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FRESH SPOTS TO SHOP GAZE AND GRAZE , WE'RE THINKING PEDIGREES … SPUTNIK LAMPS … FASHION MYTHS … PUPPETEERS … MECHANICS OF SHOPPING. A TASTE FOR MID-CENTURY, JENNY ANTILL Native Citizen, 2311 Dunlavy St., 832.368.0754; nativecitizen.com We pounced upon our newest design discovery — the natty and tantalizing Native Citizen — days before its opening, en route to a Dominic Walsh Dance Theater meeting. The dance company is the home decor shop's upstairs neighbor; the pair share a two-story, circa-1930s former printing plant that is being reborn and contemporized by architect Carlo Di Nunzo. Native Citizen owner Will Shoemaker and co-owner Denny Stygstra, who also serves as the showroom's designer, preside over a 29-store retail empire, aka Langford Market, which is headquartered in Houston and has spread to six states. Besides clothing, each Langford Market boasts unique fixtures that are offered for sale in their phalanx of boutiques. Langford's team of pickers has been housing props in a 30,000 square-foot warehouse in town. So Shoemaker and Stygstra figured, why not add a design destination to their retail mix? And that's how Native Citizen came to be. The handsome 3,000-square-foot space is home to all manner of finds, from $2 painted clay pots to substantial pieces of furniture by Herman Miller and Steelcase, priced towards $2,000. Also in the mix (and singled out by Stygstra as best bets) are restored '60s and '70s lamps (including a cool Sputnik number), chandeliers formed from wall sconces and industrial touches such as coffee tables fashioned from salvaged factory parts (steals, from $300). This must-stop emporium also functions as an art gallery, representing the modernist-styled canvases of Mexican-born, Houston-based Edgar Medina; Medina's abstractions, priced $600 to $2,000, could pass for paintings on the Mad Men set. Open daily, noon to 5 pm. Catherine D. Anspon Stroll past the quaint patio with its Parisian-style park chairs and tables dressed with pots of faux dogwood, the sound of Nina Simone drifting in the air, and you'll find a picture window, beyond which crêpes are being poured and crafted. How can you resist doubling back to the front door? Welcome to Sweet Paris, the crêperie and cafe recently opened in Rice Village by Ivan Chavez and Allison Young. This couple has spun their passion for the delicate French specialty into an experience both savory and sweet for les citoyens of Houston. The pretty blue-and-white spot is open continuously, breakfast through dinner, with such crépe-wrapped temptations as chicken Alfredo with mushrooms ($8); turkey, grapes and brie ($7.75); Argentine dulce de leche ($6.50 to $7.25); and s'mores with torched marshmallows ($7.50). Also on the menu are turkey or prosciutto paninis ($8) and, of course, hot coffee creations. But there's more: Chavez and Young donate 25 cents from every crêpe sold to the World Food Program USA — just the amount needed to purchase one nutritious meal for a schoolchild in need. Now, that's sweet. Laurann Claridge COOL CAMELLA La Camella, 3122 White Oak Dr., 713.808.9377; lacamella.com P uppeteer, Montessori teacher, provocateur and trendspotting Rice grad Camella Clements' latest endeavor is a charming little boîte in the Heights, christened after her own moniker. Sited in a micro center on White Oak, footsteps from the bustling Onion Creek, La Camella's interiors and stocked goods reflect Clement's well-edited sensibility. On rolling racks hang the latest from smallCamella Clements with Vernon batch designers: Washborn, Mara Hoffman, Edith A. Miller and Marfa-based Fancy Pony Land. There are faux-bois ceramics by Houston clay talent Carole F. Smith; baubles by local artists Megan Whitenton, Phillip Durbin and Katy Heinlein (a biomorphic bracelet with little pompoms references Heinlein's work in large-scale soft sculpture); and abstract paintings with a touch of glitter by Lawndale-exhibited painter Alika Herreshoff (priced from $38 for a desk-sized canvas to $1,200 for impressive wall statements). Factor in Gee Wa Wa platform shoes, glossy makeup by Medusa, A. J. Morgan's collection of dramatic sunglasses and Mary Green lingerie (cleverly displayed in a clothespin lineup), and you have the vibe of La Camella. Catherine D. Anspon JENNY ANTILL JENNY ANTILL URBAN Sweet Paris Crêperie & Café, 2420 Rice Blvd. in Rice Village, 713.360.6266; sweetparis.com JENNY ANTILL A PATINA OF INDUSTRIAL AH, PARIS! MYTH Myth & Symbol, 2537 Times Blvd. in Rice Village, 832.422.6984; mythandsymbol.com The newly minted Myth & Symbol boutique is as well-crafted as its inventory. Note the scrawling Picasso-inspired illustrations of zodiac signs, Native Trang and Chau Nguyen American emblems and translated Nietzsche quotations in the windows. Don't overlook the dressing rooms wrapped in 7,000 feet of rope hand-dyed by the owners themselves. Sisters Trang and Chau Nguyen decided to open up shop because the brands they coveted — sustainable and responsibly made fashion, accessory and home collections — weren't obtainable locally. Chau's husband, Roque Strew, and friend Ameet Giatonde soon came on board. The resulting 800-square-foot shop, designed in collaboration with friends Renee Galang and Courtney Sanchez of Raye Studio, stocks men's and women's fashion and accessories labels including Wren, Uzi, Samantha Pleet, Ariana Bohling, Odette NY, Baggu, Rennes and Dream Collective. They're expecting fall shipments from designers Steven Alan, Lemlem, and Rachel Comey. They also carry items for the home by Fog Linen, Three Dot Pots and Masanori Oji for Futagami; paper goods by Gold Teeth Brooklyn; and a collection of independent periodicals and zines including Lucky Peach and Planet Journal, with more to come. Next up, Chau — who's also a high school art teacher — will host evening workshops on silkscreening, block-printing and watercoloring and will recruit others to teach skills such as knitting, bringing the Myth & Symbol well-crafted concept full-circle. Kate Stukenberg COMING HOME AGAIN Ex Domus Interiors, 2129 Westheimer Road, 713.530.1909; exdomusinteriors.com Ex Domus Interiors has settled into its new River Oaks address quite nicely. Owner Ken Bernstein knows the antiques business well: He first entered the field with a stall at MAI (Memorial Antiques and Interiors), then moved seven years later to the Antiques and Interiors collective on Dunlavy. Now he's grown up and out into his own aptly named two-story space (ex domus means "for the home" in Latin), which he stocks with a smashing mix of 18th- and 19th-century treasures from Belgium, Spain, Italy and France. But expect the unexpected here: While Bernstein's main focus is Country French antiques, he also dabbles in modern and vintage accessories and custom lighting. Laurann Claridge AUGUST | PAGE 12 | 2012