Love fine china but don’t want to buy a 12-piece set of place settings you’ll use just a few times? Here’s a great idea: A new shop in Oak Park offers hosts the option to rent place settings for small gatherings (less than 50). The struggling economy has brought out creativity in lots of entrepreneurs; Bryn Reese and her husband, Dean Klovens, just opened Les Tableaux in downtown Oak Park to sell and rent fine china, flatware, service pieces, and more. Reese designs some of the patterns in her shop (such as those pictured here) and has them manufactured in Antioch at Pickard. Four-piece place settings rent for about $25; you can buy one for between $300-$570. The shop also sells hostess gifts and accessories, such as pashmina scarves meant to be used as table runners.

—JAN PARR 

There’s a new vintage store in town—West Town. Seek Vintage opened this weekend at 1432 W. Chicago Ave. Pals and diehard vintage hounds Chris Hunt and Audra Yeomans feature a mix of vintage fashion, jewelry, and home accessories in their 1,300-square-foot space. Buying a gift? They’ll put it in a groovy box handmade from vinyl record covers.

—JAN PARR

Spurlock Antiques & Decorative Arts, a relative newcomer to the antiques scene in Chicago, is offering discounts on existing inventory (such as this unique desk made of Jasper stone) and consulting services. Serena Newmark Mout, who has done stints as Alessandra Branca’s art and antiques assistant and at Carswell Rush Berlin in New York, opened her business last year. She’s offering 30 percent off all merchandise in her small warehouse (open by appointment at 1645 N. Francisco Ave.) and is charging $30 an hour (down from $50) for consulting. Wondering if grandma’s couch is worth reupholstering? Looking for a specific type of painting or furniture? Mout can help. She works with designers, collectors, and architects to quickly locate pieces and give advice. The sale runs through February 28.

—JAN PARR

We’re sad to announce that after more than 30 years of business, Gold Coast Galleries Antique Store is closing its doors—but not before holding a liquidation sale of its enormous inventory this weekend. Victorian and Eastlake furniture, as well as Biedermeier mirrors and chairs and a monumental Chinese floor vase can be found among the 22,000 square feet of vintage radios, vitrines, sculpture, art glass, juke boxes, and much more. All is expected to go for pennies on the dollar. The sale is Saturday from 10 to 5 and Sunday from 12 to 3. Numbers will be distributed at 9:30 Saturday. 3250 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-327-7600.

—Lisa Gartner

Zella Brown is one of our favorite spots for Jonathan Adler-style furniture and accessories that can really wake up a room. All merchandise (excluding consignment items) is half off til December 23.

–JAN PARR  

Last week we checked out Repeat, a new vintage furniture and accessories shop we were alerted to by our friends at Thos. Moser. Repeat, owned by Joe Hunnewinkle and Tom Leahy, who owned Mudd, a card/gift store on Broadway, is a cross between a really great thrift store and a vintage furniture shop, with lots of funky, affordable midcentury finds. The owners scour thrift stores and sales in out-of-the-way places, and paint and reupholster where necessary. We spied a walnut table with an X inlay for $135; clean-lined nesting tables, three for $188; a reissue of a Sol Bloom wire and mesh catchall for $160. 1535 W. Division St., 773-278-7983. Open Thursdays–Sundays.

—JAN PARR

A few weeks ago, I stopped by Morlen Sinoway’s shop and he told me I have to start covering the Chicago indie-design pop-up scene. After he said this, I started hearing about pop-up plans brewing left and right. For those who haven’t gotten the memo on this whole concept, it’s when independent designers and online shopkeepers without permanent gallery or retail spaces “open shop” temporarily in a random space to sell or exhibit their wares. This past summer, a few of these types of shows took place around the same time as NeoCon and Morlen’s Guerilla Truck Show. (Ironically, Target had a pop-up store this summer as well, in the space next to the Tribune Tower—not so indie, but still very fun.) One of the non-corporate under-the-radar shows was put together by Object Design League, which we blogged about on Design Dose this past June. Now, the group is partnering with the Bucktown antique shop Pavilion for a special holiday pop-up store-within-in-a-store on Black Friday (November 27). This is a great opportunity to buy some completely unique design objects for gifts, while also supporting local designers (along with others from across the country). Shown above are two items that will be on display, designed by Chicagoans: Steven Haulenbeek’s Dubbot modular lighting system and Materious’s Piggy (a new take on the popular mini-bank featuring a mommy and baby pig that must be together to stand). Also popping up for a short holiday run is Willow, which closed its brick-and-mortar doors recently and is now open online only. This temporary shop is open now at 850. N. Damen Ave. and will be there through the end of January. We recommend… um, popping by both. And let us know if you hear of others!

—GINA BAZER

–JAN PARR

Furniture designer Bladon Conner, who has been featured on this blog and in our magazine several times (his groovy designs are carried at Scout and Post 27), is going to be on TV this weekend, talking about his “edgy sustainable furniture,” which is the topic of the NBC show “Open House” Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Connor will also be hosting an open house of his own at his new studio space at 1845 W. 35th St. in McKinley Park (near Bridgeport), Saturday, November 14, from 3 to 8 p.m. Check out the designs that will be on the show, and plenty of his other fantastic work. Snacks will be served. Check his Web site for more details as the event approaches.

—GINA BAZER

Vintage junkie Katie Ernst, who has a great eye and has amassed loads of furniture and accessories from estate sales and flea markets over the years, has just opened Revision Home in West Town. It’s by-appointment-only, but every few months, for back-to-back weekends, it will be open with regular business hours. The first sale of this kind will start today (Friday, Oct. 16) and go through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day; next Friday through Sunday, there will be a repeat performance, same hours. After that, the next sale will not be until February, but you can order select pieces online or call Katie at 312-226-2221 for a private viewing. The showroom is clean, pristine and put together, thanks to the stylings of interior designer Susan Swanson, who has purchased a lot of Ernst’s inventory in the past for clients. Prices are good, as is the quality: lamps hover around $200, smaller accessories are less than $100 (the Deco stool shown above was $95; it sold). At a press preview, we also saw a cool factory-cart coffee table for $800 and a set of four white-lacquered Hollywood Regency-style chairs for $1,600. I bought the bronze bird above ($35) and it’s already perched on my mantel.

—GINA BAZER