Fish Catch

Artist Julie Bagish created this multihued ceramic fish tureen, which has the mysterious appeal of a prized artifact found on a sunken treasure hunt.

$150 at Freehand, Los Angeles.

Table Beauty

This is the sort of tablecloth that can give a sunlit California dining room or patio the feel of the French outdoors.

71-inch square tablecloth, $70, with napkins, $8 each, available at Room With a View, Santa Monica.

Pounding the Porcelain

When the pestle hits the mortar, you want a thud of substance but a little refinement too. La Brea Bakery’s Nancy Silverton found this English mortar and pestle made of unglazed porcelain at the famous Paris cookware store Divertimente when she was studying pastry-making in France during the early ‘80s. She’s been using it ever since. And since she’s been selling it at her bakery, a lot of other cooks have discovered it too.

$31.50, small; $75, medium; $135, large, at La Brea Bakery, Los Angeles. Also sold at many Williams-Sonoma locations.