Anatomica cups gives new meaning to ‘bone china’ at Inheritance, formerly Zelen Home

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Driving by the thicket of design stores advertising sales on Beverly Boulevard recently, I spied a strange window sign that read ‘Inheritance.’ Did my estate-sale-hungry eyes deceive me? Sort of.

Inheritance is the new name for what had been Zelen Home, a design destination for folks who like to decorate with distinction and set their tables with a quirky style. Owner Dan Zelen, who has moved to San Francisco, continues to purchase wonderfully peculiar items for the store, which is now owned by Mike Andrews. He is carrying on Zelen’s tradition with fabulous finds including the Anatomica china series, above, from the New English.

Designed by Lisa Turner, the bone china collection is made in Staffordshire, England, a center for more traditional dinnerware. It features a photo rendering of a 19th century gent with medical-book illustrations. The coffee setup shown here is cleverly designed with the head inside the cup and a coordinating saucer. Cost: $80. The Anatomica line also includes bowls, dishes and plates that are sure to be conversation-starters when used for starters.

Inheritance stocks a range of tabletop items -- baskets, linens, napkins, cutlery, glasses and ceramics -- as well as wool pillows and the lighting designs of the San Francisco company Shine Labs.

Andrews also has designed his own pieces for the store including handsome steel-based coffee tables with reclaimed wood tops ($900) and the hand-wrought sterling silver martini pitchforks with tumbled gem stones ($180 for a set of four), right, produced in collaboration with the Los Angeles silversmith studio Allan Adler.

8055 Beverly Blvd., (323) 658-6756

-- David A. Keeps

Photo credits from top: The New English, Inheritance

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