Howl Interiors

I am surprised about Bethany’s experience at Howl. This store… how do I say it… is very interesting. It’s small, so make a few circles so you don’t miss anything. The guy behind the desk crammed in a corner was super sweet and offered his knowledge on some of the quirky items in the store. There was a lady there making something weird in the middle of the store… I thought it was neat to see art up front. I bought a cool side table made from trays from an airplane service cart. $ 150…not too bad for something super original. Some of the stuff is pricey, but well worth the conversations your friends will have about you when they leave your house.

Wow, can’t believe I’m the first to review this place. You might recognize Howl, or at least its name and products: the company was first established in 2005 and has since sold its wares through local stores such as Mercury Design and Stag, and also at pop-​up locations at places like the annual E.A.S.T. art festival. Their new studio/​store, however, is a different creature altogether.
The word «eclectic» does not remotely come close to describing this place, and I imagine many interior designers would be rendered apoplectic at seeing the likes of a Spanish Renaissance Revival bookcase adjacent to a 19^th-​century set of French armchairs, a ‘70s-​era olive-​burl Milo Baughman dining table, and a faux-​fur sofa of unknown origin (though only because I couldn’t see its tag). Scattered about are the kinds of whimsical, weathered objet d’art one might encounter at Uncommon Objects or the Round Top Antiques Fair, ranging from small, well-​worn statuettes to a metal Goodyear tire sign to a warning sign, apparently stolen from a military base somewhere in the Middle East, warning people to stay away, written in both English and Arabic.
One of Howl’s specialties is mosaic mirrors comprised of myriad pieces of individual mirror, and they offer both off-​the-​rack work (including a $ 5,500 foyer mirror that appeared to be a good 12 feet tall, if not more so, but also more reasonably priced (and sized) pieces under $ 1,000) as well as bespoke. They also sell furniture designed by local artisans, ranging from the interesting to, well, kinda weird-​in-​a-​bad-​way.
While most of Howl’s wares mostly aren’t my personal style — those mosaic mirrors excepted; I’d easily buy one if I didn’t already have a similar piece in my dining room — I give them kudos for opening such an off-​the-​beaten-​path shop in such an off-​the-​beaten-​path location: a small strip due south of Uchi that until recently was an auto repair shop. I worry a little that this grand experiment might not be working — you gotta admit it’s a bit odd for a store open nearly two months to have garnered zero Unilocal reviews to date — but I certainly hope it does!

I hired Howl to build a table for me at the beginning of Jan. 2010. I paid then $ 1000 deposit. After I gave them the deposit they have been avoiding my phone calls and appointments. The table has not been made and after attempts to get my money back they have not responded. These guys are crooks. Do not use them.