"dinnerware" news and stories

As the holidays approach, we'll certainly be doing our fair share of entertaining, whether it's a casual get together of friends on a Saturday afternoon watching football, a simple cocktail party, or a full-blown sit down dinner. In any case, you're going to need the right stuff to set your table (and I don't mean a tablescape) -- linens, plates, cups, and flatware.

We'll cover your indoor tailgating another day, but if you are throwing a luxurious sit-down dinner party, Neiman Marcus has some fabulous ideas for setting your table. They've gotten together with four top designers who have picked things to set tables in their particular style. There's master of knits and resort-wear St. John, Valentino, Jay Strongwater, and my personal favorite, Nanette Lepore, who sets the table with rich crumpled linens and Baroque-inspired dinnerware.

An alternative lifestyle deserves alternative dinnerware and the Piercing Collection of dinnerware certainly qualifies. Not only do the pieces feature black-and-white tattoo-inspired designs, but the cups and bowls are actually pierced with small metal rings. The overall look is edgy and getting dishes with tattoos or piercings is certainly easier (and probably cheaper) than doing either to your own body. The dishes were designed by Barbara Schmidt, are made in Germany and are dishwasher safe.

Only the mugs and bowls seem to be available right now and both are sold separately. You can buy several and make a matching set, or just use one mug at the office to surprise your coworkers. Just make sure there's a good coffee machine wherever you intended to use the mug because, due to the piercing, it cannot be put into the microwave.

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There's a heatwave, and if you don't have air conditioning in your house, it might be better to get outside and sit in the shade where there is even the slightest possibility of a breeze. If you're planning to have a picnic, or eat by the pool, use these biodegradable plates and utensils. The plates, cups and bowls are made from renewable resources - a material called bagasse, which is a compostable sugar cane fiber, a byproduct of the sugar refining process. The flatware is made from potato starch and vegetable oil. All pieces are unbleached, FDA-approved food-safe, and can be usedin the microwave, the freezer, are oil-resistant, and can handle hot food.

The dinnerware is available at Branch in packs of various quantitites ranging from $4 for bowl to $14 for complete flatware sets.

Normally, I am a bargain shopper. I don't shop at super high-end stores, and I try to wait for sales because paying full retail hurts me.

However, shopping for kitchen and cooking things goes against every other shopping and money principle I stand for. Table Art in Los Angeles could break me. The store is just that - they sell gorgeous dinnerware, serving trays, cups and mugs, and all kinds of other dining things that make your table into a masterpiece.

Sandra Lee's tablescapes need not apply.

Table Art
7977 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 653-8278
www.tartontheweb.com