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Square Deal
Aluminum’s infiltrated all areas of home décor, but these four-inch-square tiles by Trout Studios, made of solid recycled aluminum, can be used anywhere you’d use ceramic tiles, inside or out. There are 25 styles, from plain to geometric to more traditional (hearts, daisies, and dragonflies) ($20 per tile).
Artistic Tile
79 Fifth Avenue, near 16th Street
212-727-9331
Tote for la Table
Tote Le Monde’s new home collection includes place mats and coasters in the same striped plastics as their signature beach bags – stow some in yours to use in your summer share. Sold individually or in sets of four, packaged flat in matching plastic sleeves (place mats, $10 each; coasters, $5 each).
Details
142 Eighth Avenue, at 17th Street
212-366-9498
347 Bleecker Street
212-414-0039
188 Columbus Avenue, near 69th Street
212-362-7344
Summer Love
Get a head start on the summer with these so-called “Hippie” thong sandals. Hip they are, with decorative mirrored buttons and ankle straps that hold feet firmly in place. Also available in black ($265).
Sigerson Morrison
28 Prince Street
212-219-3893
Port-a-Pinot
You blew a week’s salary on a bottle of Château Latour. Where are you going to put it? This chic leather-covered wine rack from Casa Midy comes in natural or black leather, has contrast stitching à la Hermès, and folds flat for storage ($165).
XYZ Total Home
15 East 18th Street
212-388-1942
Two-Legged Friend
You carry a picture of your pooch in your wallet; with Les Doggies’s red collar, he can hang one of you from his neck. The company also has collars with “mood” pendants. Coming soon: a “Buddha” collar for true down dogs. Sizes small, medium, and large ($65–$68).
Barking Zoo
72 Ninth Avenue, near 21st Street
212-255-0658
BARKLEY
215 East 76th Street
212-734-9373
All About Yves
Two coffee-table books about the recently retired designer hit the shelves this week: Laurence Benaim’s Debut: Yves Saint Laurent, 1962 (Abrams, $24.95) chronicles, with 90 photographs, his first year in business. David Teboul’s tome, Yves Saint Laurent, 5, Avenue Marceau, 75116, Paris, France (Abrams, $49.95), is the result of three days spent in the YSL atelier capturing his last days in business.
Madison Avenue Bookshop
833 Madison Avenue, at 69th Street
212-535-6130
RIZZOLI BOOKSTORE
31 West 57th Street
212-759-2424
STRAND BOOK STORE
828 Broadway, at 12th Street
212-473-1452
Hand to Mouth
Teach your kids the basics of the food chain with Folkmanis’s line of “eating” puppets. Each pair includes a big animal (like the bear, shown here) and a smaller one that it “eats” (e.g., the salmon). There’s a white whale that eats a squiggly squid – and, for the squeamish, a pig that eats an ear of corn ($22).
A Bear’s Place
789 Lexington Avenue near 61st Street
212-826-6465
GEPPETTO’S TOY BOX
10 Christopher Street
212-620-7511
ENCHANTED FOREST
85 Mercer Street
212-925-6677