The elegant single-stem bud vase serves its purpose at many a restaurant, but there’s a fresh tabletop trend in town, and one Chicago woman is largely driving the surge.
Food writer Heather Shouse (if you haven’t seen her byline above restaurant reviews in Time Out Chicago, maybe you’ve noticed it on the Stephanie Izard book Girl in the Kitchen) has taken an idea born out of countless hours spent dining out and turned it into a burgeoning business. After she launched Bottle & Branch earlier this year, Shouse’s installations became focal points at spots like Wicker Park’s Trenchermen, Mindy Segal’s revamped Hot Chocolate, the hit rooftop bar at Hotel Lincoln and the just-opened Bill Kim venture Belly Q.
Shouse can create similar statement-making plantings and installations for your home; moss walls like the one at Belly Q require almost zero maintenance, and other options--like hand-blown glass tube terrariums that make gorgeous centerpieces for rustic dining tables--need just a little humidity to keep thriving. (Prices range from $50 for a nightstand piece to $2,000 for a very large moss wall.)
Our favorite Bottle & Branch idea: antique, glass-front medicine cabinets filled with bits and pieces of nature collected from our own ramblings.
We knew our eye for exquisite lichen samples would come in handy someday.
Email heather@bottleandbranch.com for custom orders; small pieces are available at Roost, 5634 N. Clark St., and P.O.S.H., 613 N. State St.
