Her fresh take on tradition
ARZU BENAVIDES grew up treasuring the linens and tapestries found inside the dowry chests of her Turkish relatives. “They were handmade, passed down from generation to generation,” says the owner of the contemporary import store Distant, which opened this summer. Benavides, left, sells traditional, vibrant embroideries known as suzanis, including ones shown here from the 1960s, ‘70s and ‘80s. Distant also stocks fine Turkish towels, silver bridal mirrors, antique marble basins from Turkish baths, hand-carved Cappadocia ceramic lanterns, and filigree metal and hand-blown glass chandeliers. 4516 Hollywood Blvd., (323) 669-0829, www.distant-la.com.
-- David A. Keeps
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HOME PAGES
Just the facts, ma’am
What kind of shopping magazine comes with the tagline “No hype, no ads”? Painfully few, which is why ShopSmart stands out. The publication from the nonprofit Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, premieres this month with abridged versions of its famed product reviews. Recommendations are streamlined, ratings charts are simpler and the art direction is slightly better. Whereas Domino emphasizes trends and styles, ShopSmart is pure practicality: tests of 10 kitchen countertops, recommendations of closet organization systems and a recipe for getting gum out of carpeting (hair dryer, Ziploc bags, Ultra Strength Bengay). The writing can be painfully plain and the typography small enough to make a young man squint, but the concept? Pretty smart.
-- Craig Nakano
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REDISCOVERED
Another 15 minutes of fame for banana
Fantastic in Plastic? A tabletop collection bearing that name certainly is. Licensed by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and produced by Canadian manufacturer Precidio Objects, the eye-popping Pop Art collection include this set of two banana boats, accompanied by straws with spoons on the end -- an appropriate choice for quick-melting summer sundaes. (That banana, by the way, originally served as cover art for the Velvet Underground’s first LP.) Fantastic in Plastic also includes a four-piece dish set with Warhol’s silk-screened images of flowers, as well as a martini shaker and coordinating glasses emblazoned with a camouflage print. All the sets are $10 from Reform School, the store-within-a-store inside the Kids Are All Right in Echo Park, (213) 413-4014.
-- David A. Keeps
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FINDS
Chimney sweets
The Raucher Hauschen is a clever incense burner whose name roughly translates to “little smokehouse” in German. Light a cone of fragrance on a small dish, place it in the hollowed-out section of the cabin (roughly where the great room would be) and let nature do the rest. The front entrance draws in fresh air, which keeps the incense burning, sending scented smoke out the chimney. It’s $40 with a starter kit of three incense cones at Show in Los Feliz, (323) 644-1960.
-- David A. Keeps
