Chicago tips

The Mallers Building

services

I've had many experiences in this building over the years.  It's at 5 S. Wabash and, basically anything goes.  Perfectly honest businessmen maintain offices and workshops  here and I always rejoice when I find one because it's usually a very useful discovery. I can then relax about doing business there.  That's because there are also "thieves" in the building posing as honest businessmen and everything in between the two.

(Please click on photo to enlarge).

The building is basically a wholesale market for retail jewelers.   It is also a great resource for jeweler's supplies and tools, pearl and bead restringing, hand and machine engraving, a variety of watch related services: watchbands, dials, crystals and batteries (but not watch repair), jewelry repair, custom jewelry, antique jewelry (if you can take it to an expert to look at first), etc.  These last three categories are iffy without a trusted recommendation.  Many things are sold at "wholesale" prices including diamonds and gems but I'd never buy these without a reputable advisor in tow.  Bargaining is common, depending on the item.                                                         

Some years ago when I owned a retail store called Nonpareil, I had the inspiration before a small "craze" took hold, to sell restored vintage watches.  What an education!  I began cautiously and discovered there were many "watchmakers" in the building but many of these would substitute watch parts when they didn't have the proper ones.  It  is a definite "no no" to do this since watches are delicate instruments and must be repaired just right.  I knew I didn't want a large group of appropriately dissatisfied customers so I proceeded cautiously.

Keeping my ear to the ground I found a marvelous watchmaker, Joe Partington, who was only in his twenties but who had learned watchmaking from his grandfather since he was a young boy.  No nonsense from Joe and we worked together providing terrifically restored watches for my customers  My own, and I assume theirs are still working beautifully.

One could easily spend a couple of weeks exploring the labyrinths of the Mallers Building.  There are additional resources in the buildings nearby.  Have fun but proceed with caution. 

The Oriental Institute Museum

culture;  shopping

Have you ever been there?  Enjoy the spectacular wonders of the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago.  For years many of its galleries were closed while extensive renovations were being implemented.  Galleries now open are the Egyptian, Persian, and Mesopotamian as well as those of the Empires of the Fertile Crescent including Ancient Assyria, Anatolia and Israel.  You can call ahead for an individual or group tour with a very knowledgeable guide at 773.702.9520.

More on the museum at a later date.

Now that I've purchased my holiday cache of glorious Egyptian motif gift tissue, you should know about it too.  You can find it at the gift shop of the Oriental Institute Museum for 50 cents a sheet.  Glossy paper also available is a bit more.  It's not too early to poke around in this not generally known shop for unusual holiday gifts;  there are also imaginative books and other items for children.

Hours of the museum are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10AM-6PM; Wednesday, 10AM-8:30PM and Sunday 12Noon-6PM.  1155 E. 58th St.  773.702.9520.

"Day Of The Dead" At Mexican Fine Arts Museum

culture

This country's largest Dia de Los Muertos event will be held once again at this highly regarded Chicago institution, the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum.  In Mexico this day, roughly akin to Halloween is a celebration of the lives of those who are deceased.  It is a happy time, not a sad one, in celebration of one's beloved who once again on this special day return to earth to be honored.

The exhibit entitled "The Journey Home" will take place beginning at the opening on Friday,  September 23 from 6PM-8:30PM and will continue through December 1.  It consists of altars or offrendas usually honoring particular people.  Participating artists are from Mexico and the U.S.  This year Chicago artists Carlos Cortez, Ed Pashke and Allen Stringfellow will be among those honored.

Special demonstrations are scheduled featuring  the Mondragon family, sugar skull artists from Toluca, Mexico and tree of life artists, the Castillo-Orta family from Puebla.

Pictured here is a marvelously detailed offrenda by Ofelia Esparza who lives in California.  She has dedicated the piece to her grandmother, Consuelo, her mother, Guadalupe and her many uncles, aunts and cousins whom she feels she didn't really get to know enough and who have been laid to rest here in Chicago.  She remembers anecdotes her mother told her which she "held like precious treasures, making them more real in the re-telling."

A variety of additonal events will take place during the run of the exhibit.  Access www.mfacmchicago.org for more detailed information.  It's well worth the trip to see Mexican traditions come alive right here in Chicago.

The center has a variety of exhibits over the calendar year.  Their photography exhibits seem of particularly high quality.  Many local Mexican and other residents have beecome friends of this excellent institution;  in fact it's become a neighborhood hangout.  Stop by and see for yourself

Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum 1852 W. 19th St. 312.738.1503.  Tuesday-Sunday 10AM-5PM.

 

Koryo For Great Korean Food

food and drink

Recently we had a theater date at TimeLine at 615 W. Wellington (west of Broadway) .  We were determined to park just once and have dinner too which seemed like a double challenge in this crowded neighborhood which has served as a middle class entry point to the city for many years.  I find the area generally dull but occasionally there are interesting storefronts among the very basic ones.

We wanted free parking too.  Using eagle eyes we found a low key but stylish looking place, Koryo at 2936 N. Broadway, just around the corner from TimeLine.  I perused the posted menu while my husband double parked to be sure. Koryo appeared to have won raves from Chicago mag a couple of years ago.

We were delighted with this place. We've just a couple of menu suggestions since the staff is very well qualified to make recommendations and I'd certainly take those, based on our experierience.  We both loved the Kalbi which are short ribs marinated in sweet soy and grilled.  Other things to try are the Bul Go-Ki which is translated as "fire meat", apparently not really very spicy, despite the name and Dol-Sot Bim Bap, an assortment of  vegetables and rice plus your choice of still more vegetables or beef or chicken.

If you arrive a bit early you probably won't have to wait even on weekends.  Weekdays appear safe from crowds and a no reservation policy doesn't seem like a threat here.  It is blessedly quiet too.  Koryo is closed on Mondays.

Koryo 2936 N Broadway 773.477.8510.

Custom Jewelry; Perhaps A Wedding Ring

services;  shopping

Tommy Ho, who is 44, was born in mainland China but today lives in the Chicago area.  He is very serious, wisely accessing his visitors until he knows them better.  Then he smiles and becomes friendly.  His workshop and offices are in the Mallers Building at 5 South Wabash. He was recommended to me by a friend who knows his way around the jewelry business.  I needed someone I could trust to make a special ring and Tommy got my ideas down perfectly, suggesting a change or two to improve the design.

Tommy arrived in Hong Kong at 18, friendless and jobless.  He found a master jeweler with whom to apprentice.  However, the master already had 25 students and said he could take no more.  Finally he made an exception for Tommy who slept in the kitchen, ate with the master's family and helped out as a "member" of same.  The master became a kind of father figure to Tommy, who told me movingly, incorporating a gesture, that the master had "heart".  At the end of four years of very long hours, rather than the requisite five, the master told Tommy he was ready to advance and could do much better financially by moving on.  He had been earning $25 monthly.

Today Tommy has been in the U.S. for twenty years, has a wife and two teenage sons and lives in a Chicago suburb.  He does custom jewelry work, which is rapidly becoming a lost art in this country, incorporating the "lost wax" method.  In this way the customer can see a sample of the design chosen fashioned first in wax and revisions can be done before the final product is cast, usually in gold.  I had a fairly heavy ring made in a very simple setting (it's impossible to find that sort of thing) and I couldn't be more delighted. 

If you or someone you know wants a custom wedding ring, this is definitely the place to go.  Since all work is done by hand, this is not an inexpensive process.  Prices begin at around $200 but they can ascend practically to the stratosphere, depending on the design you want.  Jewelry repair and diamond setting are also done.

Now Tommy visits Hong Kong on business and always looks up his old master.  Sadly, he reports, the master now works for someone else because he's not a very good businessman. 

Tommy Ho can be found at 5 South Wabash, Room 1503.  Call first to be sure he's in. 312.368.8593; 368.9020.

Singular Visions: Art Brut At Intuit

culture

Outsider art from Europe was dubbed "art brut" by the renowned French artist Jean DuBuffet who championed "raw art", such as the work by unschooled artists throughout Africa as the only true art.  This exhibit, containing some exceptional bold images by European and American art brut masters has generously been lent to the non-profit Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art by Milwaukeean Anthony Petullo (see photo) who is himself passionate about this work.  Artists represented includeAdolph Wolfli, Henry Darger, Madge Gill, Scottie Wilson, Michel Nedjar, Anna Zemankoza, Martin Ramirez and artists from the Gugging art program at the mental health institution outside of Vienna, Austria.

An opening reception will be held, Friday, September 16 from 5-8PM.

In conjunction with the exhibit, Intuit is sponsoring a free panel discussion on Saturday, October 22 at 1PM at the gallery with Katherine Murrell, curator of the exhibit and Michael Bonesteel, an instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Access Intuit's impressive website www.intuit@.art.org. 

Intuit is at 756 North Milwaukee Av., just south of Chicago.  Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday 12PM-5PM.  312.243.9088.

Don't Be Afraid Of Art; Try Starbucks Saturdays

culture

I love this idea because I'm convinced that many people are indeed scared of art.  I used to hate Matisse when I was an undergraduate and I've come a long way  since then by looking, looking, looking.  I heartily recommend LOOKING.   Invariably, learning follows.

Anyway, here's the real brainchild of the Chicago Art Dealers Assn. (CADA)

On Saturday mornings at 10:30, (indeed, every Saturday morning) a gallery owner or representative will meet with all interested parties including you at the Starbucks at 750 N. Franklin (at Chicago Av.) for a complimentary tour of three or four galleries in the River North gallery district.  Gallery owners will be available to answer questions about their current exhibit and will provide insights into the work presented, bios of the artists, etc.

Dan Addington of Gwenda Jay/Addington Gallery will be on hand September 17 and Rhonda Bacus of Byron Roche will lead the tour on September 24.  For names of galleries covered on each tour and other pertinent info access www.chicagoartdealers.org.