The amazing thing about Fern Simon`s Arts 220 store is that it looks so unified-no mean accomplishment, considering what`s in the display window: a fiber glass chair made for Herman Miller in 1958, a toy typewriter, an Arts & Crafts period copper inkwell and a sleek floor lamp.
Pulling it together is Simon`s intellectual approach to decorative arts, which she developed via a master`s degree in art history from Northwestern University.
”I`m not dealing just in aesthetics,” Simon says. ”The pieces I`m interested in are related by designers with a sense of the bigger picture.”
Indeed, Simon seems as excited by a wood splint designed by Charles Eames during World War II as she is about the chair that came to bear his name, which she also sells.
”I try to link up decorative arts, architecture and industrial design,” says Simon, who worked out of her home as a dealer before opening the store late last year.
”There`s always been a dichotomy between the familiar and strange. It`s like a puzzle, and you may not get an answer, but the questions are pretty interesting.”
Arts 220, 1081 Gage St., Winnetka, carries decorative objects from 1910 to 1960, priced from $75 to $5,000. Call 708-501-3084.
