Covet Design is now Frank Modern Furniture + Art
Covet Design, the south Minneapolis home store known for its unique collection of affordable, modern furniture and local art, has rebranded as Frank Modern Furniture + Art. Despite the name change, the store is carrying on with the same unique collection of design-driven home furniture and décor.
Owner Christy Frank says she decided to rebrand the store to help distinguish it from its sister store, Covet Consign, which is located next door. Frank first opened Covet Consign in 2011 as a stylish, well-designed alternative to other consignment furniture stores. Covet Design was founded to complement its consignment counterpart.
“I had always shopped secondhand and knew you could start a consignment business with a very small budget,” she says of opening Covet Consign, “so I started collecting things in the hopes of opening my own shop.” Within a year, she had a house full of home goods and rented a 500-square-foot storefront on Lake Street. A year later, she moved into the current location at 38th and Chicago, where she debuted a mix of consigned furniture and home goods as well as a different featured local artist each month.
Over the years, she began to notice there were certain things that were difficult to find on consignment, such as quality couches, armchair pairs, and rugs. When the storefront next door opened up, she jumped at the opportunity and two weeks later, opened Covet Design. But soon she realized shoppers were having trouble distinguishing between Covet Consign and Covet Design, thus the rebrand.
Frank Modern Furniture + Art
When selecting goods, Frank keeps in mind small-space living as well as urban eclectic spaces. “I look for pieces that are smaller in scale and can offer dual purposes,” she says. “I also look for handmade pieces, and affordability is always at the forefront of my buying decisions.”
In addition to a selection of quality, affordable furniture from Bowery & Grand, Euro Style, Greenington, Innovation Living, Modway, Phillips, Tov, and Moe’s, Frank Modern stocks local art by more than a dozen local artists including Liza Sylvestre, Kate Iverson, Ashley Mary, and Wing Young Huie. Frank also carries handmade décor and home goods, including throw pillows (designed by Frank herself), pottery, shelves made from locally sourced wood, handmade mobiles from wood and copper, airplant hanging vases, hand-cast trivets, light fixtures, spoons, and cutting boards from makers across the U.S., as well as fair-trade baskets from Africa.
As for Covet Consign, shoppers can still expect to find a great selection of consigned furniture and home accessories. She hopes customers will still check out both stores when they visit one or the other. “My personal decorating incorporates both vintage and modern pieces,” she says, “and I encourage others to explore that space as well. It’s rare that a customer has a house that is completely vintage or completely new furniture, and so they have a need for both sides of the furniture market.”
Today, the store kicks off its 6th annual Holiday Art Show, running through the first week of January. It features more than 100 pieces of art from 20 local artists, all priced under $100–perfect for holiday gift giving.
@ Frank Modern Furniture + Art, 3736 Chicago Ave. S., Minneapolis, 612-825-4034, frankmodern.com