Delirium & Co.’s Silver Period line of clean-burning soy candles (with a 55-hour burn time) is the perfect balance of fragrance. We checked out Scarlet Grapefruit, which blends whiffs of ruby red grapefruit, red currants, apple, mandarin, jasmine, and amber. The fruity notes prevent the florals from becoming overwhelming, while those same flowers add a sophistication that is not often found with fruity scents.

Delirium & Co. is the house brand from Los Angeles luxury candle boutique Candle Delirium. Their Silver Period line – housed in silver Warhol Factory-style glass jars – is designed to evoke the beauty and glamour of the golden age of cinema. For more info or to purchase, please visit CandleDelirium.com.

Chesapeake Bay candles were started in 1994 by Mei Xu and her husband David Wang. Named for the Maryland bay that is their home, Mei began her candle empire in the basement of their house, using soup cans as molds. Fifteen years later, the line has moved just a wee bit beyond soup cans. All candles are made of soy wax with 100% cotton wicks for a cleaner, longer-lasting burn. In keeping with the nature theme, Chesapeake Bay’s Signature line consists of eight scents inspired by nature, made with natural essential oils, and hand-poured into glass jars decorated with trees.

We checked the ozone scent, Sheer White Musk. It is a wonderful blend of white musk, sheer jasmine, and tender violets. The scent is soft and soothing – not overwhelming like many musk/jasmine scents. Personally, I found the amount of scent to be a little lacking. I liked that it wasn’t overwhelming, but I want to be able to smell it without having to stick my nose into the jar. Price points are very reasonable: $20 for a candle with 35 hours of burn time. Reed diffusers, pillar candles, votives, and travel sets are also available.

Visit ChesapeakeBayCandle.com to order.

Just because you are sleeping doesn’t mean you don’t need a touch of whimsy. Enter Snooze City Designs, launched in 2007 by Derek Mosher and Mikey Azria (yup, Max’s son). Their pillowcases are a little bit punk, a little bit mod, and have more than a little bit of attitude. Among the designs are lips, guns, skulls, and mudflap girls. The pillowcases come in pairs, and often have complimentary designs. “Bird on a Wire” has a wire stretched diagonally across the two cases, with a bird perched on just one case. “Aviators” features a pair of sunglasses split directly down the center – one half per pillowcase. The cases are affordable – around $25 per set – and made of a poly/cotton blend. The good: they are inexpensive and easy to care fore. The bad: they are not particularly soft.

Also from Snooze City comes David & Goliath, an off-shoot line of pillowcases that have just as much attitude, but a little more cuteness. My favorite is, of course, the utensils in love, with the phrase “Spooning leads to forking.” Because, of course, forking leads to legions of little sporks. David & Goliath’s pillowcases are 100% cotton jersey – it is like sleeping on your favorite T-shirt.

I was excited to discover the functional ceramics of Gina DeSantis. This Cleveland-based artist creates magnificent mugs, bowls, plates, and pendants out of ceramics and stoneware. For someone with a Masters of Fine Arts, you would almost expect her to create fussy pieces better suited for pate than PB&J. Her goal is to blend beauty and function, and she succeeds.

I have never used my fancy china because, even though it looks nicer than my collection of mismatched mugs with cartoon characters and logos emblazoned on them, it just feels too delicate to use. Gina’s pieces are gorgeous and don’t inspire fear. I am proud to serve a heaping mug of tea or cocoa They are sturdy, well-weighted, and microwave and dishwasher safe (though she recommends hand washing to preserve the glaze). Gina incorporates interesting glaze combinations and printmaking techniques to ensure that each hand-fired piece is a work of art.

Visit Gina on the web at GinaDeSantisCeramics.com. To purchase, visit her Etsy Page