The Guiding Light

Having collected vintage furniture and home accessories for more than 20 years, Rachel Eden opened the sunny, delicately arranged boutique Eden & Eden.

You could say that 45-year-old British import Rachel Eden, a former graphic designer and jewelry maker, has a keen eye for design. Having collected vintage furniture and home accessories for more than 20 years, she found storage in her Palo Alto home becoming scarce. “I asked myself, ‘Why am I living like this?’” Eden decided to sell her prized possessions—everything from dusty spools of vintage lace to a set of wooden chairs orphaned by Stanford University—and opened the sunny, delicately arranged boutique Eden & Eden (560 Jackson St., 415-983-0490), in SF’s antiques district last November. To keep up her inventory and to get acquainted with the latest crazes, Eden makes frequent trips to her homeland. “Europe is a solid two years ahead of America in terms of design,” she explains. Here, Eden reveals a few good trends that have crossed the Atlantic.

“The gothic revival goblets from the UK’s Watts Contemporaries are a good example of modern nostalgia—when the traditional gets a new lease on life.”

“Have you seen the Vase Pixel by Didier Chaudanson in France? It’s a series of modular vases inspired by digital pixels that create different video game–like patterns depending on how you arrange them.”

“Recycled dishes are very special. The Rehabilitated Dishware line by Sarah Cihat is a daring amalgamation of unloved china and modern graphics.”

“I love elegant kitsch, like the midcentury porcelain figurines by Cmielow, a factory in Poland that thrived in ‘50s and ‘60s.”

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