There’s a new vintage store in town—West Town. Seek Vintage opened this weekend at 1432 W. Chicago Ave. Pals and diehard vintage hounds Chris Hunt and Audra Yeomans feature a mix of vintage fashion, jewelry, and home accessories in their 1,300-square-foot space. Buying a gift? They’ll put it in a groovy box handmade from vinyl record covers.

—JAN PARR

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There’s a new vintage store in town—West Town. Seek Vintage opened this weekend at 1432 W. Chicago Ave. Pals and diehard vintage hounds Chris Hunt and Audra Yeomans feature a mix of vintage fashion, jewelry, and home accessories in their 1,300-square-foot space. Buying a gift? They’ll put it in a groovy box handmade from vinyl record covers.

—JAN PARR

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There’s a new vintage store in town—West Town. Seek Vintage opened this weekend at 1432 W. Chicago Ave. Pals and diehard vintage hounds Chris Hunt and Audra Yeomans feature a mix of vintage fashion, jewelry, and home accessories in their 1,300-square-foot space. Buying a gift? They’ll put it in a groovy box handmade from vinyl record covers.

—JAN PARR

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There’s a new vintage store in town—West Town. Seek Vintage opened this weekend at 1432 W. Chicago Ave. Pals and diehard vintage hounds Chris Hunt and Audra Yeomans feature a mix of vintage fashion, jewelry, and home accessories in their 1,300-square-foot space. Buying a gift? They’ll put it in a groovy box handmade from vinyl record covers.

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Born in Chicago's Michael Reese Hospital in 1950, Edward Hirsch turned 60 this year—which means he had finally run out of excuses for not putting together a collection of verse culled from his seven books of poetry. "I couldn't say I was too young anymore for a book of selected poems," says Hirsch... Read more
Steaking Out Territory
Two steak-house veterans—David Flom (Rosebud) and Matty Moore (Rosebud, Smith & Wollensky)—think they’ve unearthed some angles that will wedge yet another steak house into River North. Loosely scheduled to open in... Read more
So Alexi Giannoulias demands that Mark Kirk, his Republican opponent in U.S. Senate race, return the thousands he has received from Goldman Sachs. The firm was just charged with civil fraud for allegedly misleading investors on a mortgage instrument that went south with the housing market... Read more
Our top five picks for things to do this week: 22 Years from Home … Natalie Merchant, Corinne Bailey Rae … beer, booze, and books … free stuff Read more
I kicked myself at least a dozen times last year for missing The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity, Kristoffer Diaz's full nelson of a play, ostensibly about wrestling, in its world premiere at Victory Gardens. I kicked myself again last week, when the play was named a Pulitzer finalist. So when I had the chance to attend Monday night's premiere of another Diaz play, Welcome to Arroyo's, running through May 16th at American Theater Company, I jumped... Read more

Jonathan Adler, the king of happy chic, stopped by his eponymous Chicago shop and threw a swanky little soiree last week. He sold and signed 84 pieces of pottery and 10 books in two hours. He was wearing his new Jonathan Adler/7 Jeans collection, sipping a cocktail from his new line of paper goods, and shaking hands with his fans, including a few who drove in from Peoria. I caught up with him the morning after.

Welcome back to Chicago. What do you think of our city?
People are just nicer here. Seems like less stress. In New York everybody has an agenda, here they are just living life. The architecture is so groovy. I fantasize about a Mies apartment on a terrifyingly high floor with arresting views on the lake. Oh, and The Art Institute, please!

Are you monogram obsessed?
In this super-clutter mass world, everything that cranks up the personalization is alright with me. I strive to make memorable items that heirs with fight over. We’re special. I have a desire for specialness in what I make.

What’s with all the whales?
Who doesn’t love a whale? Such a beloved sea mammal with cultural resonance, and their shape is nifty. They evoke a preppy patrician too.

Are you preppy? Not authentically. I dig the look and accouterment of preppydom and old money W.A.S.P.s. But I am proud to be a nouveau-riche Jew.

The Union Jack gets saluted lots in your collections, what’s up with that?
I am a raging Anglophile. It’s a nifty, mod icon. Rare that you can find something so graphic and recognizable that you can play around with—I love toying with the colors graphically and culturally.

What’s new at JA?
Nifty new pots, pillows. The baby line, Jonathan Adler Junior. I have two new books coming out as part of a series: Happy Chic Color and Happy Chic Accessories. Neat how-to’s with nifty pics.

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