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It’s 17th century mod

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Times Staff Writer

REX HOLLOWAY and Katie Hurley go together like skin and bone. Holloway, the 29-year-old apparel designer for the street-cool Rogue Status label, and Hurley, a 38-year-old architect and industrial designer, began their furniture collaboration with a simple notion: “Hey, let’s tattoo some chairs,” the heavily inked Holloway recalls saying. The local duo recently unveiled prototypes for their San Lucia collection -- swiveling Modernist club chairs, wood-top tables, ornamental vases and paper lanterns, above -- all covered in Holloway’s distinctive renditions of images found in Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints dating to the 17th century. “It was a very creative culture, where artists were a thorn in the side of imperialism,” Hurley says. The collection is produced by special order and can be viewed at Denizen Design Gallery, 8600 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles; (310) 838-1959; www.denizendesigngallery.com.

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FINDS

A shining example

Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola brings bling to the table, taking cues from Buckminster Fuller (with a hint of Frank Gehry) in her Orloff bowl for Alessi. Made from a single disc of stainless steel that is formed into crisply delineated facets without a hint of welding, the serving bowl doubles as tabletop sculpture. The highly polished surface creates a kaleidoscope of what is put inside and around it. Fill it with ice for your New Year’s Eve bar, or leave it empty to reflect light. The bowl ($179) is available at the Alessi store inside the Diva showroom, 8801 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles; (310) 276-7096.

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INNOVATIONS

Taking charge of cord clutter

You’ve already lost the instruction booklets on those holiday electronics gifts. Now what to do about the clutter of cords? The E-Base by Con & Con looks like a 1970s pedestal record player, but it’s actually a cleverly designed device for the Blackberry generation that provides a central storage and charging station for wireless gizmos. Styled in basic black or tangy tangerine, the module ($180) has a hidden nook for a power strip (not included) and all your chargers, slots to prevent cables from tangling and a space-saving 12-inch square top that keeps dust off your mobiles. It’s available at A + R, 1716 Silver Lake Blvd., Los Angeles; (323) 913-9558; www.aplusrstore.com.

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SAVE

Organic at a discount

If 2007 is the year you go green, start with organic linens. At the L.A. store Distant, cotton towels, table runners and other textiles hand-woven in Turkey are colored in rich vegetable dyes and embellished with topstitched embroidery and hand-knotted fringe. Most pieces are large enough to use as tablecloths or bed covers. Through this weekend, select items will be 20% off; the ombre buffalo check (right) will be marked down to about $115, and the stripes (center) will be about $130. 4516 Hollywood Blvd.; (323) 669-0829.

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Reaching the Scout: Submit suggestions to the Home section, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012; home@latimes.com.

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