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IS the water cooler gossip in your office a little stagnant? Then infuse new life into it with sleek, ultramodern water dispensers available at Yolk in Silver Lake. These two high-design creations by Christopher Deam and Peter Stathis are the Canadian duo’s answer to the drab, depressing coolers of your childhood. Tower ($890) and Spout ($965) easily complement the modern look of today’s homes and offices with metal faucets and polished finishes in the color of your choice. Using gravity as its guide, Tower is perched atop a tall, narrow aluminum post. A spun aluminum covering conceals the standard blue 5-gallon water bottle, while a removable glass reservoir, made of handblown European crystal, makes monitoring H2O level and freshness elemental.

Meanwhile, Spout uses an upward-flow design assisted by a silent motor, complete with 110-volt plug. Because it doesn’t rely on gravity, the beauty of this unit lies in never having to throw your back out lifting one of those hideous 5-gallon beasts. Spun aluminum hides the bottle in much the same way Tower does. At chest level, the spout on Spout makes hydrating simple and fun. The two units are available in factory white, anodized, charcoal and orange, with color matching available upon request. Corporate logos, images and custom graphics optional. Yolk, 1626 Silver Lake Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 660-4315.

-- Tim Sanchez

Re-create Gatsby’s charmed life with vintage wicker

WHITE linen. Broad verandas. Wicker furniture. All conjure up summer. Add the adjective “old,” and they conjure up summers deluxe.

Joyce MacRae of Joyce MacRae Antiques & Design focuses on American and English wicker manufactured between 1900 and 1930. MacRae finds and restores one-of-a-kind pieces, repairing the frame, the weave, and recovering or remaking cushions. A prime example: this 1920s chaise lounge, repainted gunmetal gray with a cushion upholstered from French and American vintage cotton bedspreads, a different pattern and nationality on each side, and a palm tree motif on the headrest ($2,350). No wicker snob, MacRae also reproduces favored pieces, such as a 1920s-style sea-grass armchair with built-in magazine rack. Glimpses of a deep red undercoat peek through layers of thick black paint, creating a leathery patina counterbalanced by a cushion covered in a Bennison cotton print ($1,450). Joyce MacRae Antiques & Design, 415 1/2 Westmount Drive, Los Angeles, (310) 360-6822.

-- Andrew Myers

Sit. Stay. Fight cancer

IF only you could harness a dog’s energy and put it to good use. That’s what the people at Portland, Maine-based Planet Dog were thinking when they came up with the Ribbon Ringo ($9.95), a version of their bestselling dog ball sporting a Saturn ring representing breast cancer awareness. Planet Dog will donate 45 cents per ball sold, with a minimum donation of $10,000, to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

“My aunt has been fighting and winning against breast cancer,” says Planet Dog co-founder and chief creative officer Alex Fisher. “And as a human being, I know many people in our office and around that have had this disease enter their lives. We did some research, learned about the need for greater awareness. We started thinking about something small we could do.”

Dogs -- and curious owners -- everywhere will soon find that charity leaves a fresh, minty aftertaste. The Ribbon Ringo smells minty too. And also floats in water. It is available at most pet stores.

-- Steven Barrie-Anthony

A little TLC for memories

ANYONE who has tried in vain to separate a cherished photograph from the yellowed page of a photo album already knows what preservationists tell us: Photography and paper don’t always mix.

No one knows this better than photographer John Porter, who has created a photo album worthy of the National Archives. Alarmed when a 50-year-old family album disintegrated, Porter was inspired to create the John Porter Everyday Archives, a line of photo preservation albums. “Sadly, so much of my mother’s story is lost because of the tainted papers and glues they used back then,” he says.

The albums are lightweight, durable, great-looking and affordable ($10.99 to $39.99). Most important, the papers are free of acid and lignin -- substances that can ruin photos over time -- and will last more than 200 years, imaging specialists say.

Photos slide easily into pre-cut pockets, erasing the need for glue or tape. The matted pages frame photos like museum pieces and allow ample room for handwritten captions. John Porter Everyday Archives are available at Target stores.

-- Lisa Boone