Lamps

Creative crafts kits for kidsWhen Leslie Flax, a graphics artist, and her friend Donna Weiner couldn't find any crafts classes they liked for their children, they decided to start their own. They formed a company, named it Fleiner's, and held workshops for 4- to 7-year-olds.The classes went well, but the partners aren't offering them anymore. Their new project, CreateAbles, is taking up too much of their time. They found parents weren't enthusiastic about the crafts kits on the market, so the two women designed their own, with three goals in mind.

In case you haven't noticed, Canton is cool. Comparing Baltimore neighborhoods to those in New York -- if Fells Point is our Greenwich Village, then Canton is our SoHo. What were old canning and licorice factories years ago now house trendy condos, restaurants and businesses. Canton also has become the latest "in" place to shop, mainly around Canton Square (the 2900 block of O'Donnell Street, bordered by Linwood and Potomac Streets), and in the Can Company, 2400 Boston St. There may not be scads of shops in Canton (yet)

IN ANY non-monastic life, you cannot assume your stuff is on your side.Stuff assessment does not come naturally. It happens only with moves, new flooring or painting projects of irrational scale. Natural disasters help, too. Without these upheavals, household objects simply accrete, multiply, age and get moved one space over to fit just one more thing.If you don't move it -- and move every bit of it -- every so often, you cannot appreciate your stuff, its extent, weight, age or thickness of its dust coating.

Half a century ago, Arthur W. Feeser, owner of A. W. Feeser Canning Co. in Silver Run, and another local businessman decided that their community ought to have street lights.So Mr. Feeser dipped into his cash register and came up with the money to install lamps in downtown Silver Run and along Mayberry and Cherrytown roads.Also in the early 1940s, the Independent Order of Mechanics, a now-defunct lodge in Union Mills, sponsored the installation of street lights along Route 97 in that community.

Why is it that the guest room so often looks like the ugly duckling of the house?For one thing, it's almost by definition a spare room, and is thus accorded the lowest priority for redecorating. When budgets are tight, there may be little money left to spend on this infrequently occupied space. And let's not forget that the guest room does make a handy receptacle for all those outdated pieces of furniture, poorly chosen accessories and other decorating mistakes.But with some imagination and expenditure, this room can be transformed from a dusty warehouse into a cheerful lodging place.

Q: Our old house has weird angles and crannies, especially in the bedroom, where there's a slanted part of the wall. I don't know what to do with it. If I put the dresser in there, I'd have no room for the mirror. What can you suggest? -- M.G.A: Architectural oddities like yours can be the beginning of highly personable rooms. Nothing duller than all straight angles and absolute symmetry, as we found out after years of trying to believe the modernists' motto that less is really more. (It's a bore, but that's another column.

Kmart shoppers light up the room Blue-light specials aren't the only lighting news at Kmart. The discount department store chain has recently jazzed up its collections of lamps and shades. "Our lamp business is up," says spokeswoman Laura Mahle, "and our customers are looking for on-trend merchandise and a strong selection." That translates to everything from lava lamps for retro-loving teens to hand-painted Baroque torchieres. The handsome Mission-style lamps pictured, which are new this month at Kmart, come in two sizes, table and floor ($34.

Q: How can I find out more about old-fashioned store signs, counter displays, tins, bins, boxes and other containers designed with colorful graphics that advertised products?A: The Antique Advertising Association of America (AAAA) offers an annual membership and publication issued nine times a year for $35 from AAAA, Box 1121, Morton Grove, Ill. 60053.To check out old advertising items and tobacco tins for their value, write to David Hirsch, 205 W. Wacker Drive, Chicago, Ill. 60606, enclosing a photo or description of the piece and an addressed, stamped envelope for a reply, evaluation or offer.

Q: I keep reading how important it is to light a room properly. Now that I'm about to redo a living room, I'd like some advice on choosing the right kind of lighting. The room is going to be furnished in contemporary style.A: Before you choose the lighting, you must plan it. Among the factors to weigh are the function of the room, the layout of the furniture, and the placement of art and decorative objects. All these elements, along with your own needs, will determine the type of lighting that should be used in the room.

Knights in shining armorA city skyline comes alive on a chessboard designed by Baltimore architect David Kerivan (left). The pieces, in black and clear anodized aluminum, resemble buildings, but each has attributes that define its role in the game and its hierarchy. The tops of the pieces are grooved or notched to indicate how the pieces move. A bishop, for instance, has two diagonal grooves, indicating it can move an unlimited number of spaces along diagonal lines. Each piece also has channel-like grooves around the base that indicate its point value in the game.