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Heavy Metal
Industrial chic comes to the table in an elegant stainless-steel line of tool-inspired serving pieces by Antonio Citterio. Pieces include a salad set, serving spoon, cake server, bottle opener, cheese slicer, spreader, and bread knife. All are oversize and weighty, with wide handles designed to fit perfectly into the palm. Citterio Collective Tools range from $25 to $65.
AD HOC
136 Wooster Street
212-982-7703
Show Your Colors
They’re all the rage among French school kids and their sporty parents, and not only because of their chic styling and striped trim: These lightweight waterproof windbreakers from K-Way fold up into waist pouches. They come in several styles, from a cropped motorcycle jacket to a longer anorak, and in colors like aqua, red, yellow, purple, green, navy blue, and white ($90 to $170). Bond 07 has the exclusive on these soon-to-be collector’s items – the 40-year-old company has just closed its factory in France.
BOND 07
7 Bond Street/212-677-8487
Potter’s Barn
What to do with the kids between condiment shopping at Dean & DeLuca and sampling cosmetics at Sephora? Head for the giant statue of Harry Potter in the new Scholastic bookstore right next door. It includes four “neighborhoods” suited to different reading levels: A twelve-foot-tall Clifford beckons the youngest to an area where bookshelves come together to form a doghouse; kids ages 6 to 9 can read and play in an oversize Magic School Bus; preteens and teens can hang out in the Loft, equipped with computer terminals. And future Einsteins of all ages can assemble these models of Nova and his dog Sparky, of Nova’s Ark fame, made of interchangeable magnetic parts ($19.99).
THE SCHOLASTIC STORE
Opens November 17 at 557 Broadway,
at Prince Street/212-343-6166
Just Add Water
This kid’s watercolor kit is as clever as it is portable. Made by Petra Toys, it consists of four stackable, interlocking palettes of high-quality pigment with a little space in the middle for the water. It’s just the thing for young Picassos on the go ($6.50).
HOYT & BOND
248 Smith Street, between Douglass
and DeGraw Streets, Brooklyn/718-488-8283
A Touch of Gloss
Strong color and serious polish turn a humble wastepaper basket into a bold statement. Each layer of lacquer is individually poured and allowed to dry over several days to ensure the shiny finish. This also means the basket will resist all sorts of potential damage, from heat to water. It comes in rosewood, red tulipwood (pictured), and mappa burl. The wastebasket runs $165 and the matching tissue box $90.
GRACIOUS HOME
1992 Broadway, at 67th Street/212-231-7800; and 1217 and 1220 Third Avenue, at 70th Street/212-988-8990
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