Marimekko Style
A bold new concept store debuts in Silver Spring
Marimekko officially arrived on the fashion scene in 1960 when Jackie Kennedy appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated wearing one of the Finnish company’s mini-dresses. All the rage in the ’60s and ’70s, Marimekko’s bold and daring textiles are still winning design awards today.
Longtime fans and newer converts alike will celebrate the April 30th opening of a Marimekko concept store in downtown Silver Spring. The 4,000-square-foot showroom will stock 120 fabrics, from classic to recent creations; bedding and bath accessories; kitchenware; apparel for men, women and children; and a hip selection of handbags. A workroom onsite will create custom window treatments, accent pillows, upholstery, custom bedding coordinates, monogramming and more.
Store owner Marni Frankel has admired the Marimekko brand since childhood. “One of the company’s most laudable attributes,” she says, “is its ability to mix the work of its pioneer designers with that of younger designers who respect the past but have a vision of what the brand can become.” She plans to roll out future Marimekko locations in Chevy Chase and Penn Quarter in the next two years.
Marimekko is located at 8519 Georgia Avenue, across from Discovery Communications. For more information, call (800) 656-3587; to order products online, visit the Web
—Sharon Jaffe Dan
Furniture Finds
A new arrival in Fells Point offers modern home furnishings
For homeowners who prefer the clean, simple lines of modern design, PAD is the place for you. Owner Nicholas Johnson, who also owns the fashionable home-accessories store Su Casa (located in Fells Point too), emphasizes good design and customer service. He offers at-home consultations plus a liberal return policy that even includes custom orders, hoping these features will “take the anxiety out of buying furniture.” At PAD, you’ll find pieces for the bedroom, living room and dining area, along with funky light fixtures, accent pillows, rugs and wall hangings. Some of the hottest items in the store are the Italian-designed glass dining tables and the satellite pendant light fixtures made of chrome. But it seems everything at PAD resonates with those folks going for the look of urban chic. “These pieces really work well with the open feel of the industrial-looking condos that are being built around the city,” says Johnson.
PAD is located at 1500 Thames Street. Phone (410) 563-4723; www.esucasa.com.
—Kelli Rosen
On the Bookshelf
New releases for design and gardening buffs
Furniture dealer and expert Jeremy Cooper presents a survey of 19th-century decorative arts in Victorian and Edwardian Furniture and Interiors (Thames & Hudson, May 2007; $34.95). His analysis of the work of artists from the Gothic Revival to the Art Nouveau includes an astonishing collection of drawings and rare, contemporary photographs, illuminated by extensive commentaries. The book features greats such as Charles Rennie Mackintosh, William Burges, Margaret Macdonald and C. R. Ashbee.
O’Neill’s Roses Revealed (Ball Publishing, April 2007; $39.95) features the author’s pick of the top 200 roses, selected for their combination of scent, long flowering period and high disease resistance. O’Neill, an Irish gardener frequently featured on Irish national television and radio, showcases each rose and its unique qualities, as well as blooming and care information to make choosing and growing roses a delight.
From the Tidewater region of its Atlantic Shore to the Blue Ridge Mountains, Virginia is home to some of the most architecturally rich, and perhaps the most historically significant, houses in America. The treasures showcased in Historic Houses of Virginia by Kathryn Masson (Rizzoli, 2006; $55), dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries, include such masterpieces as Colonial Williamsburg’s Governor’s Palace, George Washington’s Mt. Vernon, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, Robert E. Lee’s Arlington House and Stratford Hall Plantation, all depicted in new, specially commissioned photography.
—Xarissa Holdaway
Dermot
