August InTown
Art Fair Weekend
That wall behind the sofa is looking rather blank, isn’t it? The first weekend in August is a great time to consider adding more original artwork to your collection. Friday, August 3, kicks off the Uptown Art Fair, which is joined on Saturday and Sunday by two other fairs in Loring and Powderhorn parks. (If you want to hit all three Minneapolis fairs, catch the bus between events free of charge, courtesy of Metro Transit's ArtPass.) Hundreds of artists display work in every medium—from wood to clay to glass to handmade paper—in a variety of styles and price ranges. This year, Uptown offers two new shopping breaks: Visitors can sip beverages at the beer and wine garden or watch competing chef/artist teams create spontaneous food-and-artwork pairings. See uptownartfair.com, powderhornartfair.com, and loringparkartfestival.com for more details.
The Sale Room Annex
For the past few years, the Sale Room@IMS in International Market Square has thrived as a consignment shop for its neighbors to sell discounted wares. As owner Sharon Allemong expanded her business and networked with more suppliers, she decided to open a spinoff shop right across the street, the Sale Room Annex, which also features major deals—50 to 80 percent off retail—on designer furniture and accessories. Allemong amassed her Annex inventory through the High Point Furniture Market, including overruns, prototypes, and discontinued designs, for display in her new showroom, where shoppers might find everything from leather couches to original Cuban artwork. The Sale Room Annex is open Thursday through Saturday. 813 Glenwood Avenue, 612-877-4173, thesaleroom-ims.com
Kohler Signature Store
In 1883, Kohler company sold its first bath, made from a cast iron horse trough, for one cow and 14 chickens, so the story goes. Some 100-plus years later, the Wisconsin-based factory has opened its first exclusive retail showroom in the Twin Cities. The new Edina store features displays of the company’s elegant, high-end bath fixtures, such as sleek, rimless stone sinks, a locker-room size array of shower heads, and a futuristic toilet that raises its lid when approached. Kohler’s latest bathing innovation is the VibrAcoustic tub, which uses sound waves to create a soothing combination of music and vibrations. 7101 France Ave. S. #109, Edina, 952-314-6813, kohlersignaturestoreedina.com
Women in Craft and Design
July 28 kicks off a two-year free exhibition of household objects designed by female industrial designers and craft artists in downtown Minneapolis’s Wells Fargo Center. Original handcrafted art pieces, as well as those designed for mass production, were curated from the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. All share the ethos of the Arts and Crafts movement, being everyday objects that are beautifully designed and functionally well made, conceived to help make routine tasks, such as ironing and serving tea, more delightful. The Wells Fargo Center is located between Sixth and Seventh Streets along Marquette Avenue and is open to the public weekdays during business hours. artsmia.org
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