensive, but that’s how these things go sometimes,” he said.

—Gina Bazer

Weekend Photos: Sonotheque

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While some folks cowered on their couches Friday night, wishing they had ordered the as-seen-on-TV Snuggie (It’s a blanket! With sleeves!), others were undeterred by a little old blizzard and headed out into the driving snow to get their party on. Winter weather advisory or no, we snapped folks living it up at Sonotheque, where The Rapture’s Vito Roccoforte manned the turntables as part of the new monthly event Go Bang!, presented by the Empty Bottle…

January 2009 Table of Contents

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Cover Story How to Deal with a Medical Crisis by Graham Meyer Medical experts tackle more than two dozen questions confronted by ill patients striving to get well—from choosing a doctor to enrolling in clinical trials, and other crucial topics. Features Bright Knights Introducing our seven Chicagoans of the Year for 2008: a concerned mom, … Read more

Sale of the Week: Wax In, Wax Out at Chicago’s Olympia Centre

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List Price: $1,299,000
Sale Price: $1,075,000
The Property: H. Fisk Johnson, the fifth-generation CEO of S. C. Johnson—the Racine, Wisconsin, consumer-products company behind Raid!, Pledge, Glade, and other brands—has sold his condo on the 51st floor of Olympia Centre (that’s the tapered red tower, at Chicago and Michigan avenues, with Neiman Marcus at its base). Johnson has had a home in the building for 20 years. The seven-room condo has two…

Home Schooling

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All three Illinois locations of the eco-responsible furniture store Arhaus—Lincoln Park, Oakbrook, and South Barrington—are having complimentary in-store interior design classes this Sunday, Jan. 11, from 10 a.m. to noon. All you need to do is call and reserve a spot, and the wisdom of Arhaus visual-display experts and managers is yours for the taking (along with a nice little goodie bag, I’ve been told). Topics covered include maximizing space with savvy floor planning, faux painting, wall decorating, clever ways to freshen up for spring, and flower arranging. 

—BRADLEY LINCOLN

PHOTO CREDIT: ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY