S-H-O-P-P-I-N-G: RAM, Mode & re.

Earlier this month Cardboard and I, along with our two friends, Formica and Hardwood, visited Ravenswood Antique Mart and Mode on Damen Avenue and the brand spanking new store re.revival on the corner of Irving Park and Southport. Our mission was to help Formica find some new goodies for her apartment, which we are currently helping her redecorate.

We oooh'ed and ahhh'ed over shiny chrome lamps, squealed in delight over a painterly horse print, and lusted after a set of Marimekko-esque mugs at the friendly Ravenswood Antique Mart. Formica scored a fantastic round white metal plant stand for $48.

RAM’s stock focuses on mid-century modern and Scandinavian furniture and accessories with occasional bursts of Art Deco items. The furniture is in good to very good shape, but prices are a little high (at least for our budgets).


Porcelain's favorite mugs @ Ravenswood Antique Mart


Ravenswood Antique Mart


Ravenswood Antique Mart


Ravenswood Antique Mart

Still on Damen Avenue, only a block further south, we got dirty trudging through the mountain of items at Mode. Shopping at Mode required quite a bit more work than Ravenswood Antique Mart. There were no artfully crafted displays making us drool and causing us to whip out our credit cards. This store required us to lift up lamps, paintings and globes to get at something we spied between the cracks. Sometimes we were lucky, sometimes not. If we were lucky, we had to raise the item above our heads and bellow, "How much?"

The owner gives somewhat fair prices, but always a little more than the items are worth, considering that one has to sort through a mountain of junk in order to find treasures. Haggling was created for stores like Mode. But it is an adventure and worth checking out, but remember to wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty.


Mode


For those of you who love minimalism! @ Mode

Our intrepid antique shopping team had planned on stopping at another antique store along Damen, but Mode left us tired and our eyes sore. We decided to change gears slightly and head over to the newly opened re.revival on Irving Park and Southport. (After checking out their web site we're not sure if this is a 2nd location or if they’ve moved here from their South Loop spot.) Re.revival had the best displays and arrangement of furniture and accessories, but the store left us somewhat cold. We were used to conversing with the friendly and chatty owners at both Mode and RAM, but at re.revival we got very little attention (not that that is bad, but we really felt ignored). Perhaps it was the absurdly large wheels and ceramic columns, or "Found art sculptures," that left us scratching our heads and wondering who really buys that kind of stuff. Or maybe it was the raw, sloppy plywood flooring (which made total sense as far as being able to hold weight but still looked a little rough). Either way, we left empty handed and called it a day.



Re.revival


Re.revival


Re.revival

For more photos from all stores, check out our Flickr photos.
All photos taken by our colleague Hardwood.