Ceylon et Cie

"Expect the unexpected" is her slogan. Michelle Nussbaumer is a designer of international note. It is always worth a trip to her Design District shop to find unusual table accessories, or you may even come home with a new dining table.

Copper Lamp Fine Silver & China

Before searching the internet, your missing silver or china pieces might be right here. In business since 1959, the Copper Lamp has an extensive inventory. The owners are also happy to search among their associates to satisfy your needs.

Dishes from the Past

Seekers of missing china pieces are blissful with the inventory at this Fort Worth institution. There is every opportunity to pick up an entirely new set of china and crystal.

Duo: All Things Culinary

Tracy Rathbun and Lynae Fearing, wives of celebrity chefs Kent and Dean and owners of the popular Shinsei restaurant a few doors away, have opened a multi-personality shop, just south of Lovers Lane. Chic culinary shop by day, stocked with distinctive finds, plus ambitious schedule of cooking classes and event space by evening, this latest venture of the talented duo is a welcome addition to the culinary arts scene in Dallas.

Forty Five Ten

The trendy boutique for him and her includes a great selection of handcrafted objects to enhance the dining scene. Fans of Jan Barboglio will find that many of her welded art works work well with the party scene.

Hermès

Not just for purses, scarves and ties. Hermes has beautiful china as distinctive as their better-known products.

Lovers Lane Antique Market

With a stable of individually owned shops, there is always a tabletop treasure to be found at Lovers Lane Antique Market. The well-vetted shops offer mostly small items from around the world, including porcelains and silver to complement the dining scene.

Madison

The Dallas shop we love to visit. Madison is a visual feast of beautiful accompaniments to the dining scene. With top lines of William Yeoward crystal and Herend china, all so beautifully displayed, it is a candy store for the lovers of select tableware. Please note their line of hand-engraved stationery from The Printery to launch the party.

Mecox Gardens

Another Hamptons' outpost with casual vintage and "re-edition" home furnishings and accessories. There are always unique offerings of dining scene embellishments.

Neiman Marcus

The measure of all good taste in china, silver and crystal for the home with the top lines represented. In recent years, the casual lines have had stronger representation with lines such as Juliska. The table settings are there to inspire. We are happy to note that Neiman's is now carrying the luxurious tableware and bibelots by the French company L'Objet.

Nest

A premier shop for home and tabletop accents for more than a decade. Owner Heather Wiese-Alexander, a former Neiman Marcus Art Director, shows her flair for style. Exquisite letterpress papers by Bell'Invito can be found there.

Ralph Lauren

Along with clothing and bed linens, the Polo Shop completes the image of comfortable home living with china, flatware and table embellishments.

Casa di Lino

An extensive range of luxury table linens, such as Anichini and Leitner, are available in this Oak Lawn boutique. The owners' passion for beautiful linens is evident with the selection and their assistance. Complementing their linens are ceramics from Portugal and decorative objects for the table.

Antique Harvest

Antique Harvest owner, Hedda Gioia Dowd, combs southwest France for the finest antique linens as well as exquisite chateau silver flatware and table accessories. Many of the owner's treasures can be found at her latest enterprise, Rise #1, in Inwood Village.

Bardith, Ltd.

A visit, and perhaps a purchase, is collector's heaven for any admirer of 18th and 18th centuryEnglish procelain and pottery. French porcelains and Chinese Export also abound in the compact shop. A newly expanded website can satisfy the visual experience for collectors between New York jaunts.

Bergdorf Goodman

The BG seventh floor is always a visual experience and ripe with ideas for the hostess, not to mention a great place for gifts. The tabletop displays are without equal and inspiring. While some of their inventory is available on the internet, the fullest appreciation requires a visit.

Devonia Antiques

A fabulous discovery is the Boston and West Palm Beach-based purveyor of heirloom antique porcelains. This a a collector's paradise, with most of the collection viewable on the internet site. Rumor as it that the owner, Lori Hedtler, is also the supplier of Bergdorf Goodman's excellent antique china department.

E. Braun & Co.

Founded in Vienna in 1893 and opened in New York in 1943, E. Braun is a "jewel box" of a store and one of the few remaining sources for fine European enbroidery and appliqué.

E. Dehillerin

Savvy foodies long ago discovered where Parisian chefs bought their kitchen equipment. Now the same knives and copper pots used in Michelin-starred restaurants can be found on the internet unless, of course, you find yourself in Paris and want to experience the a visit to an almost 200 year-old institution.

By Carolyne Roehm

By Mark Held, Richard David and Pegy Dark

By William Yeoward and Ray Main

by Karen Bussen

by Kimberly Schlegel Whitman

by Babara Milo Orbach