INSIDE & OUT : Beachin’

What’s your sign?

Be it “Stop,” “No Parking” or “Main St.,” the Surf City store in Huntington Beach can point you in the right direction.

The store, operated by Nelson (Bud) Wescott and Tina Viray in a joint venture with the city, features authentic city collectibles, such as road and street signs ($20 to $40), parking meters ($55) that were built in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s and refurbished fire hydrants ($350).

“We get new stuff all the time,” says Wescott. “[This week] we’re getting traffic lights and police stuff.”

Besides city surplus, works by Huntington Beach artists--including surfboard clocks by Otho ($20-$45) and refrigerator magnets ($15)--are on display in the store, which opened Oct. 20 at 21531 Hamilton Ave.

Half of the proceeds from Surf City goes to community services.

For more information, call (714) 374-0277.

Birds of a Different Feather

Most egrets like to wade in the water, but these birds are landlubbers.

Created by Dean Petaja for the Wind & Weather catalogue, these garden sculptures are made of diamond plate, rebar, coils and expansion metal. Petaja is known for sculpting pieces from ordinary materials.

The white egrets come in two sizes--the large bird ($619) measures 39 inches wide and 45 inches tall. The smaller version ($365) is 22 inches wide and 32 inches tall.

Call Wind & Weather at (800) 922-9463.

On the Books

If your late-night reading is keeping your partner up too, let the NiteOwl by Lumatec shed some light on the situation.

The reading lamp (about $25), which has a krypton bulb that produces a glare-free white light, runs on house current or batteries. It clips onto books or magazines like a bookmark, and the retractable lamp can be focused anywhere on the page.

For more information, call (800) 776-7945.