A stylish crowd of about 200 people came out last week for the opening party of Florense in River North, the Brazilian furniture and cabinetry company. If you didn’t know better, you might have thought you were in the Poliform showroom: the company’s sleek wares are very similar (the internal structure of the cabinets is indeed the same as Poliform’s; the wood veneers are made in Italy and then shipped to the factory in Brazil), at about half the price. The reason? This Brazilian company doesn’t have to deal with the strong Euro/weak dollar issue, and the cost of raw materials and production is lower in South America. This is Florense’s third North American showroom (the others are in New York and Miami). Bonus: the company’s goods have met rigorous ISO green certification standards both for its materials and manufacturing processes. Also find Pallucco Italia lighting and Miele appliances in this 5,000-square-foot showroom.

—JAN PARR