The American Swedish Institute’s 33-room Turnblad Mansion is begging to be explored. Rogue ballet dancer Sally Rousse has stepped up to the task. Rousse and theater artist Noah Bremer will debut a dance-theater piece that weaves and winds through the mansion’s many rooms this June. Explore the grand historical home in the company of the dancers with a performance of Kom Hit.
Source: American Swedish Institute
The Renegade Craft Fair comes to Chicago for a mini market this weekend with eight independent artisans, shipping container art installations, and live music. This hand-sewn clutch from Eye of the Sun made the market’s sneak preview. With hand-sewn edges and two-toned calf hide, it’s one of the many stylish accessories you’ll find out at the market.
Source: Renegade Craft
Looks like the Woolrich x Frost River pack can carry just about anything! This shot from Minneapolis men’s retailer Askov Finlayson shows a satisfied customer and his furry companion with the new pack. The bags are designed with canoe trips in mind, but can clearly handle any ruff ride.
Source: Askov Finlayson
Minneapolis’ all-night arts festival, Northern Spark, raged right on through the torrential downpour this weekend thanks to some creative relocation efforts. The festival managed to move almost everything indoors, and festival-goers braved the storm to spend a night out with art. Pictured is Brian Laidlaw & The Family Trade keeping everything in tune.
Source: Paper Darts
Columbus, Ohio is now home to the largest makerspace on the planet. At over 65,000 square feet, the Columbus Idea Foundry is “a gymnasium for people who want to makes things.” The former shoe factory contains 3D printers, CNC machines, kilns, and more, all available for a monthly membership fee.
Source: Tech Crunch
Fans of Chicago favorite the Publican will now have to travel a little father north to find their favorite chef. Brian Huston and collaborators have opened the Boltwood in Evanston. The menu moves from oysters to pepper sweetbreads to farro and mushroom dashi. Pictured is just a taste of their craft cocktail offerings: the Herb Collins, with gin, blackberry-rosemary syrup and soda.
Source: Time Out Chicago
The demolition of older homes in Detroit is nothing new—but Leadhead Glass has made something new from them. The enterprising company constructs chic terrariums using salvaged wood and glass from the demolition sites.
Source: Pure Detroit
Independent publisher Milkweed Editions is known for its award-winning nonfiction, which frequently explores the natural world. When it came time to renovate their Minneapolis offices, they wanted to put their environmental values into practice. They incorporated “light tubes” into their revamped space—these innovative tubes actually funnel sunlight directly into the office. A nifty bit of design to be sure!
Source: Milkweed Editions
The next time you find yourself in Columbus, don’t miss the Miller House and Garden. Built by industrialist J. Irwin Miller, the house showcases the work of several 20th-century architecture and design legends: Eero Saarinen, Alexander Girard, and Dan Kiley. It’s renowned not only for its exterior, but also interior: pictured is Girard’s design plan. The property is currently maintained and made available for tours by the Indiana Museum of Art.
Source: Indiana Museum of Art
One Chicago artist has found a creative way to combat the city’s rampant pothole problem. Jim Bachor practices his patchwork magic under the cover of night, but he leaves a mark for all to see: humorous mosaics where the holes once were. For those wondering if this might get Bachor in trouble with the city, he says he has been contacted but, well, “they weren’t saying not to do it.”
Source: Fast Company
A rough-and-tumbled trunk is the must-have accent piece of the moment. Perfect for a coffee table and practical for storage, these trunks have lived a lifetime before they hit your living room. Architectural Antiques gave us a look at their vintage trunk collection on Facebook; all are for sale at their Minneapolis store!
Source: Architectural Antiques
When world-renowned Chicago chef Charlie Trotter passed away last year, his culinary peers knew they wanted to honor his memory. Enter The Trotter Project, a nonprofit to be based in the space that once held Trotter’s self-named restaurant. The organization aims to offer culinary education and support the vibrant Chicago food scene. They even have plans to add an indoor-farm to the now vacant space. We’re looking forward to seeing them up and cooking.
Source: Eater Chicago
We’ve never seen the Badlands looking so good. Every few years, the arid landscape explodes with wildflowers, and landscape photographer Guy Tal captured South Dakota’s signature landscape in a rare moment of color and life.
Source: Guy Tal
Every summer Chicago plays host to NeoCon, the continent’s largest design conference. Outside NeoCon, you can find the Guerrilla Truck Show. The truck show gives creative of all kinds a place to show off their work in temporary gallery spaces, all on the back of trucks. This masterpiece is the work of the ReBuilding Exchange, who constructed the Chicago skyline entirely from reclaimed materials. Looking good, Chi-Town.
Source: ReBuilding Exchange
The iconic Gold Medal Flour sign still shines bright on the banks of the Mississippi where the mill was founded. It’s a beloved piece of the Minneapolis skyline, even if the mill has since become a museum. Other remnants of the mill’s golden age are scattered across the country—this particular sign was recently unearthed beneath the siding of an antique shop in New York, and has since been lovingly restored.
Source: General Mills
The Rookery in Robbinsdale shares the same building as brother restaurant and foodie sensation Travail Kitchen, but they have established their own must-try menu of micro-plates and craft cocktails. They posted this sensational snapshot to Facebook: their lamb plate with grilled ramp, celery, snap pea, nettle puree, and pickled cipollini onion. It’s almost too pretty to eat. Almost.
Source: The Rookery
Friday is opening day for the St. Louis Craft Alliance’s Artists-in-Residence Exhibition, featuring works from six artists who craft in fiber, metal, and clay. The residence supports emerging and mid-career artists with free workspace and the opportunity to exhibit and sell their work. Pictured is the piece “Recall I” by Barbara Knuth.
Source: Craft Alliance
Tandem Made, a design/build shop in Minneapolis, offered a sneak peek of their latest project on Facebook: a mid-century-inspired media center. The husband and wife duo behind Tandem Made met in the woodshop in college and have been making one-of-a-kind furniture pieces ever since.
Source: Tandem Made
Twenty-seven artists have transformed a downtown Detroit parking structure into a drive-thru art gallery. The garage owner partnered with the Library Street Collective to commission original works for the garage walls. The bright and playful murals have drivers parking all the way on the top to take it all in.
Source: City Lab
The Sanborn Canoe Co. put their paddles to the test with a trip up north. Navigating Knife Lake in the Boundary Waters, they tried out some of their new ultra-lightweight paddle designs. Sanborn is chronicling all of their getaways on their Field Log, complete with pictures that will have you packing your bags for the next adventure.
Source: Sanborn Canoe Co.
The Copper Hen is the newest addition to Minneapolis’ Eat Street line-up of enticing restaurants. The kitchen and cakery focuses on farm-to-table offerings, and they’re bringing this tasty treat to the breakfast table. Fresh blueberries, bacon pieces, and cream cheese frosting on crumble cake. Breakfast of champions?
Source: The Copper Hen
Wright Auction House, which specializes in modern and contemporary design, has released the catalog for its upcoming Design Auction this week. The catalog includes everything from enviable end tables to this stunning staircase. Happy bidding!
Source: Wright
The terrace of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago comes alive every summer Tuesday with an overflowing farmers market in the morning and free jazz concerts in the evening. Shop the market from 7 am to 3 pm to fill up on fresh fruit and vegetables; return at 5:30 for performances from some of Chicago’s quintessential jazz musicians. In between you can catch the museum’s Unbound exhibition, highlighting contemporary art after Frida Kahlo.
The Clock Shadow Building in Milwaukee was just highlighted in Dwell as one of their 10 favorite green commercial buildings across the country. What was once just an empty field is now a stunning office space built from salvaged materials. The unique cantilevered design is topped off by a green roof that both conserves energy and offers space for the tenants to gather.
Source: Dwell
NeoCon, the largest design exposition on the continent, opens today with over 40,000 architecture and design professionals flooding Chicago’s Merchandise Mart. The event includes a collection of Eames Shell Chairs in almost every color, base, and finish combination imaginable—plastic, fiberglass, wood, wire and more.
Source: NeoCon