Get Your Modern Tour On

There’s a new house tour in town—taking place this Saturday, June 23, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. all over the city—and you’re unlikely to see any superfluous embellishments here. Chicago Modern Home Tour is made up of “nine homes, from the past to the present, in different neighborhoods, of different sizes, and each with a unique story to tell,” says Ingrid Spencer, an Austin-based contributing editor of the magazine Architectural Record who curated the tour. (Yes, the tour company, Modern Home Tours, is based in Austin, Texas; aren’t you a little ashamed right now that you were too busy gorging on stuffed pizza to come up with this idea?) To further quote Spencer, “From the mid-century house by Frank Lloyd Wright’s apprentice Don Erickson, to the live/work residence by UrbanLab (1,500 square feet of living space above a design office) to the Alexander Gorlin-designed townhouse in Bucktown with a floating white bedroom, to the grand modern residence by Mies van der Rohe’s grandson Dirk Lohan of Lohan Anderson, this tour gives people more than a taste of the wealth of inspired craftsmanship of the participating architects. It’s a real meal!” Now you’re talkin’, Ingrid! Tickets, $25, can be purchased online through Friday June, 22 at 8 p.m. and picked up at will-call locations listed on the website. After that, they can be purchased for $30 at any of the tour homes. This is a drive-your-own-car, follow-your-own-order tour. Bonus: Readers of Domestica can use the code CHGTour to knock $5 off the $25 ticket. —Gina Bazer

Dose’s First B-day!

On June 24, the adorable Dose Market turns one. We can’t believe it’s grown up so fast! And the best birthday present they could ask for is your $10 for admission at the door (or $8 in advance). This wonderful consortium of food, fashion and design vendors is held once a month at the River East Art Center from 10 a.m.– 4 p.m. Look for limited-edition playing cards and art prints from Uusi, high-style camp souvenirs from Wandawega Camp Store (just hike to the teepee, and you’re there) and placemats and pillows from Burrow & Hive. Also this weekend (June 23-24), the second Randolph Street Market of the season; it’s a toddler, but still darn cute. —GB

Youthful Lights

Speaking of markets, at the last Randolph Street Market, I ran into interior designer Laura Soskin (actually, from about five booths away, I saw a gigantic wooden female bust—a truly original thing—and thought, “I bet that’s Laura Soskin’s booth because only she can fearlessly make such an object work.”). Well, lo and behold, her daughter, Annalee Soskin, is following in mom’s creative footsteps. This recent high school grad is making beautiful woven light fixtures out of reeds and rope, tinted with watercolor, coffee, and tea. A statement from the artist: “I bend and tuck the reed to make forms reminiscent of cocoons and nests. The lanterns mirror my transition from high school to college in a sense that I’m breaking out of a cocoon; essentially leaving the nest.” (What were you making in high school? Pot brownies?). Prices range from about $325 each to $1,750 for a series of five. Check in with Soskin (mother) at the fab Three Oaks, Michigan, antique shop Trilogy, where she will be displaying one lantern this weekend, or contact her at laura@laurasoskindesign.com. For more insight on the younger Soskin’s “nest,” check out Soskin’s amazing house in this story I wrote a while ago. A hard nest to leave, I imagine .—GB

Lighten Up!

The stunning lighting fixtures at Artemide can be yours for a lot less if you hurry up and make it to their sample sale, which starts today. Artemide is planning a renovation of its showroom, so they’re selling their beautifully designed Tolomeos, Talos, Robbias, Pirces, Capsules, and a whole lot of other fixtures at up to 70 percent off. The sale begins tonight with a VIP event from 6 to 8. It’s worth it—you’ll get a head start on the sale while enjoying a party atmosphere, complete with a deejay and prosecco, Peroni, and Pellegrino. The sale continues Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. And after stocking up on sconces, head across the street to Florense, the Italian furniture/accessories showroom, which is participating with a sale of its own. Need another reason to feel good about any bargains you score? A portion of all proceeds goes to Designs 4 Dignity, a group that transforms existing non-profit spaces for free. —Alice Oglethorpe

Wooden It Be Nice?

Floors made from reclaimed wood are nothing new. But floors made from reclaimed wood that was once the Coney Island boardwalk? That’s what this picture shows and it’s exactly what you’ll find at the new showroom of Manhattan Forest Products in the Merchandise Mart. They work with demo companies to get their hands on cast-away wood from historic sites around New York and then turn those beams into gorgeous products for your home. If you’d rather have a custom-made floor, molding, or shelves, they can do that too, thanks to a mill located in upstate New York. Check out their wares at their opening party at the new showroom (suite 163 in LuxeHome on first floor) on Thursday June 28th from 5 to 7 p.m.. They’ll have live music, hors d’oeuvres, and drinks. RSVP at 646-861-4044 or by emailing bizdev@mfpny.com. —AO

Photograph: (woven light fixtures) Mieke Zuiderweg