SOFA CHICAGO 2007 ART FAIR ANNOUNCES
INAUGURAL ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS BREAKFAST PREVIEW
SPONSORED BY RELATED MIDWEST

CO-CHAIRS JOHN MAKEPEACE AND SUZANNE LOVELL
HONORARY CHAIR JACK LENOR LARSEN
IN ASSOCIATION WITH COWTAN & TOUT

CHICAGO – SOFA CHICAGO 2007, the Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair, the world’s leading fair devoted to contemporary decorative arts and design, announces Eye Object, its premier Designers Breakfast Preview on Friday, November 2, 2007 from 9:00 – 10:00 am.  At this by invitation only event, leading architects, designers and art consultants and their clients will enjoy first access to the fair immediately following Opening Night, with breakfast hors d’oerves and champagne cocktails. The 14th annual SOFA CHICAGO at Navy Pier’s Festival Hall, November. 2 – 4, 2007 presents masterworks bridging design and fine art by 100 major galleries and dealers from 19 countries including France, Italy, Great Britain and Scandinavia.

Mark Lyman, Director/Founder of SOFA CHICAGO and its sister show, SOFA NEW YORK said, “We’re delighted that Related Midwest, the Chicago-based developer of landmark residential and commercial buildings, is sponsoring our Designers Breakfast.  Related Midwest is part of The Related Companies (www.relatedmidwest.com), one of America’s finest developers, managers and financiers of premier real estate properties including the AOL Time Warner Center, NYC and City Place in West Palm Beach, FL.  Related is known for its market-leading properties distinguished by outstanding quality, craftsmanship and distinctive design, such as its new residential tower at 515 North Peshtigo Court in Chicago.”

Lyman continued, “We debuted SOFA’s Designer Breakfast Preview at our New York show last June and it was received with enormous enthusiasm. Over 75 design, architectural, art consultants and experts attended including John Barman, David Ling, John Saladino, Penny Baird and Stephanie Stokes. The Breakfast is an exclusive way to introduce clients to SOFA CHICAGO in the privacy of an invitation-only event, and acquire artworks on offer prior to the fair opening to the public.”

Lyman announced that Jack Lenor Larsen, President, LongHouse Reserve, East Hampton, NY and internationally known textile designer, author, and collector will be Honorary Chair of Eye Object, in association with Cowtan & Tout.

Co-Chairs are John Makepeace and Suzanne Lovell.

· John Makepeace OBE, is Britain's pre-eminent designer and furniture maker renowned for exploring issues of function, structure and expression.  He has completed major commissions for Banque Générale du Luxembourg, Liberty’s in London, both Templeton and Keble College at Oxford as well as museums, and corporate and private collections around the world.  His work can be found in London’s V&A Museum as well as the Art Institute of Chicago. Queen Elizabeth honored him with OBE for his distinctive contributions to art and design.

· Suzanne Lovell heads up the Chicago and New York architectural interior design firm Suzanne Lovell, Inc.  Her acclaimed work has been honored with inclusion in Architectural Digest’s AD100: The World’s Top Designers and Architects.  As further testament to her creativity, she founded Twill Textiles, a sophisticated line of mill produced fabrics based on time honored hand weaving traditions spanning global cultures.  She is also known for her distinctive curatorial sensibilities in designing homes of art collectors renowned internationally.