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Portrait of a Lady: Women in Chinese Art
PAGODA RED is full of evocative hints of past lives — a delicate silk shoe, a bespoke home for a much-loved songbird, an elaborate jewelry box from a bygone era.…
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Toyoharu Kii: Master of Modern Mosaics
A leader in the global craft resurgence, Japan-based artist Toyoharu Kii works with hand-cut Italian marble and smalti, Venetian glass handmade by the same Italian family for over 400 years. Constructed using…
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10 Ways to Give Love & Happiness
A traditional sign of love and marriage, double happiness (囍) is the Chinese equivalent of a heart shape. Magpies, plum blossoms, peaches, leopards, cranes, pomegranates and the color pink all…
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MK Pritzker at PAGODA RED: A Celebration of Illinois Design
In his introduction to A House That Made History, designer Michael Smith describes Governor JB Pritzker and First Lady MK Pritzker as a “dynamic and deeply engaging” couple. Their longtime…
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PAGODA RED Essentials: Custom Waterfall Tables
If PAGODA RED was a fashion house, custom reclaimed wood waterfall tables would be our signature little black dress. Our clients and designers love them for the same reason black…
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Bruno Surdo: Tree Spirits
After viewing Tree Spirits, Bruno Surdo’s debut at PAGODA RED, you will never look at a tree the same way again. Surdo brilliantly conveys the deeply personal sentiments to be…
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Adventures in Style: Antique Silver Charm Rings
Years ago, our founder Betsy Nathan went for tea at Muriel Lubeliner’s fantastically boho Chicago apartment. Lubliner was a true style pioneer, known for her adventurous travels in the 20th…
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Theories of Relativity: Erin Minckley Talks Textiles
“I could write a novel for each pattern,” Erin Minckley recently told us, in a conversation about Relativity Textiles, the standout wallpaper, fabric, and rug company she founded in 2015. …
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A Moment Worth Celebrating: Evan Millárd at the Lake Forest Showhouse
The 2023 Lake Forest Showhouse is a pop-up design wonderland, full of creative possibilities and inspiration. The lavish estate was originally designed by Walter Frazier in 1969 and has been…
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Luxe Life: The Custom Homes of Chinese Songbirds
“Songbirds brush the eaves in flight and fish dart through the waterweed, men of elegance and taste, apprehending their nature, do not weary of watching them all day long.” –…