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Art deco designs still have plenty of appeal

Lifestyle Columns

The first Sunday in November is the time to turn your clocks back an hour. This year, you might want to look back a century, too. The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris ended in November 1925, making art deco, the style it exhibited (not to mention named), officially antique at 100 years old. Its appeal is still going strong; dealers, decorators, and trend watchers have noticed a surge of interest in art deco in recent years. The hundredth anniversary of the exhibition may be a factor, or maybe it’s just that the sleek lines and geometric ...

Halloween reads from the children’s room

Columns

It’s less than a week away from Halloween. I loved the night as a child. I loved all the preparation that went into finding or making the perfect costume for trick-or-treating each year. As a young mother I think I had even more fun dressing my children for their school parties and a night of scouring the neighborhood Halloween night looking for the house that gave out full size candy bars. I remember reading at least one spooky, or not so spooky, story before bed each night the week before Halloween. Here are some favorite picks for spooky, sometimes kooky, Halloween reads Room on ...

Skull steins are a creepy way to toast the season

Lifestyle Columns

What could be creepier than drinking out of a skull? Porcelain manufacturers in Germany have been making skull-shaped steins for hundreds of years. The one pictured here, which sold for $343 at Fox Auctions, was created by Ernst Bohne Sohne. This company started as a decorating studio in 1848 and was taken over by Gebruder Heubach, famous for their porcelain dolls, about 1919. (Although skull steins were among their most popular designs, no, “Bohne” is not German for “bone.”) As popular as skull steins were, they were traditionally meant for a different occasion than Halloween ...

SPOOKY

Lifestyle Feature

Two area haunted houses — Zoo Man’s Nightmare Underground and New Ulm Nightmares Haunted House — are back in action this October as Halloween is right around the corner. Zoo Man’s Nightmare Underground Brent “Zoo Man” Mielke has give tours of his location at 145 East Main ...

Giving his life to Guatemala

Communities

FAIRFAX — In many ways, Fairfax resident Daryl Rieke was living the American dream. Cars, motorcycles, a cozy spot in the country and a stable trucking job to support it all. Despite all of that, no amount of money or material possessions made him feel content. For years, Rieke has ...

Gaetano Pesce’s Feltri chair combines comfort, style

Lifestyle Columns

Postmodern furniture is a parade of quirky styles and colors, unexpected shapes and materials, and innovative construction. Few designers are more quirky, colorful, or creative than Gaetano Pesce. Like many of the great 20th-century designers, Pesce (1939-2024) trained as an architect and designed lamps, jewelry, other home furnishings, furniture, and buildings. He is known for his clever work with resin and extruded plastic, but his creative output has a softer side, too. His most famous furniture design might be the UP-5 chair, also called “La Mamma” for its curvy, feminine ...