Sweetness Prevents a Domino-Like Fall

Pat Fazekas of Northridge is trying to find a local source for Domino liquid brown sugar , made by Amstar Corp. Dale’s Market, she says, no longer carries it because the store has been taken over by a chain, and other chains don’t stock it either. Can you sweeten the pot for Fazekas, or will it be crystal-clear to her that her frustrations will have to stay bottled up a while longer?

Dolly Riskin of Camarillo is looking for a local glass blower who can repair a red Venetian glass cornucopia that has been separated from its base . Can you help, or will it be a blow to Riskin to realize that no one in her area can spot a glass act?

Richard Marten of Corona, who loves the smell of coffee being brewed, would like to find a non-aluminum coffee maker that does the job in about 15 minutes or longer . Can you help so that Marten “nose” the item is out there, or will he give up, realizing that the resulting brouhaha isn’t worth getting steamed up over?

Reader-to-Reader Help Line: Roberta at (619) 723-4391 and Joyce at (213) 693-6765 both need discontinued Mikasa dinner plates. Roberta is looking for eight to 12 plates in the Buffet basic blue G-1007 pattern, and Joyce needs plates for Majorca Lodi earthenware, patterns 7514 or E2854. Please help and give both readers some more food for thought. . . . For a Christmas present, Mari at (805) 466-5965 would like to obtain a Lone Ranger cap gun and two Hopalong Cassidy cap guns from the 1940s ; she has the belts and holsters. Please help and make sure that Christmas morning will see a great “shoot” down the chimney in Mari’s house.

Note: The Reader-to-Reader Help Line is only for one-time items or for products no longer available in stores. And you must give us written permission to publish your telephone number, so that others may contact you directly.

Janice McNees of Sun Valley, who was looking for Brazilian thread, can start sambaing. Donna Frieberthauser of Crafts by Donna, P.O. Box 1456-T, Costa Mesa, Calif. 92628, (714) 545-8567, says she specializes in Brazilian embroidery and will mail a sample kit (send a self-addressed, stamped envelope); Anne Davis of Pasadena also recommends Crafts by Donna. Nancy Page of Leona Valley purchases her Brazilian threads at Park’s Fabrics, 818 1/2 E. Palmdale Blvd., Palmdale, and at the Mouse House, 660 W. Lancaster Blvd., Lancaster. Robin Briscoe of Tustin, who teaches Brazilian embroidery, suggests Casa de las Tejedoras, 1627 E. Edinger Ave., Santa Ana, Calif. 92705, (714) 541-0711. Anne Cook of Seal Beach and Marilyn Fordney of Oxnard mention Edmar Co., P.O. Box 55, Camarillo, Calif. 93010, (805) 484-2306. Cook also suggests Nantucket West in Costa Mesa, (714) 646-2866. And M. Soto of Los Angeles has two mail-order sources: Sharon Tetley, 1625 Marsha Court, Modesto, Calif. 95350, (209) 521-1629, and the World In Stitches, 82 South St., Milford, N.H. 03055.

We have information for Mrs. J. Manoski, who was looking for quilted oven mitts with magnets in them. Because such an item no longer seems available, Bob Alexander of Redondo Beach and Mabel Schulte of Ojai both suggest that Manoski get some small magnets and attach them to the mittens she has now. Both readers gave an iron-clad guarantee that this worked.

For Joyce Cooley, who was after Chicopee Stretch ‘n Dust cloth, we have a source. Elinor Tidball of Claremont says she found the item at Stater Bros. in the wax-and-polish section.

For Zoe Jensen of Huntington Beach, who wanted someone to repair her Iranian samovar, we have a number of nearby sources. Vicky Walmsley of San Juan Capistrano and Esther Evans of Hemet both recommend Rick Evans (he’s Esther’s son) of the House of Renew, 27601 Forbes Road, Suite 55, Laguna Niguel, (714) 582-3117. Vera Spencer of Huntington Beach says that Normandy Metal Refinishers, 1603 Superior Ave., Costa Mesa, (714) 675-3132, did a superb job on her badly tarnished samovar. (According to Mary Kohler of Sierra Madre, Normandy has a branch at 355 S. Rosemead Blvd., South Pasadena, but the Costa Mesa location is much closer to Jensen.) The Karl Hands of San Clemente suggest Jernet Antiques & Art Gallery, 501 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente, (714) 492-8049. Janice Zolnekoff of Whittier says Jack Dootoff of Dootoff Metal Polishing Works, 1337 South 4th St., Montebello, (213) 728-1340, is of Russian ancestry and has done a lot of work with samovars. Zoe Earl of Los Angeles suggests Alberto Salvador, 1436 E. Walnut Ave., Pasadena, (818) 793-2312. Hester Miller of San Pedro mentions Metal Magic, 3971 Pacific Coast Highway, Torrance, (213) 373-7211.

Herb Hain cannot answer mail personally but will, space permitting, respond in this column to readers who need--or have--helpful information. Write (do not telephone) to You Can Help!, You section, The Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles 90053.