Sales Check
A roundup of this month’s sales, store openings, and shopping news
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Eye Catcher
After breaking yet another pair of glasses, Scott Urban, 25, took some hardwood and his mother’s old Dremel, and assembled his own. Such MacGyver-like ingenuity has led the craftsman to a modish new career. Custom frames, made in his Rogers Park basement, start at around $400 (www.urbanspectacles.com). Look for them soon in German Vogue and Nylon.
Macy’s on State Street (111 N. State St.; 312-781-1000) unveils Mary Poppins–themed holiday windows on November 11th.
Nordstrom (55 E. Grand Ave., 312-464-1515; also, Oakbrook Center, Westfield Old Orchard Center, and Woodfield Mall) holds its half-yearly sale from November 8th through 19th, with discounts starting at 33 percent on women’s and children’s clothing, shoes, and accessories.
SOFA (the Sculpture Objects & Functional Art show; www.sofaexpo.com) runs November 10th to 12th at Navy Pier.
The Treasure Hunt Luxury Home Furnishings Sample Sale (222 Merchandise Mart Plaza) runs November 11th and 12th. Look for deep discounts on upscale furniture, fabrics, and artwork previously used for samples or display.
The Winnetka Community House (620 N. Lincoln Ave. in Winnetka; 847-446-0537 or winnetkacommunityhouse.org) holds its 17th annual Modernism Show: Exposition Sale of 20th Century Design on November 4th and 5th. The show offers pieces from 1890 to 1990.
Zella Brown (1444 N. Milwaukee Ave.; 773-276-1746), a new home furnishings boutique in Wicker Park, expects to open in mid-November.
photography: Todd Urban
Haute Chocolatiers
A small family with big taste creates Coco Rouge, a chocolate shop that is anything but sweet. Try “edgy, urban, and dangerously habit-forming.”
by Stacy Wallace-Albert
WHO Chef/partner Jeremy Brutzkus, 32, and his wife, Erika Panther, 27, who courted each other in a Viennese café, take their chocolate seriously. “Jeremy creates a truffle the way other chefs create a meal, building flavors, layers, and aromas,” says Panther.
WHAT A chocolate shop
WHERE 1940 W. Division St.; 773-772-2626, cocorouge.com
Mention the whimsical pairings of metallic paints, unfinished walls, elegant black chandeliers, and vintage industrial doors of her Wicker Park shop, and Panther says, “It should be fun-it’s candy.”
Two types of truffles (from $2)-the more elegant “evolved” truffles and a rustic classic style-come packaged in custom wood gift boxes.
Each piece of chocolate contains honey, which Brutzkus uses as an emulsifier to impart an incomparable texture. The honeycomb structure is also artistically rendered in a variety of places, ranging from a tattoo on the chef’s forearm to the shop’s milk chocolate bar ($6.50).