“When was the last time you walked into your living room, and your furniture made you smile?” asks Rich Petronio, owner of Stone Soup Ltd., a new interiors shop at 2342 N. Clark St. He aims to rememdy the humorlessness of modern interiors.
His giggle-inducer store represents the work of 90 artists from across the country. A series of folding chairs hung as scultpure on the wall is a witty takeoff on Amish practicality by Stephen Perrin of Timonium, Md. Sara Hotchkiss of Portland, Maine, is a dream weaver who turns rag rugs into elegant floor coverings, inspired by memories of her childhood in the Maine woods. Pottery, much of it playful, is preponderant, ranging from $20 mugs to $150 for stunning platters for your Thanksgiving turkey.
Petronio, an organizational psychologist, and his corporate video producer wife, Michelle Falknor, conceived Stone Soup as a way to bring Southwestern art to Chicago,” a goal evidenced by an assortment of trendy “cowboy art” cabinets, tables, benches and mirrors at the store.