March 30, 2007

Next Stop: Wonderland

Base Annex Opens

Alice: I’ve had nothing yet, so I can’t take more.
Mad Hatter: You mean you can’t take less; it’s very easy to take more than nothing.

Except, of course, when you want to take everything.

Base Annex — the latest creative endeavor for Steven Giles, curator of boutique/toy store/salon/listening station Base on Lincoln Road — inspires such yearning. Located in a former independent cinema space, the whimsical mini department store fashioned after the trippy world of smoking caterpillars and grinning felines showcases everything from handbags to home goods.

Down the rabbit hole, you’ll find colors and clouds; antlers and empty spaces; and shiny, pretty things. There are funky baubles like a pistol-shaped vase, Assouline notebooks, and fantastical cuckoo clocks. Fairy-tale deer live among clothing and accessories by Vivienne Westwood, L.A.M.B., Tsubi, Martin Margiela, and more.

Throw in some chairs on the walls and Marie Antoinette in a phone booth, and you’ll have to wonder just what, exactly, you’ve stumbled upon.

Or, rather, into.

Base Annex, 927 Lincoln Road, suite 118, Miami Beach (305-695-4026 or baseworld.com).