Pressing Matter

For the sugar cookie artist in you: These cookie stamps carve out balloons, kittens, roses and more. Available at Bristol Kitchens in South Pasadena.

Fired Up

Ceramist David H. Williams has been throwing pottery for 20 years. A lot of those years were spent doing large-scale production pottery for someone else. “But I throw for myself now,” says Williams, who lives in Riverside.

His expressionistic series of serving bowls and platters is making a name for him now. He uses low-fire glazes and loose brush work for his pieces, which are hand-thrown on a potter’s wheel. “Most of the fun is in putting together different color combinations,” Williams says. After all, “the shapes stay pretty much the same.”

Williams’ work is available at Freehand on 3rd Street in Los Angeles, Riverside Art Museum and Hands Gallery in San Luis Obispo.

Through a Glass Brightly

With the intensity of a photographer’s color filters, these glass plates, handcrafted by Isabel Lam, can change your perspective on dinner. Available at Feast in Pasadena and Forma in San Diego.

Pop Hits

They may not be available at your local sports arena yet, but two newcomers have just arrived in the soft drink big leagues. Actually, one is more minor league than the other, but the first, a root beer from Henry Weinhard’s, should make a splash. Our taste test determined that the soda is pretty good--far better than the real beer the company makes.

Still, it doesn’t really fire the imagination like tarragon soda, the other newcomer. Just in time for baseball season too. Talk about the thrill of the grass! The herbal soft drink has a sweet licorice flavor and tastes--almost surprisingly--quite good. Not enough tarragon flavor for some tasters, though; others found this a plus. The bottle has the words “Armenian National Beverage” emblazoned on the label, which may or may not be an official endorsement. But if the soda is going to compete against those American heavy-hitters Coke and Pepsi, more power to the tarragon team.

And who knows? The way everyone loves underdogs in this country, maybe the next time you head out to the ballpark you’ll see a whole line of Armenian sodas in the stands. Root beer available at Bristol Farms; tarragon soda at Jons in Hollywood.