"The most important thing is that you love what you're doing, and the second is that you are
not afraid of where your next idea will lead" - Charles Eames

WHO WE ARE

At South Loop Loft we are treasure hunters, thrill seekers and design obsessed shop owners with a passion to bring the undiscovered and the not easily found to our design colleagues, home owners and city.

We are World Travelers
One month you may find us on a rickshaw in Chiang Mai Thailand heading to the Hmong fabric market. Another month you will find us diligently scouring for art in the Monastiraki flea market in Athens or possibly having tea whilst sitting on a stack of tribal rugs with our friends in Marrakesh. While another month we might be diligently hunting for treasures in the small antique shacks on the dusty streets Addis Ababa Ethiopia. Wherever we are, we’re sure to be sharing it with you on Instagram. Whenever you’re here for a visit, we’re happy to indulge in some travel talk.

We are Lifelong Learners
We travel, we search, we learn and we share.  We are eagerly curious and always pursuing a deeper understanding of the makers, the crafts and the history behind our objects. We learned first hand about Kilim rugs while visiting the rug shops of the Badakshan province of Northeastern Afghanistan. We've sought out talented ceramists and artists in Southern Italy and spent hours in studio visits, learning their stories and their crafts. We are constantly seeking to become connoisseurs of our crafts and are passionate about educating our clients. 

We are Dreamers
Dreamers of the unexplored, the unfound and the possibilities. We are realizers of the beautiful, the handmade, and the soulful objects that bring history and depth to an environment.  Our philosophy is to never stop pursuing new ideas. We are constantly evolving as a result. 

We are Curators
Buying and selling isn’t just commerce. We are as much a shop as we are logisticians, currency traders, catalogers, We imagine, we spend weeks at a time searching, we purchase, ship, research, restore, photograph, market, and style. We watch trends, predict trends, dismiss trends, listen, learn and observe our talented Design Community and then curate, collect and labor to find the BEST pieces to make your projects and homes sing. Finding the good stuff isn't easy work but we wouldn't have it any other way. 

We are Human Beings
We’ve been in the trenches as volunteers in Guatemala, China, Afghanistan, North Carolina, and most recently, Ethiopia. Our vision is much bigger than what resides on our showroom floor. Proceeds of all of our Sales go to support economic and community health opportunities for marginalized communities in Soddo Ethiopia as well as supporting and providing advocacy for children in Foster Care in Chicago.

OUR FOUNDER  

Beth Berke founded South Loop Loft in 2014 after working for many years as a Social Worker. Following the completion of an MA in Intercultural Studies and Community Development, she worked in Afghanistan as an Aid Worker until the political climate changed and she returned to the US. 

Focused on Child Welfare and serving women in crisis for the next 5 years, Beth served as an Adoption Coordinator, Foster Care Case Worker and Adoption Reunion Specialist. Following a cross country move to San Francisco and the inevitable job hunting that came with it, she discovered a passion for finding vintage and one of a kind furniture while navigating her way around the West Coast. 

Upon returning to Chicago and moving into a South Loop Loft, Beth began to carefully collect unique vintage pieces for her historic home. What started casually as a hobby quickly turned into a full time job; Beth declined a position with her former employer and began South Loop Loft.