Best of the Twin Cities
Shops, products, designs, and bargains we love
(page 1 of 4)
1. BEST INTRODUCTION TO THE TWIN CITIES
From the sixteenth-century Mexican city of San Miguel de Allende, Anne-Marie Midy and her husband Jorge Almata design romantic and gritty home furnishings that have delighted interior designers since 1998. But Casamidy’s indomitable designs in hammered tin and silver, leather, nickel-plated iron, and barzino wood could not be found in the Twin Cities—not until Casa Verde opened in south Minneapolis late last year and showed us all what we’ve been missing. Casamidy accessories start at $350, furniture at $800. Above, the Casamidy “Wing” chair, $1,440, is balanced by an original oil painting by Minneapolis artist Eric Cornett, $2,700; both available through Casa Verde, Minneapolis, 612-353-4401, casaverdedesign.com.
2. BEST OPULENT LINENS
Egyptian cotton, chenille, quilted velvets, pure Irish linen, and embroidered silks: Thief River Linens, based in Thief River Falls, incorporates all manner of magnificent fabrics into its eight bedding ensembles. The ultimate in American-made opulence ($2,000 and up for full sets), the company sews its products entirely in Minnesota and Chicago. Order through Julian Interiors & Design, 294 Grove Ln. E., Wayzata, 952-249-6253.
Photo provided by villeroy & boch
3. BEST SCULPTURE FOR THE BATH
Photo provided by villeroy & boch
Here’s to a trend we hope has staying power: sculptural, freestanding soaking tubs, particularly the ones that look like hollowed out dinosaur eggs. Somehow, these fabulous fixtures manage to be both glamorous and Zen. We particularly love the “Aveo” from Villeroy & Boch, $9,700, available through Montaggio, 150 Second Ave. N., Minneapolis, 612-333-6264, montaggio.net.
4. BEST SHORTCUT TO LOCAL RESOURCES
We’re tooting our own online service: Midwest Home’s Made in Minnesota database. We launched this nifty, searchable guide earlier this year. It includes hundreds of companies that produce home products—everything from countertops to mailboxes—right here in the Gopher State. Check it out at mhmag.com/madeinmn.
Photo by Vitra Design
5. BEST COLLECTION
Photo by Vitra Design
You might expect Tom Gunkelman, founder of legendary Minneapolis design firm GunkelmanFlesher, to collect classic furniture (he does) and numerous design awards recognizing his work (he has), but he also collects Vitra Miniatures, perfectly scaled mini versions of modern furniture classics. The tiny versions are constructed in the same materials and colors as the originals. Gunkelman owns 17 of the mini masterpieces, but his favorite is the Mies van der Rohe “Barcelona” chair—not too surprising, since he also owns a life-sized and signed original in a pale shade of taupe. vitra.com.
6. BEST ONLINE SHOPPING
Head to Forêt Home (forethome.com) for ethereal and romantic antiques from eighteenth-, nineteenth-, and early twentieth-century Europe. Amy Marver, a former art historian and scholar, is the Minneapolis creator and curator of the site. She features items discovered on her travels around Europe, mostly northern Sweden and Denmark. “I try to stay out of the cities, and go far into the country where there’s a simplicity to the design and an authenticity that I find enchanting,” she says. We think you will, too. Accessories start at $65 (for a confit jar); furniture starts at $3,250 (for a small pine demilune table). See forethome.com for details.
7. BEST COMEBACK TREND
Wallpaper, wallpaper, wallpaper! We’re seeing fabulous new wallcoverings in fanciful prints, bright colors, and reinterpretations of traditional patterns—toiles, damasks, fleurs de lis, frescoes, tree bark, starbursts, stripes, flowers, swirls, you name it. Even metallic and flocked paper is back (shades of the 1970s!) For one of the best selections in town, try Hirshfield’s Design Studio, 721 Second Ave. N., Minneapolis, 612-374-8901, hirshfields.com.
Photo provided by
Crystal Barlow
8. BEST GUTSY DESIGN
Photo provided by
Crystal Barlow
In her short 27 years, Minneapolis illustrator and designer Crystal Barlow has designed some pretty cool stuff: merchandise for Burton Snowboards, packaging for Yoplait, and an urbane wall mural for the new Hotel Minneapolis. But her “Paradise City” wallpaper is her real attention-grabber. And no wonder: this ambrosial pastiche of quick doodles, vectored shapes, zebras, lovey-dovey rabbits, airborne dandelion seeds, and beavers feels … brave. “Whenever I’m feeling a creative block as a designer, I look at ‘Paradise City’ to remind me to be fearless,” says Barlow. $1,500 per single repetition on adhesive-backed smooth paper stock; custom sizes available. Crystal Barlow, 612-251-5263, crystalbarlow.com.
9. BEST VINTAGE REUSE
Debra Dresler’s workshop/studio in Lakeland is an antiquarian’s cloud nine. On a back wall are shelves and boxes of Eastman Kodak “Brownies,” accordion cameras, and Viewmasters. The artist acquires these curiosities at flea markets and auctions, and imbues them with new purpose as desk or wall clocks. You can buy her standard line through shops and websites such as uncommongoods.com, but the best stuff is only available through her: one-of-a-kind creations using zithers, autoharps, cracked glass negatives, cash register parts, yellowed piano keys, and other appurtenances of times long past. Email or call, and she’ll tell you what’s available. Retail camera clocks are $120 to $308; one-of-a-kind clocks range from $300 to $2,000. Stroke of Art (Debra Dresler), 651-436-3663, strokeofart.com.
6 ISSUES (1 YEAR)
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The best art classes:
It’s a medium you probably didn’t know existed. But fire art—made by heat, spark, or flame, yielding everything from sculpture to jewelry to fire-breathing—now has its own home, in the newest and funkiest arts center in Minneapolis. The Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center just opened in a former movie theater, where artists weld and wield blowtorches and pound on anvils—a blacksmith shop without all the horses. http://www.wildlifeworld360.com