I find that stores run by artists tend to be interesting places, so after dropping my art off at the Springfield Museum of Art I visited Duohome (149 W Jefferson St, Springfield, OH).
I first visited the building back in 2016 to tour the art studio of Vicki Rulli and her husband Tom Heaphey. They bought an old industrial building in Springfield and then opened Itinerant Studio. It is a production art studio that sells art to designers, hotels and boutiques all over the world. Their work is beautiful. The black & white photo shows Tom and Vicki back in 2016.
During the pandemic the couple started renovating areas of the building that hadn’t been used. Two years ago, they opened Duohome. Vicki was there and I asked her to describe the store and how it came about.
“We’ve been selling to the design trade since 2008 with showrooms in New York, High Point and Atlanta. The brands we’re selling here have been our friends and colleagues, people selling alongside us at the same shows. We think of this as a “Lifestyle Store” and it’s modeled after how we live our own life.”
“Every single product that comes into DUO HOME must follow our “Four Goods”. They must be made by a good company that treats their employees well, have intentional and good design, be made with good materials, and have a good story to tell.”
Then Vicki started telling me some of the good stories of some of her products – about the employee-owned Ohio furniture company and the third-generation Danish company and others. I was reminded of my friend London Coe who sells chocolate from all over the world. If I ask about a chocolate bar, she can tell me about the person who made it and how it was made and the history of chocolate in that part of the world.
So, when you’re headed to Springfield to see the members’ show at the Springfield Museum of Art, check out Duohome and let Vicki show you some good products with good stories.
