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“Comfort for the body, beauty for the senses, power for the imagination” – that’s how architect Ben Thompson (1918-2002) defined lifestyle, and he sold it from a store called Design Research located in a landmark building he designed in Cambridge, Massachusetts.  Offering a warm, eclectic, colorful, international version of modernism that mixed folk art with designer products, Design Research, or D/R introduced the revolutionary designs of Finland’s Marimekko to the U.S. market.  Inviting customers to “celebrate the art in everyday life”, the store – which opened in 1969 – eventually grew to 12 locations.  Now, former associates of Ben’s have launched a unique 40th anniversary retrospective exhibition in the D/R flagship store in Cambridge.  If you want to get a sense of what shoppers and passersby of 40 years ago viewed as an exciting aesthetic experience, take a stroll through Harvard Square to the D/R building where you’ll see a compelling collection of original products beautifully displayed in the place where it all began.