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Tails are wagging

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Times Staff Writers

WITH Oscar buzz in Tinseltown nearing a crescendo, owners of the Puppies and Babies pet boutique say devising their Valentine’s Day-themed window display was a no-brainer. “ ‘Brokeback Mountain’ is one of the great love stories of all time, so of course ‘Barkback Mountain’ just came out,” says Hannah Brand, who with husband Robert Moritz crafted a cheeky homage to the Heath Ledger-Jake Gyllenhaal film about two cowboys’ epic romance. The window’s canine mannequins -- one in a hunter’s parka, the other in a fisherman’s sweater -- huddle around a faux campfire, accompanied by squeaky squirrel toys, migrating geese and two clearly unused fishing rods. Brand, a former Jonathan Adler design assistant, and Moritz, right, say the scene has lured shoppers inside to the mix of baby shower gifts and presents for the four-legged: designer toys and accessories, and an original line of dog beds. Matching dog and baby blankets, anyone? 8363 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles; (323) 653-3995; www.puppiesandbabies.com.

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HAPPENINGS

Gathering of galleries

The key word for the Los Angeles Art Show: range. “It really does run the gamut from 17th century work to contemporary,” says Kevin Anderson, president of Anderson Galleries in Beverly Hills, one of more than 50 galleries from across the country participating in the exhibition and sale. Among the works on view: Joseph Caraud’s 1863 oil-on-panel, “The Ball of Yarn.” Another draw is the daily 2 p.m. lecture, with topics spanning photographic naturalism, the work of David Alfaro Siqueiros, picture framing and collecting in a bullish market. The show runs today through Sunday at Barker Hangar of the Santa Monica Airport. Admission is $18; for a $5 coupon, go to www.laartshow.com (click on “tickets”). More information: (310) 822-9145.

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HOME PAGES

A well-designed read

If you like magazines about shopping for the home but find Domino a bit sugary, keep an eye out for this London-based shelter publication. Aimed at a contemporary market, Living Etc. offers the usual at-home-with profiles, followed by a page of low-cost “Ideas to Steal.” One recent issue has shopping guides for medicine chests, wine racks and desk lamps, as well as stylish, tip-filled features on buying artwork, displaying books and designing children’s bedrooms. The magazine is a fierce champion of homegrown talent, which is a downside for U.S. readers, but at least websites are provided for featured products. Living Etc. is at select newsstands throughout L.A.; at Book Soup it sells for $7.75.

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FINDS

Bird motifs migrate indoors

You’d have to have your head in the sand not to notice the proliferation of bird motifs in home design, including graphic interpretations of doves and robins on embroidered pillows and porcelain tea sets. The newest way to feather the nest is cleverly constructed from interlocking sheets of precision cut laminate in a gun metal finish: This $350 ostrich console from France comes packed flat in a box and assumes a majestic stance as an accent piece that can be hung on a wall or stand on its own. (Warning: The interlocking construction is fragile. Keep it away from kids and dogs, unless you like doing jigsaw puzzles.) It is part of a group of deconstructed animal shapes that are decorative and functional, including a dog-shaped foot stool and a plywood deer head suitable for hanging over the fireplace, all available at Lost & Found Etc., 6320 Yucca St., Los Angeles; (323) 856-5872.

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