Serving Up Color

When it comes to apples and oranges, these ceramic pieces can turn any event into a fruitful proposition.

Brighten up your table with ceramics by Denise Ford, a self-taught painter from Laguna Beach. She concentrates on color and graphic clarity, which gives the hues of her pieces a pop-off-the-plate quality.

“I believe the correct juxtaposition of color will create food for the soul,” says Ford, who has placed pieces in the homes of Patrick Swayze, Alice Cooper and Martina Navratilova. She also has had her ceramics included on the sets of “Empty Nest” and “The John Larroquett Show.”

Ford, who has been creating her designs for more than 12 years, is a collaborator on the newly launched Glazed Donuts porcelain china collection.

There are more than 20 pieces and two groupings in her collection, which includes 18-inch platters ($95), bowls ($20 and up, three sizes), dinner plates ($40) and vases ($65 and up, three sizes).

They are available at the Artisance Gallery, 278 Beach St., Laguna Beach, (714) 494-0687, or by calling Ford at (714) 494-7513.

Scentsibilities

Treat your senses to the smell of chamomile, ginseng and rosemary in gold-leafed sculpted candles by Donna Karan.

An addition to her bath and beauty collection, the three-wick candle ($55) has a soft amber color and will last up to 75 hours.

If you want to extend your fragrance pleasure, potpourri ($38) in the same blend as the candle is also available at department stores.

Be Seated

Cast your bar stools in a new light with Azcast’s aluminum furnishings.

The Tractor stools, the latest in the line of cast aluminum furnishings by the City of Industry-based Azcast, are sturdy and long-lasting.

Azcast artisans cast the pieces in sand, as they have been done for the past 50 years. The stools ($395 each), which have a satin-finished base and column made from 100% recycled materials, are available with seats in red, green, blue or yellow, in addition to the satin finish.

Also new to the line are magnets and drawer and cabinet pulls with a manhole motif. Six designs ($10.50 each) are available--drain, vent, gas, grill, city and bell.

Azcast products are available at the Museum of Contemporary Art stores in Santa Monica, (310) 396-9833, and Los Angeles, (213) 621-1710. Call (818) 330-2177 to receive a catalog or locate the nearest store.