Sliding Scale

Compact, easy to wash and just plain cool, these adjustable measuring utensils from KitchenArt mean you need just two measuring spoons instead of the ring of four that clutter the typical kitchen drawer. More important, the teaspoon measure goes as low as 1/8 teaspoon, allowing you to measure those pinches with a dash more accuracy.

Teaspoon measure, $1.95; tablespoon measure, $2.50, at Sur la Table, Pasadena.

Dinner Drolls

In a one-time shoe factory built in 19th-century Salem, Mass., a team of artists headed by Jean Townsend and Jan Weinshanker call themselves Droll Designs and fire a large collection of hand-painted ceramic dinnerware that should lighten the mood of any gathering. Floating bananas and pears are one theme; dogs, monkeys, cupcakes and polka-dots show up on other designs. And some of their work shows more than a little inspiration from Matisse.

$120 to $300 at Emerald Forest, Studio City; Imagine, Santa Barbara; Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills and Newport Beach; Mixt, Redondo Beach; New Stone Age Gallery, Los Angeles; Salutations, Los Angeles; and Steve Stein Gallery, Sherman Oaks. BOB CAREY / Los Angeles Times

The Bell Pepper Jar

Peppers mild and spicy, squash, hearts of palm, carrots, green beans and corn are all picked for pickling by Cherith Valley Gardens, a Fort Worth, Texas, family-run company, and then artfully put into jars. They look so good on our kitchen counter, it’s hard to imagine opening them.

$5 to $22 at most Williams-Sonoma and Neiman Marcus stores.