While working together on his house, the collaboration between homeowner Sid Parakh and interior designer Elizabeth Krueger went so well that a business was born: Opame Collective. The West Loop gallery offers furniture and objects designed by Krueger and Parakh under the Opame moniker, as well as ceramics and art by emerging artists that the partners have found and loved.
“We were working on Sid’s last house together, and he asked me if I would ever be interested in a business,” Krueger says. “I’d been approached before, but this time just felt right.” Neither Parakh, who is a corporate executive, nor Krueger had previous retail experience, but after going through the process of working with makers to craft pieces for Parakh’s house as well as sourcing art for his growing collection, they felt ready to bring their aesthetic forward.
“We’re looking at artists who have unique and soulful voices, where their work reveals a piece of themselves,” Parakh says. “Everything is, of course, very beautiful, but we also want pieces that evoke emotion.” This fall, the gallery will unveil new items in the Opame Collective line with pop-ups and other special events to celebrate their artists and collaborations.
