SHOP IT: It’s not news that furniture makers are getting into the retail business. Ethan Allen, Drexel Heritage, Thomasville and Ashley Furniture have had stores for years. What’s more newsy is the entree of high-end furniture makers into the retail arena. And one of the biggest players is Baker furniture, which opened its 12th retail store last week, Baker Chicago, located in the burgeoning West Town neighborhood.
At 12,500 square feet, it is Baker’s second largest retail store (behind Baker Georgetown), spread out over two full floors — traditional and casual pieces on the first floor along with a lighting gallery; contemporary items (including a stunning shadowbox-like display of chairs from McGuire Furniture, known for its luxury rattan) on the second, skylit floor.
“We have the ability to control our customer’s experience in the most complete way” through our own stores, says Marta Szwaya, vice president, business development, Kohler Interiors, which is the business unit to which Baker belongs. “The Baker stores are meant to be an expression of the brand through every aspect of the retail experience.”
Elegance is the experience. Urban chic, in this case. Walls in the store are blanketed in light cream. Ceilings are black. Floors are black. The view out the front windows is enfilade of concrete towers (filled with cement, gravel and sand), a monument of sorts in this gritty section west of the Chicago River.
About one-quarter of Baker’s selection of furniture, lamps and accessories are shown here, which outdoes the selections shown in the Baker departments of other furniture/retail stores that carry the line locally (and will continue to do so), including Macy’s. The trade-only Baker showroom in The Merchandise Mart also will remain unchanged and open to designers and their clients.
Baker is known for its historic collections (Stately Homes, Historic Charleston) and for its associations with contemporary designers — Jacques Garcia, Bill Sofield and (former Chicagoan) Laura Kirar among them.
The first Chicagoland Baker store opened last year in Deerfield. On the national level, two more Baker stores (Los Angeles and Scottsdale, Ariz.) will open by year’s end.
825 W. Chicago Ave., 312-733-0353
— Karen Klages
EXPERIENCE IT: Can visiting a furniture store be an adventure in travel and culture?
We stand convinced.
Golden Triangle, a long-time River North shop specializing in furniture from China and Southeast Asia, opens its new-and-improved self on Friday [Oct. 26], a couple blocks south of its former location at the corner of Hubbard and Clark Streets.
At 23,000 square feet, the new store (located on the ground floor of the historic Reid-Murdoch Center on the Chicago River) is twice the size of the old Golden Triangle, which prompted the move to this new location in the first place.
But that’s not half the story.
Inside the new store, owners Doug Van Tress and Chauwarin Tuntisak have whipped up an Asian wonderland: They have built two (nearly) authentic Asian houses and are showcasing their furniture inside these structures.
There is a stoic 18th Century Northern Chinese house, complete with an open, tiled courtyard. And there is a breezier Colonial house with a gracious veranda that references the European-influenced tropical style found in Thailand and Laos in the 1800s. The Chinese house was created from three structures purchased by Golden Triangle in Shanxi Province in northern China. The Colonial house was built from a mix of old components found in Thailand and new components made in the Colonial style by Golden Triangle’s workshop in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.
“In this cyber world of ours, we wanted to create an extraordinary traditional furniture store that let’s you see — up close — virtual Asia. But it’s real. We moved bricks and mortar here,” says Van Tress, who likens the store to theater.
And we couldn’t agree more. The new Golden Triangle is a must-stop for anyone looking for Asian furniture — or for anyone looking for a fast trip to the East.
There are some additions and things of particular note:
* First, all the interior architecture (walls made from screens and panel doors; built-in cabinetry; colored-glass doors; wide plank floors, etc.) is for sale or can be custom ordered.
* The new line of private label Golden Triangle upholstered furniture (made in Chicago) will make its debut with the store’s opening.
* A growing number of early modern upholstered pieces from Hungary and Transylvania (all streamlined, all sympathetic to the Asian aesthetic, all dating from the 1910s to the 1940s) will be showcased here as well.
* And for serious collectors of Asian antiques, there is a locked “vault” area located in the center of the store where special pieces will be shown in private viewings.
330 N. Clark St., 312-755-1266
— K.K.
ATTEND IT: “Eco-Friendly Landscaping” and “Kitchen Design for Historic Homes” are among the workshops planned for the Historic Chicago Bungalow and Green Home Expo from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday [Oct. 27] at The Merchandise Mart. Though it’s presented by a program to encourage preservation and restoration of Chicago’s architecturally unique bungalows, the expo is a boon to anybody with an older home or an interest in green remodeling and building. More than 140 exhibitors are expected, including companies that provide products such as reproduction historic hardware and services such as window installation. And among the speakers are: Lou Manfredini, “Mr. Fixit” of WGN radio; “Handyma’am” Beverly DeJulio; and “House Doctor” Bob Yapp.
Kinzie and Wells Streets. Call 312-642-9900 or see www.chicagobungalow.org . Free.
— Beth Botts
SHOP IT: If we must accept the fact that Christmas is a mere two months away, this event may be the sugar that helps the medicine go down. Christmas at the Faire’s annual occupation of the DuPage County Fairgrounds takes place next weekend [Oct. 26 to 28]. Billed as an early holiday-shopping opportunity, the market features the handcrafted gift items of more than 50 jury-selected artisans, who make ceramics, paintings, folk art, jewelry, candles, baskets and more. Further easing you into the holiday mindset is the Faire’s magical atmosphere. Organizers sneak in a week early to transform the municipal building into a holiday wonderland complete with fresh greens and twinkling white lights.
2015 W. Manchester Rd., Wheaton. Cost: $6 for three-day show; $27 for Thursday’s Preview Party (RSVP by Sunday [Oct. 21]). For tickets, call 888-854-5153 or visit araboocreek.com.
— Shaila Wunderlich
GREEN IT: Americans gain 41 pounds a year — in junk mail, according to the September/October issue of Natural Home magazine. The issue offered these tips for shedding those pounds and keeping that waste stream from entering your portals.
* To decrease the amount of advertising mail (national nonprofit and commercial mailings) you receive at home, remove your name from the Direct Marketing Association list. Visit www.dmaconsumers.org and click on the box that says “Remove My Name From Those Lists.” There is a $1 fee for this.
* To halt credit card and insurance mailings, “Opt Out” by visiting www.optout prescreen.com.
* To stop the catalog madness, call retailers and catalogers directly and tell them to take your name off the list. (But that’s not all, we might add. You also need to tell them not to give your name to anybody else.)
* Purchase something online? Or subscribe to something? Check the box that says “Please do not rent, sell or trade my name or address.” If there is no such box, make the request by phone, letter or e-mail.
* To support the movement for junk mail legislation that allows people to opt out of all direct-mail advertising, visit www.new dream.org/junkmail.
Here are a few final ditties from Natural Home about that annoying junk mail: Some 62 billion pieces of unsolicited mail are sent in the U.S. every year. And those 62 billion pieces consume more energy to produce and dispose of than 2.8 million cars.
— K.K.
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kklages@tribune.com
swunderlich@tribune.com
ebotts@tribune.com
