Accent Markdowns
I noticed a big sale banner in the window of Home Accents at 5653 North Clark Street last weekend, and lots of people milling about, so had to stop by and see what was going down at this modern little design store with the tell-it-like-it-is name. Turns out most of the folks were waiting for tables at the insanely popular brunch joint just up the street, M. Henry (try the Latina omelette, it’s deservedly been on the menu for years), but others were exploring Home Accent’s inventory, which has been cleanly slashed 40 percent across the board. Owner Kevin Idlewine has decided to close this retail outlet of his import and interior design business after just over two years, and will be open only until everything’s gone. I like the way Idlewine displays his shiny lamps, vases, pillows, and assorted bibelots in artfully styled groupings, and the wild colors available for some of the Asian-inspired statuary—a pair of Foo dogs is all well and good, but glazed in chartreuse, well now that’s a statement. I also very much like the reasonable prices, even before the discount. These black finial containers are $40 or less (he also had some large clear glass versions of which I’m currently trying to decide where to put and with what to fill, if anything). The store is open Tuesday through Sunday; Monday if the weather’s nice. “If it’s raining on a Monday,” Kevin told me, “no one ever comes up here.”
Tele-Visionaries
Set your TiVos and DVRs, or just tie a big Hermès bow around your wrist to remind yourself to tune in next week, because there are a couple of design segments coming up that you aren’t going to want to miss. First up: Monday, August 9, on-or-around 11 a.m., “Chicago’s very own” WGN-TV Channel 9 is hosting Chicago Home + Garden’s very own editor, Jan Parr, who will be appearing with local artist and furniture-maker Ted Harris to discuss freshening up the look of kitchen cabinets (reface or replace, therein basically lies the rub), a topic we take on in depth in the current issue. Jan will be offering money-saving tips and style savvy while discussing some before-and-after photos, and Ted will be walking the walk by actually demonstrating some refinishing methods you can attempt at home. Also of interest, on Wednesday, August 11 at 9 p.m., Karen Kalmek and her ecologically sound design resource Green Home Chicago will be featured on CNN’s One Simple Thing program, a show that celebrates people and small businesses that are making a difference. Watch what happens!
Shrinking, Incredible Sawbridge
River North’s Sawbridge Studios location is downsizing drastically, from 4,800 square feet to about 1,800 square feet, and to condense this inventory of finer-than-fine handcrafted wood and metal furniture they are having a consolidation sale of floor samples, now in progress. Some of these future family heirlooms have been reduced by 70 percent. Offerings include this patchwork salvaged-wood full-size bed (you may have seen a similar piece featured in the 2009 Museum of Science and Industry’s Smart Home exhibit), marked down to $1,080 from the original $2,160 price tag. Sale items can also be seen at Sawbridge’s Winnetka outpost, located at 1015 West Tower Road.
Giddyup, Crafters
Y’all might want to mosey on over to Chase Park this weekend if you’re fixin’ to lasso some handmade arts and crafts for your walls or wardrobe. Maria Mariottini of Grazia Productions has wrassled up a posse of painters, sculptors, textile artists, and other crafty beavers to strut their stuff at the first annual Crafters Round-up, occurring both Saturday and Sunday from 11–7:00 on both days in the park located at Lawrence and Ashland Avenues. Maria has been organizing fests like this for more than ten years, and promises to showcase new talents as well as old faves such as Barbara Raidl and her silk-screened cards and prints, pictured here.
Yard Bargains
If the dog days of summer were rough on your landscaping, now’s a great time for deals on garden plants, pots, and accessories to freshen it up chop-chop. There’s loads of time left to enjoy your yards and patios, I promise. Jayson Home & Garden’s summer sale starts Friday and will continue to August 22, and they’ve taken 50 percent off all plants, for starters. That includes trees, shrubs, perennials, topiaries, and even houseplants, in the store and online. Planters and garden ornaments will be reduced by 30 percent, and delivery is available. And Homey wants to help out also, by cutting prices in half on all garden and home furnishings—fountains, urns, planters (selection pictured here), sculptures, chairs, etc.—for two solid weeks, beginning Saturday, August 7.