It is a brilliantly unromantic book of five places - London, Lagos, Guangzhou, Houston and Dubai - that opens with the author growing up in the London 1990s. Then off she goes, to some of the most difficult cities in modern history. She was born from the Dutch complex of water and harbor and culture - and she is drawn to the hardest such versions. Full color photos are the trees to the book, and she writes a path through them.

Unique channel candles allow the molten wax to flow into the core of the candle making them extraordinarily drip-less. Made from natural oils, no paraffin is used in its production. The best candles in the world.

Perhaps it's the long winter nights that have made Scandinavians masters at candle-making. 100% pure stearin made from natural oils with cotton wicks. No paraffin means no petroleum is used in its production. Simply the best candles in the world!

100% pure stearin with cotton wicks. 50% longer burning time than typical tealights. The best candles in the world.

The newest projects, from the elegant Japanese architect Kuma. Who else gets the commission for the base camp of Mont Blanc and the Public Japanese Gardens of Portland. Full high gloss color of the eight works and eight projects of the period

We have had moments, years even, with no good title on Gio Ponti. Now. at the MAXXI in Rome, a brilliant exhibit, a brilliant catalog of an architect " enamored of civilization." What a treat, a long table of a feast of Ponti, the buildings, the drawings, the interiors, the furniture, all of it in colors and specifics and detail. It is the catalog you get when so many are enamored of you. It is civilization.

Price includes shipping and handling. From the brilliant San Francisco shop, Studio Patro, the perfect linen dish towel. Quite formal and still quite fearsome and lovely - in a relationship with How to Wash the Dishes.

Now back in stock, these are our favored selection for quilted dish towel - strong, smart, clean, dries, folds, hangs. The best that we know. Designed and made in Denmark. Sold in a package of two dish towels.

Designed by Patricia Urquiola, Edo saucepans constitute a blend of different cultural references and formal suggestions. Edo is the former name of Tokyo and the reference to Japan for this project originates from a crockery set that the designer uses in her own kitchen. She purchased these saucepans in Japan, and their simple, graceful design was the source of inspiration for the Edo series. A playful combination of references that brings to mind the very essence of cooking: the mixing of different ingredients to create dishes.

A very good cookbook, a triumph of the unmeasured teaspoon. $17 retail + $6 ship and handle = $23

A fine book from Harvard University Press, detailing from many cultures the long histories of navigation. And the subsequent weakening of powers as cities and electronics subvert the instincts. 544 pages,6-1/8 x 9-1/4 inches 171 halftones, 54 line illustrations, 3 tables

People speak of their cat - but in Europe, they may even develop details of architecture, involving the life of the cat. Here, the lengths and speicifics of cat culture in Bern, Switzerland, and the small specific highways of their cats. $56.00 + 4 shipping

The very careful, elegant and favored study of the Teahouse, from 15th Century Japanese origin to present day. Folded pages, full color photography and plan details From Verlag Niggli, authored by Wolfgang Fehrer