The collection of furniture, objects, and art at Beth Berke’s Chicago vintage furniture emporium South Loop Loft is both wonderfully eclectic and satisfyingly cohesive. While Berke is often drawn to iconic classics by recognizable names, she’s developed a keen eye for the unusual, too, which in a way reflects her curious path to the design world. Berke began as an aid worker in Afghanistan and then a social worker in Chicago, helping women and children in crisis; $30,000 sofas were not exactly top of mind. But a stint in San Francisco “on a social worker's budget,” she says, led her to estate sales and Craigslist, as well as a burgeoning passion for vintage furniture.