Jessica Herman

Two headless torsos cloaked in black apparel dangling from the ceiling are not what you might expect for a boutique's window display. Then again, hejfina (1529 North Milwaukee) is not your typical boutique.

"It's an interactive funhouse," says owner Heiji Choy of her shop that opened just days ago. "I want it to be a common space where people explore and take something away about modern design, architecture and fashion." Meanwhile, melodies by Bjork accompany the credits of a Fellini film that scrolls down the wall.

At first glance, the shop projects a minimalist veneer, with one fat exposed pipe running across the ceiling; but Hejfina emphasizes her intention to create an inviting space where her Wicker Park neighbors can lounge among low-to-the-ground globes of light and absorb the Bauhaus and mid-century Modern classic styles. Shelves at the front end house a virtual six-degrees of separation--those nice big art books by Phaidon and Taschen connect artists Klee and Magritte to architects Mies van de Rohe and Louis Sullivan to everything else in the store.

Fostering a "design dialogue" between the woodwork of three Chicago custom furniture designers--Michael Koehler, Ism furniture and Carson Maddox--Choy invites clients to commission pieces such as credenzas and coffee tables for their personal spaces. As for the actual apparel, hejfina carries a selection of men's and women's casual and dressy clothing. For women, the limited lines of shoes include Juan Antonio Lopez and Venera Arapu and are supplemented by subtly nuanced items such as A.P.C. dress shirts, silk Unis blouses, Cacharel pea coats and ginette bowtie length scarves; men's includes sweatshirt-style tees by Duffer of St. George, Ernest Sewn denim, lots of Yoko Devereaux designs and shirts with silk-screened images by Kadorable. Look closely and notice the fuchsia animated line drawing silk-screened on a Kadorable shirt repeated on canvas on the back wall.

Even if you decide to leave the store without one of hejfina's plastic suitcases holding "The Phaidon Atlas of Contemporary World Architecture" in your clutches, you will have witnessed a meticulously calculated boutique.

"The pieces I've chosen all adhere to the same principles," Choy plainly summarizes.

(2004-09-23)

Also by Jessica Herman

Spin Control
A compilation mixed by Philadelphia producer/DJ King Britt and produced by Milan Records, is intended to embody the experience of lounging on the Chicago Park Hyatt's seventh floor
(2004-09-14)

To the Gill
"Let's put it this way. I never dress my women in black and red. It's just gross," says Mark Gill
(2004-09-08)

The art of the discount
Exercising a kind of affirmative action, Lincoln Park Athletic Club offers an artist's discount
(2004-08-31)

Boutiqueville
Unlike department stores, boutiques give shoppers a chance to bag one-of-a-kind items while allowing local designers to get their name on the shelf
(2004-08-31)

Unabashedly cheesy
(2004-08-25)

Bird watching
(2004-08-25)

Pretty in pink
(2004-08-17)

Shopping around
(2004-08-10)

Unstoppable
(2004-08-03)

Cupping runneth over
(2004-07-27)

Fancy fleas
(2004-07-13)

iSpin
(2004-07-13)

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