Viviana Langhoff opens intimate Chicago flagship for custom jewelry consultations

Viviana Langhoff has built Adornment & Theory’s new Chicago flagship around a simple idea: custom jewelry sells best when the space invites conversation. The 1,200-square-foot store at 1433 W. Chicago Ave., in West Town, is arranged around three consultation salons, making the consultation itself part of the product rather than an add-on.

The shop had a soft opening in April 2026 and will host a grand-opening party with CS on May 28. More importantly, Langhoff bought the building, giving the business a permanent home after years of growth in borrowed and expanded quarters. Founded in 2017, Adornment & Theory first operated from about 550 square feet of showroom space before a spring 2021 expansion nearly doubled the footprint. In 2022, InStore described the business as having a 1,100-square-foot showroom within 1,750 total square feet, along with three employees and a 4.9-star Google rating.

Langhoff designed the interior herself, drawing on her upbringing in Puerto Rico, her global travel, and a Charles Eames idea about designers as thoughtful hosts. The result is a room meant to slow people down: jungle-pattern wallpaper, midcentury-modern-inspired partitions, organic shapes and oversized inspiration boards create a setting that feels closer to a private atelier than a conventional jewelry counter. That matters in a category where the most meaningful sale is often not a ready-made piece, but a ring, pendant or custom setting that has to carry a name, a memory or a milestone.

The jewelry mix reinforces that message. Alongside Langhoff’s own work, the flagship carries pieces by Sofia Zakia, Céline Daoust, Alex Monroe, 12th House and ParkFord. Adornment & Theory says it curates jewelry by Black, brown, Indigenous and women-identifying designers from around the world, with an emphasis on ethically sourced gemstones, vintage-inspired custom wedding rings and personalized service. That positioning gives the store a sharper point of view than a generic luxury boutique: the selling floor is also a conversation about who makes jewelry, where materials come from and what a custom piece can signify.

Langhoff has long treated the business as both creative practice and cultural project. Her inspirations range from Moorish architecture, Belle Époque and Morocco to Art Deco, Indian metalwork, Art Nouveau, ikebana, oral histories, Kehinde Wiley and Zaha Hadid. During the pandemic, she moved much of the business online, hosted IGTV and Zoom events, even a Rihanna dance party on Zoom, and hand-delivered custom-designed care packages to bridal couples. The new flagship makes that ethos permanent in brick and mortar: a place where customization, hospitality and identity are built into the room itself.