Things I Love

I was out and about earlier this week working on a magazine story and stopped in two of my favorite stores: Fontaine and Iconi. I thought I'd share pics I snapped of some cool stuff I encountered.
First are these gorgeous vintage slipper chairs from Fontaine, priced at $1,635. With touches of Asian, organic and luxe all rolled into one, these chairs are fit for a queen. I've long admired slipper chairs because they always look so stately and feminine in home décor magazines; though they could be fashioned into a more "manly" look by covering one in leather and adding some nailhead trim, too. Either way, I love, love, love these chairs and the fabric they're swathed in.

Next is my perennial favorite Iconi Interiors. So, I'm one of those people that like dressing up. You won't catch me in a T-shirt and sneakers, unless I'm working out. No sir—it's pumps, bangles and dresses for me! That's why I like Coni Marotz's store Iconi, because it reminds me of a time when women dressed up for cocktail parties, wore red lipstick and glammed it up with major jewelry. Men sported smart suits and had pocket squares. Marotz has quite a collection of vintage barware, seen here. She also has an awesome collection of vintage jewelry that I yearn for every time I step in her store. It's like a magnet—I'm drawn to her case of jewelry every time I stop by.
Can't you just imagine a cocktail party in the '50s or '60s, where these glasses were surely used? I sure can. So, combine the sparkly cocktail glasses with one of her major necklaces and you've got my dream world of dressing up for a party, clutching a extraordinary glass all while looking fabulous. Cheers!

Fontaine, 811 E. Johnson St. 310-8002.
Iconi Interiors, 534 W. Washington Ave. 441-0077.

Hot Buys

I may not have shared my love of Fontaine, a home furnishings and accessories store, on this blog before. Owner Barry Avery’s eye for smart design and well-edited selection of looks ranging from organic to Hollywood luxe can tempt any shopper.
Avery is carrying a new product line, Lollia, which consists of bubble bath, hand crème, soaps and candles. I’ve seen Lollia products at other stores (not locally) and have admired their beautiful packaging and heavenly scents. Avery’s carrying the “Inspire” scent (also called 1000 Flowers) in shea butter hand cream and bathing salts and the “Wish” scent (Sugared Pastille) in hand cream, fragrance spritz and bubble bath. He’s also carrying the Poppy Nectar candle.
Featured in national mags like Bazaar, InStyle Weddings and Shape, now Madison can indulge in these yummy scents, too. Prices range from $6.95–$59.95.

Fontaine, 811 E. Johnson St. 310-8002. lollialife.com

Looking for a cute baby gift or a holiday gift for a special tyke? Check out the Joobles collection from Fair Indigo. Made of organic cotton and eco-friendly dyes, these one-hundred percent adorable stuffed toys, hats and mittens, and cotton cardigans are sure to be a hit. I love the vibrant colors. And you can’t beat the construction practices behind them; according to Fair Indigo’s website, “The Joobles are made fairly in Lima, Peru, at a family-run facility where dad grows the cotton and mom runs the sewing operation.” Sounds like a family affair! (Top: Jiffy the giraffe hat and mittens, $39; bottom, Icy the penguin, $29).

Fair Indigo, 570 N. Midvale Blvd. 661-7662. fairindigo.com

Our Food and Wine Show is this weekend, but you can continue to celebrate and savor cheeses and other exotic foodstuffs long after we close up shop. Fromagination, the Square’s yummy cheese shop, is hosting events throughout November and December to help customers select cheeses for holiday parties and items for gifts.
November 13, 4–7 p.m.: Let the cheesemongers at Fromagination help you create the perfect cheese plate for Thanksgiving.
December 4, 11, 4–8 p.m.: Get a head start on holiday shopping at the Gift Fair. The shop will have tables set up so customers can walk around and talk and taste while they shop.

Fromagination, 12 S. Carroll St. 255-2430. fromagination.com

Who is the most famous “T” you can think of? Personally, I’d say Mr. T (“I pity the fool!”) or Ice-T. There are others, though, like Ford’s Model T, or maybe a T-bone steak. But I digress. Macha Teahouse has a wall of Famous T’s because…they’re a teahouse! They want customers to guess who their new “Famous T’s” are on the wall (and yes, Mr. T is already up there). Customers will be entered to win a teapot and one pound of their favorite tea.
Customers are also encouraged to tell Macha in one hundred words or less what the teahouse means to them. All customers will be given something for entering and the top three entries will be featured on their website—not to mention awarded prizes!
Both contests are to celebrate the teahouse’s one-year anniversary.

Macha Teahouse, 1934 Monroe St. 442-0500. machateahouse.com

Holiday gift ideas are already landing in my inbox, folks. We in magazine land can quickly get tired of the holidays since we cover them in October and November, and then experience them yet again in December…ha! Not to sound like Scrooge, because shopping for others is fun.
Two places to look for art-inspired gifts: MMoCA’s Museum Store and theartfulhome.com. With gifts in a variety of price ranges, you can get something for anybody, whether she’s a fashionista (jewelry and handbags), a kid (kids’ books and art) or foodie (artful kitchen accessories).
Both retailers have kept price consciousness in mind and are offering gifts for less; Artful Home’s “100 under $100” keeps your wallet in mind and MMoCA’s large variety of inexpensive gifts under $25 can satisfy most anyone on your list.
Artful Home has even gone one step further and categorized gifts into easy sections like: “Customer Favorites and Ornaments” (plus the 100 under $100 section); a “Shop by Personality” section; and “More Ways to Shop,” including by Price, Recipient, Occasion and “In Time for 12/25”—a selection of artist-made items that can ship in time to arrive by December 25.

Terry Boehner, the Museum Store’s marketing assistant provided me this list of gifts under $25 that include:
Cute animal-shaped banks, $18.
Wood bud vases, $13.50. “Really popular,” says Boehner.
Buddha Boards, $11.50. (“A Zen art concept: image appears when you paint water on the board, it disappears when water evaporates,” says Boehner.”)
Don Drumm pewter leaves, $17.
Wind-up salt shaker, $20.50.
Singerman & Post earrings, $22. (Designs of colorful Mylar film transferred to light metal.)
Kids’ books, $6–$8.

MMoCA Museum Store, 227 State St. 257-3222. mmoca.org theartfulhome.com

I Love This

I was at Fontaine the other week and spied these glitzy, sparkly boxes by Archipelago. Slide out the inner part and inside is a soy wax pillar candle that smells delicious. It would make a perfect gift and heck, you wouldn’t even have to wrap it! Bonus: the box can be reused to hold trinkets or jewelry—it’s so pretty you won’t want to throw it away!
Fontaine 811 E. Johnson St. 310-8002.

Spring Things

Nothing cheers me more than knowing (or at least hoping!) that the weather will be warming up. I look forward to strolling the Square and walking along the lakefront path, not to mention hanging out at the Terrace. Yes, I love the warm weather and often think I would do just fine in a warmer climate like L.A.

But I do love the changing of seasons and it gives me something to look forward to—rotating my wardrobe to something less substantial than, say, a winter jacket and snow boots every day.

That’s why I’m excited about some more of the spring retail trends I’m seeing. We all think of spring as a time of growth and change. I think local retailers are hoping their sales will grow and change, too! Many I’ve spoken with have had slow sales as a result of the cold weather and slowing economy.

But if you are looking to treat yourself and have some tax return money, check out these trends to look for in the next couple of months—some of them cheap and chic!


Thymes’ Red Chérie Collection smells heavenly and evokes springtime with just a spritz or sniff of this fragrance. The press materials say the fragrance is a combo of “ripe red cherries, passion flower and jasmine. Sparked with subtle hints of Asian lychee and a tease of fruity musk …” Mmmm! I have tried the cologne spray and body exfoliant and they instantly perked me up because I love the scent of cherry. Pick up Thymes Red Chérie and Thymes products at Little Luxuries, Orange Tree Imports and Willow Creek.

Did you know that fashion influences home décor? It’s true—colors and styles that fashion designers roll out appear in modified versions in home furnishings as well. Maybe that’s why fashion designers Vera Wang, Kate Spade, Missoni and Versace (among countless others) have home decor lines. Take the mod look that was popular this fall. I saw reinterpretations of that in decorative accessories sold at Target.

Closer to home, interior designer Barry Avery incorporates the “Hollywood luxe” look beautifully in his décor and furnishings at his store Fontaine on East Johnson Street. This look will be here to stay for a while; writer Jennifer Garrett mentions it in her “Lucky Loos” piece in this month’s Habitat Handbook and local event planner Ginger Gant told me the opulent “Louis XIV look” is all the rage with interior decorators right now.

Gant attended a special event show in Atlanta and reports that “on the coasts they do very blingy … lots of crystal. It’s rich, encrusted ceiling chandeliers and fans. [It was] very ornate, very rich.” Pier One’s “Springy Thingy” catalog weaves hot spring trends in their stuff, too: bright pops of color, an international flair, even a mirrored “Hayworth Vanity” for the bedroom. In turn we’ll see clothing trends including metallics in clothing, shoes and handbags; safari and international-themed clothing; and vibrant, Crayola colors.

Where to find any of these of-the-moment trends, décor or otherwise? Your local retailer! I will mention one non-local retailer as well just because they DO make gorgeous things: J. Crew. The eponymous store that makes high fashion within (closer) reach is doing ruffled trenches, full skirts, bold prints and ornate jewelry for spring. Creative director Jenna Lyons states via press materials, “Vintage architecture and glamorous mid-century interiors were a big inspiration for our collection. We love the bold intensity of upholstered prints … the way bright, acidy yellows and quirky oranges played off warm woodsy neutrals.”


To go with your spring outfits pick up Sam Edelman shoes (found at Karen & Co.). These very affordable shoes offer lots of new and different styles like a gladiator sandal (shown is the "Gilda"), flats with a chain detail (shown is the "Carmen"), wedges and peep-toe metallic sandals—in shimmery metallics, vivacious prints and intense brights.

Check out now:
Anthropologie 702 N. Midvale Blvd. 318-9011. anthropologie.com
Bop 222 W. Gorham St. 255-2570. shopbop.com
Fontaine 811 E. Johnson St. 310-8002.
J LaMore 2701 Monroe St. 238-2119. jlamore.com
JC Madison2140 W. Greenview Dr. Ste. 1, Middleton. 1-877-475-7018. jcmadison.com
Karen & Co. 309 State St. 258-5500.
Little Luxuries 214 State St. 255-7372.
Orange Tree Imports 1721 Monroe St. 255-8211. orangetreeimports.com
Patricia Shoppe 137 W. Johnson St. 256-1111. patriciashoppe.com
Twigs 1925 Monroe St. 255-4363. shoptwigs.com
Willow Creek 6909 University Ave. 836-3911.

New Store Update

I wrote about Fontaine on East Johnson three weeks ago. I stopped in this home décor and interior design firm last week and was I impressed! This tastefully and beautifully designed store showcases owner Barry Avery’s impeccable eye for design and detail. All items featured in each “vignette” are for sale—things like the vintage-look crystal chandeliers that hang throughout the shop, the Christmas trees that sprinkle the sales floor and the glass case chock-full of vintage ornaments. More details on Fontaine to come!

Fontaine, 811 E. Johnson St. 310-8002.

New Stores!

Fontaine, a new design firm and home furnishing studio is opening on Saturday, September 22. I’m eagerly awaiting what this store will look like as the concept sounds interesting. According to the press release, the store will carry home décor accessories, like vintage Christmas ornaments up to a new chandelier. Ooh la la! The store will also do fresh floral arrangements. The store’s owner Barry Avery says the store was named after his maternal grandmother, Ione Fontaine Wiltgen.

Speaking of stores named after a grandmother (what a weird coincidence!), Dottie Rose, a vintage furniture and clothing store, is also named after owner Melissa Ernst’s grandmother(s). Ernst, a whippersnapper at nineteen years old, is a Middleton resident and opened the store recently.

Just down the street from previously mentioned Fontaine is Forza Gallery, a gallery dedicated to “servicing the needs of the local creative talent.” Forza was opened in early September by FoRCE, or the Foundation of Retaining Creative Energy. This local arts group puts on fun events like Arts Crawls, which happen the first Friday of each month.
Artists interested in displaying work at Forza need to go through an application process; twelve artists will be chosen every year by the FoRCE’s board of directors.

Say ‘bonjour’ to L’Occitane en Provence, opened September 20 at Hilldale Shopping Center. This upscale French bath and body brand has an air of luxury with its elegant store layouts and beautiful orange and brown packaging (it doesn’t sound pretty but it is ☺). Scents will remind shoppers of European countries, like a lavender face moisturizer and olive scented face scrub.

Fontaine, 811 E. Johnson St. 310-8004.
Dottie Rose, 1835 Parmenter St., Middleton. 831-9099.
Forza Gallery, 825 E. Johnson St. madisonforce.org
L’Occitane, 638 N. Midvale Blvd. 233-1646.loccitane.com