INSIDE & OUT : All Wet

While most of us thirsting for a trip down a water slide will still be going to an amusement park for the thrill, those with the wherewithal can have one as close as their own back yard.

The authentic pool park water slide by Hammacher Schlemmer & Co. Inc., is the same commercial model found in recreation parks.

With three turns and straightaways with lots of speed, pool play goes beyond Marco Polo or trying to dunk your sister or brother.

The slide, which is 16 feet high, has smooth fiberglass flume sections, galvanized steel frame and supports, and aluminum stairs and deck sections.

Water moves to the top of the slide via a 10-horsepower pump and a PVC tubing system that hooks directly to a pool’s filter.

For setup, the slide requires a minimum poolside area 33 feet wide and 25 feet back from the pool. And you’ll need to be able to cough up the purchase price, $68,000, which includes delivery and installation.

If this is too much slide for your pool area, Hammacher Schlemmer offers a smaller version (11 feet high; fits an area 28 feet wide by 19 feet back from the pool), for $53,000.

For more information or to order through the catalogue, call (800) 759-5700 or visit the Illinois-based company’s store in Beverly Hills, 309 N. Rodeo Drive, (310) 859-7255.

Handcrafted Tile

Tile-maker Stellar Ceramics offers unique designs and finishes for tiles that make ideal accents or focal points in the bathroom, kitchen, foyer or fireplace.

The company’s newest line of carved relief tile, the Fantasie Series (starting at $8 each), has five tile styles--the Empire, the Versailles, the Fontana, the Green Man and the Fantasie. All are produced on white clay body and available in a variety of colors. The tiles, designed by artist Noelle Faulkner, have an Old World charm.

Terra-cotta tiles are offered in unusual finishes, including Jeweltone ($27-$30) and Ancient Sands ($68). The finishes are sandblasted for a textured, multicolored look. A new glaze, Antique Wash, was recently introduced in both terra-cotta and white clay body; it gives tile a distressed, antique look.

Stellar Ceramics tiles are available in Orange County at Walker Zanger, 2960 Airway Ave., Suite B-104, Costa Mesa.

Art Guide

Interested in finding works by area artists to complete your decor? The “Guide to Artists in Southern California” is a source for locating artists from Los Angeles to San Diego. Galleries and museums are included among the listings.

The directory (about $17, 128 pages), compiled and edited by artist Vanessa Obten, is the first in a series of regional artist directories from ART Resource Publications in Santa Monica.

The work of the 67 artists featured ranges from traditional to avant-garde. Each artist is profiled, along with a photograph of his or her work. Also published are the artists’ studio addresses and phone numbers where they can be contacted.

“The recent changes in the art market have created the need for new ways for artists to connect with the art-interested. These changes led me to produce the guide,” says Obten, who has been an artist for 20 years.

The guide is available at Brentano’s and Waldenbooks throughout the county or by calling ART Resources, (310) 399-5245.