“It can’t just be about money; it has to be about what you love,” explains Lisa Purdon of the Brooklyn furniture store Cosmos Cosmos, which she and her business partner, Cosmo Prete, opened in 1998. The two started out as artists, fabricating furniture into sculpture. Eventually they turned their passion for finding interesting modern pieces into a home-furnishings boutique unlike any other. Tucked in a corner of the store, for example, on top of an Eames lounger is a Paul McCobb table. And, depending on whether Purdon and Prete have rearranged the display area that day, you’ll see everything from a $350 settee in need of reupholstering (it has an amazing frame!) to a $15,000 mint-condition Jens Risom sofa; from a ship’s spotlight (set directors like them) to Breuer’s Wassily chair (White or black? You choose) hanging from the ceiling. The partners’ rationale: “We choose our furniture based on what we think is beautiful.”
Also unlike many stores, Cosmos Cosmos offers “full service,” meaning it buys on request for all client types. “We listen to our gut,” says Purdon, “but we also listen to our client. If someone tells us he or she wants a blue sofa, we’ll find the coolest blue sofa our eyes have ever seen, based on the person’s budget and specifications.”
So if you are looking for a white vinyl sofa or a Neil Small mirror (note: Cosmos Cosmos is one of the few original collectors in the country), or if you just want to hang out in a Corbu chair all day, then step into this high-brow, high-end shop. As Purdon puts it: “We are a little rock-and-roll in our approach to art and commerce, but we are very educated and sophisticated about mid-century modern.” (via Elements of Living)