Mary Jeanne Kneen, owner of the luxury home goods boutique Kneen & Co., recognizes that everything she sells could be considered a “special piece,” but she believes life is lovelier when people incorporate all this impractical beauty into their daily lives. “We spend so much time dining and being at home. Why not make that an experience?” the Midwest native asks. To that end, her store, which relocated from Lincoln Park to a 2,500-square-foot space on Michigan Avenue in December, stocks everything from tiny majolica hors d’oeuvre dishes by Nymphenburg (a German heritage brand sold at just a few stores in the Midwest) to the Lobmeyr chandeliers that hang in New York’s Metropolitan Opera House. The aesthete’s favorite clients are those craving custom pieces or newbies who want to add a little glamour. “I advise them to pick one thing, like a throw pillow or a dessert plate, that they can collect and enjoy,” she says. They always come back for more. 980 N. Michigan Ave., Gold Coast