Christmas: Marcel Wanders hits Target. (Or does he?)

Dutch design superstar Marcel Wanders, known for bold prints and witty takes on traditional forms in collections like New Antiques, has generated a big buzz for his first Christmas collection with Target. (His clever 314-page online look book of the line, posted alongside high-end pieces from his firm Moooi, certainly helped get design junkies jazzed.)

Wanders' line of 30 products for decorating the table, the bar and the tree is a good deal more accessible than Target's ornate 2006 collection by his whimsical fellow Dutch designer Tord Boontje. About half of the '09 items are already stocked online; more should be posted soon. A quick glance at in-store product availability showed that Target stores in Glendale, West Hollywood, Los Angeles and Burbank were a bust, but the outlets in Culver City, Pasadena and North Hollywood had the goods.

I checked out the collection at the always-reliable Eagle Rock store, which had more than 90% of the Wanders Christmas line in its dishes and gift card aisles. Not everything was a winner, but the porcelain pieces -- some reminiscent of the flowerpot hats that the '80s pop group Devo wore -- were irresistible. Note: They look best in black, gold and silver; white looks a tad ordinary.

I dropped $77.95  to create the tabletop tableau above, filled with pieces I'll be happy to use all year long. From left: taper candle in ceramic holder, $14.99 a pair; a 12.5-inch silver porcelain vase, $29.99; a set of black, gold and white stacking bowls, $14.99; and a packet of 20 red and black printed paper napkins, $2.99.

See more from the collection and get an appraisal of what's worth buying after the jump.

The Deal: Wisteria's Thanksgiving candles on sale

Wisteria has chopped 30% off a collection called the First Thanksgiving candles. They come in two assortments: as a pair of 7-inch-tall Native Americans, right, or as pilgrims who look like a cross between Fisher Price toys and Hummel figurines. In a six-pack, each candle is about 5 inches tall. 

So with Thanksgiving less than three weeks away, why are they on sale?

And does anyone else suspect that people just don't want to set fire to candles depicting human beings? (Or at least they won't pay full price to do it?)

If you collect such things, just give thanks for the discount -- or for the fact that you don't have 2-year-olds who cry when you set toy people on fire.

The Pilgrim candle sets have been reduced from $21 to $14.70 each.

The Native American candle sets, originally $19 apiece, are now $13.30.

I find it interesting that the Native American man and woman are the same height, whereas the male pilgrims are taller than their female counterparts. Must be the hat.

-- David A. Keeps

Photo credits: Wisteria
 

Crestline's overlooked antique rows

On the way to Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear, most folks drive past Crestline, the rustic mountain town on the shores of Lake Gregory. That's all the better for shoppers with a taste for vintage Americana at reasonably priced stores that don't have websites. 

Crestline boasts two short shopping strips on and around Crest Forest Drive and Lake Drive, and each has a new kid on the block. Remember Me at 23805 Lake Drive is strong on early American and Victorian pieces, including wicker baby carriages, birdhouses and the rosewood settee, above left, $895. For cottage and camping furniture with a 1930s and '40s vibe, Lambs & Ivy Boutique at 23447 Crest Forest has tray tables with an ivy print, above right, $14.95, and McCoy-style cups and plates, $2 each. 

Midcentury modern fans might find Crestline somewhat lacking except for barware and decorative accessories. During a recent visit, I found a few bargains: The 1960s vinyl vanity stool, right, was $14.95 at Gogue Studio's & Trinket Trader, 23832 Lake Drive, and a vintage package of Donald Duck drinking straws, far right, was $4 at Antiques on Springwater, 23948 Springwater Road.

Click here for a Crestiline map. For more shopping information, consult the Crestline/Lake Gregory Chamber of Commerce website and scroll down to "retail stores."

-- David A. Keeps

Photo credits: David A. Keeps / Los Angeles Times

Stanley Ruiz's crafty raw wood clock

Goodbye daylight saving time; hello new clock? For those who are bored with digital timekeepers, crafty industrial designer Stanley Ruiz has a more earthy alternative: clocks made from doilies and river rocks. 

His raw wood clock, shown here, is an entirely different tribute to natural materials. Ruiz uses a computer-controlled milling machine, known in the design world as a CNC machine, to create a clean and precise clock face complemented by sleek aluminum hands. The 2-foot leather strap gives his modern timepiece the appearance of an old-fashioned canteen, making it suitable for a kitchen wall or a wood-paneled den.

The 10-inch-diameter clock is $250 at Fitzsu. 

-- David A. Keeps

Photo: Fitzsu.com

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Time for a change: George Nelson's ceramic clocks

Time for a change: George Nelson's ceramic clocks

One way to remember to reset your clocks when daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday: Get a new clock. 

With their signature fat little hour hand and red second hand, these beauties should offer a hint to midcentury fans that they're the work of modern designer George Nelson.

The ceramic clocks were designed in the 1950s but never put into production -- until now. Using the original plans and prototypes, the Vitra Design Museum is selling them for $290 each.

If you collect architectural pottery by the likes of La Gardo Tackett and Malcolm Leland, these similarly shaped pieces will be pretty hard to resist, even at that price. They are available in the three shapes and colors shown here through authorized Vitra dealers.

-- David A. Keeps

Photo: Vitra

Bulbs behind bars: Home Port's 3-in-1 Roshni lamp

It's a pendant. It's a floor lamp. It's a bedside reading light for your favorite canine companion. (Does anyone else find something wrong with that picture?)

Sleeping-dogs-lie jokes aside, the Roshni lamp from the Home Port may be the most versatile example of a caged bulb light I've seen yet. Its mix of wood and metal adds a Scandinavian touch to the exposed industrial hardware, making it suitable for contemporary interiors.

The $150 kit comes with a wire-caged pendant that can be suspended from the ceiling or dangled from a steel rod anchored in a wood block base. The rod is composed of two screw-together parts: Use one to create a table light, use both for a floor lamp. The Roshni will accommodate a standard 60-watt bulb, but the Home Port also offers the 30-watt long Edison bulb shown here, $20.

-- David A. Keeps

Photo credits: KoSeng Lim 

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Tory Burch's Malibu Regency ikat lounge

Driftwood-base tables, rock crystal lamps, acrylic and brass shelving units, ikat fabric and nail-head upholstered Parsons tables? All this convinced me I had stumbled into a cool new Malibu design shop. 

Then I saw the purses, shoes and tunics that have made Tory Burch a fashion sensation. Oops. Was any of this furniture available for sale? I'm afraid the answer was no.

The Malibu Regency look created by Manhattan-based architect Daniel Romualdez reminds me of the late British jet-set designer David Hicks. It could be replicated — if you know a good upholsterer who also does walls.

— David A. Keeps

Photo credit: David A. Keeps 

Cowabunga: Herman Miller's new L.A. showroom

The manufacturer of midcentury classics by Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson, including his famed 1956 Marshmallow sofa, shown here in cowhide upholstery, has opened a new showroom in Los Angeles. Formerly housed in a downtown high-rise, Herman Miller now occupies 18,500 square feet of former warehouse space renovated by the architecture firm Lynch/Eisinger/Design with interiors by TVS Design.

"There are people who are so passionate about the brand and its design," says Lori Gee, Herman Miller's director of Workplace Solutions. "This showroom will give them an opportunity to see the legacy of the company and where it is heading."

It is not a cash-and-carry operation, however. Nothing is actually sold at the new showroom, though the on-site staff can arrange orders through a network of authorized dealers. Much of the space is dedicated to office furniture, which represents about 90% of the firm's sales. Many of those stylish pieces--including pieces from the European division and the Herman Miller American subsidiary Geiger that are not shown by authorized dealers-- can easily make the leap from office reception area to home den. 

See more of the showroom and furniture after the jump.

Obsolete's 'Terminator' lamps

Ray Azoulay, the owner of the store Obsolete in Santa Monica, describes this as "an unusual desk lamp with an articulated metal hand from an early artist's model attached to a science lab arm and an iron base."

Fair enough, but the crafty contraption looks like it might spring to life like the remains of a cyborg assassin after you turn off the light. 

It's constructed from found vintage objects by an East Coast artist whose identity Azoulay won't reveal, and there are only three lamps like this one, which explains the price: $1,950 each. It's steep for Halloween decor, but I can see it finding a place year-round on the desk of someone such as Crispin Glover.

As scary as it seems, the robotic hand daintily holds a vintage caged fixture, a trend that we at the Home desk have been seeing a lot of lately. 

Check back here over the next week to see more examples of bulbs behind bars.  

-- David A. Keeps

Photo: Obsolete

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Bughouse studio sale: Low, low prices on low-fi Pop art

Vintage vinyl and video-game players take note: If you consider low-fi electronics a worthy subject for Pop art, you will not want to miss the Saturday studio sale at Bughouse in Eagle Rock. The sale runs from 4 to 9 p.m. Brownies will be served.

As part of the once-a-month Eagle Rock Block Party, the Bughouse team -- artists and IKEA hackers Rebecca Johnson and Jeff Klarin -- will offer 20% to 75% discounts on prints, posters and works on wood. The 8-inch square "Transistor Radio," heat-transferred onto plywood with a pine box frame, regularly $45, will sell for $25. The plywood "Headphones" wall hanging with cord and jack was $75 but will be marked down to $40, and "Joystick," a 16-by-20-inch giclee print on paper, is reduced from $55 to $30.

-- David A. Keeps

Photo: Rebecca Johnson