Chiaroscuro is an Art History 101 (or Art in the Dark, as we sleepy undergrads used to call it) term for the use of lights and darks in paintings to create shadows and depth... Read more
I’ve had a blast at several of Mark Bazer’s monthly Interview Shows at The Hideout, where talk-show guests from all walks of life, from top chefs to best-selling authors to SNL-tapped comedians to fashionistas have walked the boards... Read more
The venerable International Vintage Poster Fair returns to town for the 20th year this weekend, with dozens of dealers from around the world unrolling more than 10,000 original posters at the Chicago Cultural Center... Read more
Advances in technology have made these very exciting times to live in, but with the constant introduction of got-to-have-it gadgets and call-in-sick-to-line-up-for iWhatevers they can be more than a little overwhelming... Read more
In 1975, the journalistic lensman Steve Schapiro was invited by Robert DeNiro to become the exclusive on-set photographer for Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, and given unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Jodie, Marty, and Bob, as well as the production... Read more
The fashion and home design worlds often swing in the same circles, and there’s a stylish meeting-of-the-minds event coming up this month at the Alexis Bittar jewelry and accessories store in Bucktown that I’m pretty excited about. Read more
The Blizzard of 2011 has mostly melted away, so it’s increasingly rare to see furniture/placeholders sitting on the street, holding dibs on parking spots for commandeering shovelers (and we saw a lot of them last month, huh?)... Read more
Every year, Travel + Leisure magazine assembles a panel of taste-vetting arbiters to pick the best-designed new products and buildings for its design awards... Read more
Chicago florist Mike Hines has been creating artistic, atypical, not-your-grocery-store-variety arrangements for private clients and upmarket hotels for the past ten years, at his lofty Epoch studio on the West Side... Read more
Nebraskan HGTV buff Marilyn Wilson noticed a lot of chirpy television personalities struggling to maneuver unwieldy headboards up narrow stairwells and into bedrooms, and thought that there ought to be an easier way of spiffing up a boudoir... Read more
