The Magazine
This is the avant garde. You don’t really
know what originality means in furniture until you have visited this
store.
The people here believe that they carry the
"best selection of modern, classic modern, and avant-garde
furniture." They say that their suppliers are the "creme-de-la-creme"
of European manufacturers, and so far as we can judge they could well be
right.
Most suppliers are European, and the store does
have a European look. It has drawn visitors from Northern California,
and now increasingly from around the country.
When you grow tired of the Arts and Crafts
look, refresh yourself here with something entirely different. They
haven’t entirely ruled wood out, but it makes only cameo appearances
on the premises, where abundant use of metal is the rule.
Our attention was drawn randomly to a square
glass coffee table with legs and four large wheels, a
lemon-yellow refrigerator available in 199 additional colors, a wall
shelf of glass held securely by nifty small metal clamps.
Everything is in good taste. Nothing is
designed to shock to no purpose. All is intended to be used. This is a
furniture store, not an art gallery.
The Magazine prides itself on personal service
and delivery. They seek the fastest times for custom orders. This is
important, because in many high fashion stores, with Italian suppliers,
delivery can take forever. (See viewer comment below.)
Prices are not inexpensive, of course, but not
outlandish considering the creativity exhibited everywhere.
Unsurprisingly, the store rents for films,
television, and photographic studios.
1823 Eastshore (near Hearst), Berkeley, CA. Phone 510-549-2282. Website:
www.themagazine.org
Hours: M-S 10-6, Sun 12-4. Easy parking. E-mail: the mag@pacbell.net.
Second store at 528 Folsom Street, San Francisco. Phone 415-777-4707.
Viewer comment:
Dennis C reports (5/01) that he has bought a
number of items from this store and is happy with the service. (He
cannot say the same for all other stores with which he has dealt.)
