design therapy

there's nothing like stepping into the quintessential design boutique. i feel like i grow wings and take flight as every corner has it's own unique feng shui. everything is perfectly placed and it all flows. i am in heaven. nothing can go wrong when i meander through the mock living spaces and treasure all of the accessories, the way they are arranged. it brings me back to my childhood, when all i would love to do was play "store" with my sister. we would set up shop, so to speak, and our bedrooms would be the the playground, the boutique, if you will. anything was up for grabs and we would barter. it was the exchange of stuffed animals for little trinkets, books, even furniture pieces. I couldn't wait to play store. the anticipation elated me. i would arrange my book case as if it were a display cabinet in a chic designer boutique. i would dust and place everything just so, as if i were the proud proprietor of this imaginary storefront.

i found one of these enchanted kingdoms on my trip to Seattle, in Ballard, my favorite neighborhood. it's a family run business with a fantastic selection of modern vintage and recycled furnishings and home accessories.

Collective
5339 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
(206) 782-1900







i've always fantasized about living in Silver Lake, in a mid-century modern home nestled up in the hills just off Silver Lake Blvd. and within walking distance of the reservoire. since the early years when i first discovered this alluring neighborhood (back in college!), i knew there was something to this place, and sure enough, it has blown up in terms of trendiness and is now officially on the map of advante-garde design. funky and ultra cool retail stores have then since sprouted up and i am speechless as i am discovering these gems one by one.

last week it was Yolk - "free range design" is their slogan. i absolutely fell in love. i immediately went into "nesting mode" as i dreamed of wedding and baby shower registries. everything is darling, adorable, and just plain rocks. leave it to those swedes to know how to do it up!





but when it comes to serious design, of the not so "within reach" kind, (ie. for the serious connoisseur and serious pocketbook), there is lawson-fenning. this one caught my eye two-fold: i had seen the storefront on my way back to the car from Yolk last week and saw books - really neat and groovy books, of the coffee table sort. i mentally filed it in my "places to go" but didn't realize how urgently i needed to make a visit to this place until today when after stopping in Yolk to buy a wedding present (thank you Jamila & Patrick for a reason to shop there!!!) I noticed the words "lawson-fenning" stenciled on the window. this rang a bell and like a dog zeroing in on just the right spot to mark it's territory, i marched straight in and was entranced from the very moment i entered. (cue angels singing accompanied by harp) not only is this the most orgasmic design boutique I've been into in a while, there is a killer bookstore in the back to boot: ivanhoe books : art and design. pure bliss.



and the lawson-fenning website has several links to equally glorious and like-minded designers and artists like this one: atwater pottery. i think i was a potter in a past life, because something inexplicable happens to me when I see this work.