Nick Siemaska, Eric Portnoy, and Brent Refsland in their shop, Room 68.
Photo: Laura Barisonzi for Boston Magazine

Design shop Room 68 is Boston’s answer to Matter (heaven, on the edge of Soho). Owned by three bespectacled design hipsters in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts (an outlying area of Boston), the gallery-like shop opened this past fall. I cringe to say I haven’t actually been (it may be Boston, but it’s a 25 minute drive from my Back Bay sofa). The guys have garnered plenty of press (no surprise, as we get hot and bothered by new design outlets), including write-ups in Boston Magazine, Boston Globe, and Apartment Therapy.

I am familiar with a number of the Boston-area designers whose work if for sale, including furniture maker Jacob Kulin, who I’ve had the pleasure of working with, accessories designer/architect Susana DeVoe of Make.Good Studio, who I met last year at the SoWa Open Market, Debra Folz, a New England Home 5 Under 40 winner, who I met at the party, and Nervous System, a design team with degrees from MIT and Harvard.

Textile designer Cary Hewitt is a new find . . . her reversible rugs look delicious. I love the wood vases from Seth Rolland, and  Pelrine + Durrell Design’s Lobster Trap Table is an excellent contemporary interpretation of a vernacular monstrosity.Many of the designers are local, but not all. Room 68 recently launched its online shopping site. Below are the above mentioned items, and more, complete with links both to buy and to the designers’ own sites.

S H O P P I N G

Lobster Trap Table by Pelrine + Durrell Design, $1,500 (Boston)
Comfort/Conform Pillows by Make.Good Studio, $150 each (Boston)
Reaction Cups designed by Nervous System, $60
Lotus and Jasmine Wood Vases by Seth Rolland, $115 (Seattle)
Balancing Blocks designed by Fort Standard, $80.
Turned Leg End Table by Pelrine + Durrell Design, $700 (Boston)
Procession Reversible Rug by Cary Hewitt, $750 (Boston)
Concrete Idea by Kaza Designs, $15
X-Stitch Stool by Debra Folz, $1,600 (Boston)
Twist A Twill Blanket by Tina Ratzer, $140 (Copenhagen)
Spool by Jeb Jones, $450 (upstate New York)
Blossoms on Cherry Reversible Rug by Cary Hewitt, $650 (Boston)
Single Leg Coffee Table by Jacob Kulin, $3,500 (Boston)
Beam Bench by Jacob Kulin, $2,000 (Boston)

Room 68 • 68 South Street • Jamaica Plain • Boston

Photo: Apartment Therapy Boston

It being a gorgeous, upscale hamlet, there is actually some excellent boutiques in town. Viola Lovely is one of my favorites for shoes; Tess & Carlos for pricey clothing. I discovered Hatch, a clean-lined white shop with modern home and baby  accessories. Another find was Nesting on Main, an aerie full of artfully arranged antiques and vintage trinkets. I took tons of photographs that I thought you’d enjoy.

My main interest is always the housewares. The melamine plates that come out of these collabs actually tend to be good quality. I love my John Derian for Target pieces (thank you Gilt for the pre-sale), as well as the one Liberty of London for Target flowered bowl I was able to grab. Again, I came home with just one miniature square plate. (They actually had a few larger ones left, as well as a nifty dessert stand that I thoroughly didn’t need.)

My Missoni x Target purchases.

My other weakness is stationery and storage containers. I love my John Derian for Target bins, and my Liberty of London for Target hat box. I really, really, love my brand new blue zigzag Missoni for Target covered box. I saw a woman with one in her cart, asked her where she found it, and she said she was on her way to put it back. Voila, it’s now mine. Thank you fellow shopper for sharing!

I also scored a few lovely notebooks. I love them. I so don’t need them. I plan to give one or two as gifts, along with the mini journal sets I couldn’t resist. I gave the clothes a once over, but as usual, no thanks. The purchases from my first trip are above. Unsatisfied. I drove to another Target (after calling to find out the housewares situation over there). No luck in the little square plate department. (Do you see my sole plate above? It’s perched atop the two notebooks.) I left with two more notebooks (one fabric covered) and the journal sets.

I would have easily bought several more zigzag boxes, but overall, I’m happy. I’m guessing Target is pleased too. They haven’t had a sellout collaboration since Liberty of London (March 2010). And then there was the crashing of Target.com. Woof!

Blogger Snobella, who writes “Confessions of a Snobaholic,” had a seriously loaded cart.

By the time I left the stores, the shelves were bare.

Related posts:
• Shopping Trip: Liberty of London x Target
• Deal Alert: John Derian x Target
• Design Diary: John Derian’s Provincetown House
• Montage: 31 Chevron-Adorned Interiors

Twelve Chairs, 319 A Street, Boston

Looks a lot like Brooks Brothers to me, from the dark paneling to the scripty gold logo. Hmm. Guess the women’s collection is not the only aspect going all fancy.  (You DID notice the $600 items in the fall catalog, didn’t you?)

Same clothing that was across the way last week, and I suppose the cabinetry isn’t dissimilar, but the vibe feels stuffier.

Table of ties. Could do without the tartan.

Chambray and gingham hankies.

Love the hunk of slag glass.

Retro fans and other objects behind the register.

Heading across the way to the original space . . .

The women’s store is now wide open.

A shoe department was added in the back. Love the picture wall.

And more jewelry cases are scattered around the store.

No complaints here.

Filed under: . REGULAR FEATURES, Fashion, Shopping, Shopping Trip ]]> http://stylecarrot.com/2010/09/25/shop-alert-j-crew-mens-shop-opens-in-copley-womens-expands/feed/ 0 stylecarrot jcrewmens DSC03092 DSC03091 hankeis glass DSC03093 jcwomen shoes DSC03098 http://stylecarrot.com/2010/08/04/shopping-trip-wellfleet-flea-market/ http://stylecarrot.com/2010/08/04/shopping-trip-wellfleet-flea-market/#comments Wed, 04 Aug 2010 22:07:21 +0000 StyleCarrot http://stylecarrot.com/?p=7219 Continue reading →]]> Another summer. Another hot and sweaty trip to the Wellfleet Flea Market. I left empty handed, but the boys picked up Star Wars trading cords, orange rope, and a too loud and grating space age shooter.  I was hungry (and maybe a tad cranky), but managed to get a few photographs.

For more photos see last summer’s shopping trip.

I did however swing by the Watertown store this morning. I got there by 9:30 (the store opens at eight) and already a lot of shelves were bare. Apparently some die hard shoppers waited out in the pouring rain this morning to get first dibs. Soon enough, I saw them – three young women with carts BRIMMING with Liberty print madness. Teapots, watering cans, storage bins, stationary. Later I spotted them on line at the dressing room (I simply slipped the dresses over my leggings and tee) with dozens of pieces in multiple sizes.

The first stuff I found was the dresses. Not impressed. While the patterns were pretty – larger more hippie chick prints than the traditional tiny florals we’ve come to associate with the brand – the fabrication wasn’t high quality (surprise, surprise) and the cuts were either too boxy or too trendy, and the styling mediocre. I passed, but on my second spin ’round the place, wound up picking up a cute mini dress with a tie waist that I’ll pair with tights and a cardi for a pre-spring look. (Unless I decide to return it. I mean, me, in florals?)

The rubber rain boots are cute, but I’m hardly going puddle stomping, especially in pink trimmed florals. The umbrellas were gone; the scarves, again, not high on fabric quality. So I quickly headed to find the home furnishings. Scouting was necessary, as  the Liberty items are scattered throughout the store, in the appropriate departments. There are oversize cardboard flowers strung from the ceiling, which just might indicate where one can find the displays.

The dishes are cute, but were pretty much gone, much to the chagrin of an octogenarian couple hoping to brighten their kitchen. I’m a sucker for stationary, but used self control. There was an abundance of beautifully packaged candles – because they smelled lousy.

The picture frames, however, were a different story. I scooped up (too) many Indienne and art deco print frames in glossy finishes. I’m imaging a picture wall, on which the frame is the art, rather than what’s in it.

There was plenty of bedding (again, not the kind of cotton with which one wants to get intimate) but I didn’t see pillows beyond those piled in other shoppers’ carts.

The baby bathing suits are absolutely adorable. The men’s ties are ok, though maybe a touch on the thin side. The teeny bopper minis and sundresses were definitely cuter than the full size versions. I had my heart set on acquiring one for my friend’s daughter, and insisted her husband put me through to her despite the fact he was on the other line with his sister (this is a matter of FASHION), but lo and behold, third grade girls eschew flowers. Too bad.

My favorite purchase? This shiny, plexiglass lidded box.

Finally, the highlight of my trip was a fellow shopper telling me she knows (and loves!) my blog. I had approached her to take a photo of her overflowing cart. Turns out she has a blog too; read about her Target does Liberty trip. And check out the yellow Foo dogs (not Liberty).

They hit the trends nicely – Union Jack, succulents, gnarled wood bench, and other on-point picks all made a showing. They even have fresh flowers in inventive arrangements. In addition to home goods (LOVE the John Robshaw bedding), there’s fine art, clothing, jewelry, paper goods, and goodies for kids.

Portobello Road, 47 Boylston St., Chestnut Hill, 617.264.2020