A tribute to the Art Deco era, I Saw Designs, formerly located in Shorewood and now in the Riverview Antique Market at 175 S. Water St., has a unique collection of all-original vintage treasures with styles ranging from art deco to mid-century modern. Open since October and owned by Wisconsin native Sara Wright, the store's one-room space combines a sense of art history with a keen eye for nostalgic memorabilia and is filled with rare and intriguing objects from a not-quite-forgotten past.
Schooled in art history and experienced with a lifetime of stockpiling antiques, Wright's innate love for art collecting has sent her both far and wide and close to home searching for items telling a story. Always on the prowl, Wright's pursuits have sent her to estate and yard sales as well as flee markets and auctions.
To locate an item's historical significance, Wright uses books, catalogs and patent information and then prices the objects accordingly. Wright keeps these books on hand at the store so shoppers can explore the histories of items as they peruse. Most of her items are marked under book value.
Featuring an eclectic range of objects, I Saw Designs is filled with small knickknacks such as Coca-Cola bill holders, old toys, metal roller skates, wooden toboggans, Hollywood lounge-style cocktail shakers and matchbooks from famed locations. Board games dated back to the '50s and '60s, furniture, luggage, kitchenware, hatboxes, blankets and formica and chrome kitchen tables can be found here as well.
Filled with some notable rarities, I Saw Designs also houses an all-original Frigid-Aire circulator from the 1930s, items from the Century of Progress 1933-'34 Chicago World's Fair, Barnum & Bailey posters and original works of art by Wisconsin-born artist Peter Rotier that were commissioned by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the '30s.
Wright's hand-picked selection of classic pieces is a salute to the vibrant geometrics and mass-produced, technology-worshipping shapes for which the Art Deco era is noted. Period music adds ambience and shrouds the space in an authentic 1920s and '30s feel.
Wright's collection is so extensive that it can't all fit into the show and overflows into a storage space and her home. Most items are available for rent and are perfect fixtures for period theatre pieces. Even some Hollywood bigwigs scoping out Milwaukee for movie locations have checked out I Saw Designs for set decor. Wright is looking forward to working more with interior decorators in the future and she also hopes to design her own fashionable kitchenware and furniture.
