Vintage Kitchenware At Martyn George | Chicago

We were pleased with our modest collection of antique kitchenware–a vintage scale, etched-glass cocktail coupes and a handful of ornate silver-plated flatware.

Pleased until we walked into Martyn George, that is.

The new West Town shop from food stylist Johanna Brannan Lowe is packed with vintage culinary paraphernalia. The artfully arranged collection is culled from Lowe's antiquing trips across the Midwest and Texas, as well as her family home in England ("I went rummaging through the attic," she said in a lovely British lilt).

It includes a rainbow of enamelware dishes, mugs and pitchers ($30 to $70); graters hung as wall ornaments; decorative tumblers; and French metal bannetons (bread-proofing baskets; $80) from the early 1960s. An English bone-handled carving set ($125), with fork, knife and sharpening rod, is especially gift-worthy, as are the stacks of blue and white English china that once belonged to Lowe's mother.

The shop is only open on weekends and by appointment during the week. Lowe plans to begin hosting monthly pairing events soon; they will cover such topics as wine and cheese, coffee and chocolate.

More reasons to return for another dose of antique envy, we suppose.

Martyn George, 1855 W. Grand Ave.; 312-340-4666 or martyngeorge.com