Rare Bird takes midcentury modern furniture to new level with second store in Midtown
Jackie Skelding is the young entrepreneur responsible for Curios and Rare Bird Interiors located for the last three years in the Railroad Square Arts District. While Curios is filled with vintage jewelry, beautiful furs, and geometric rugs, next door, Rare Bird is a repository of midcentury modern furniture that Skelding has curated from “design trips” all over the country.
On March 15, Skelding will open the second Rare Bird in Midtown, next to Ology Brewing. A 2,000-foot showroom with antique brick wall, high ceilings, and glass front, the store will feature what is hard to find in Tallahassee: authenticated, vintage, and gloriously beautiful furniture from the likes of Adrian Pearsall, Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, and Overman-Sweden.
While some may only picture sets from "Mad Men," Skelding points to the “wave” contours of a chaise, the up-turned corners of a brilliantly upholstered “pod” sofa, the warmth of a teak chest to underscore that even a single designer piece in a room changes everything.
“Midcentury modern includes Danish, Italian, as well as American pieces. The difference is in the quality. These pieces are not from a big box store … though they do try to copy them,” Skelding said.
While the Railroad Square store stocks mostly designs meant as “starters,” the Midtown store will bring in “privately sourced” higher-end sofas, chairs, chests and tables all displayed as you might in your home. Skelding also consults on integrating the pieces into the home, and says she collaborates with other designers “about 10 percent of the time.”
If you go
What: Grand Opening for Rare Bird in Midtown
When: 5-9 p.m. March 15
Where: 122 E. Sixth Ave.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Rare Bird opens second midcentury modern furniture store
