Specialty Lamps Light Up Your Life

Here's a great conversation starter for your next dinner party: What's the best invention of the last 100 or so years?

Think about that for a minute - what if you had to give up your computer, cell phone or even air-conditioning? Could you survive?

Great Finds could survive almost anything, she thinks, even no air-conditioning in a Memphis summer. If she had all the right hairstyling products at hand, along with a basketful of hair accessories.

On a more serious note, what about electric light? Light is the one thing that can take away our fears in the dark, comfort us, and show us the way if we're lost. There's nothing more welcoming on a cold winter night than the cheery glow of a home all lit up, is there?

T he mass distribution of light is one sure fire hands-down winner of the dinner party question. One can only imagine Thomas Edison's reaction to some of these ways to light up our lives in 2007.

As seen on TV

The find: OK - Great Finds knows what you're thinking: Surely she's not going to tell me to buy one of those cheesy 'Seen-on TV' products. But you've got to love a battery-operated base that can be mounted just about anywhere and holds a standard light bulb. I'm practically dizzy with the thought of all the places this little gem can go. The Stick It Up Bulb by Westinghouse ($9.99) has a peel and stick base and can be mounted just about anywhere - in a dark closet, even under the patio umbrella.

The store: Area Bed Bath and Beyond stores, including 870 S. White Station Road, 767-2161.

Rise and shine

The find: It's a lamp! It's a radio alarm clock! It can wake you up in a way that won't make you grouchy! Actually, only a giant fountain Diet Coke is guaranteed to wake Great Finds up without a grimace. But the Verilux Rise & Shine Deluxe ($150) may be the next best thing. An hour before your appointed rising, the lamp's special bulb begins to glow, and gradually brightens to simulate sunrise.

The brightening process can be reversed for bed time.

If you prefer the more traditional wake-up call of a morning radio show, you're covered, too. Available in graphite or white, the lamp stands 20 inches tall, with a special 60-watt bulb that lasts 2,000 hours.

The Store: Sharper Image, 7615 W. Farmington, Germantown, 755- 7871.

Faux flicker

The find: Great Finds can see these little lights in her future - at an al fresco dinner party, before the humidity kicks in, and her hair still looks great. But I digress. Frosted glass vases hold flickering LED lights, and the pairing makes for a pretty convincing candle. The Aurelle candles from Phillips come in four shapes - triangle, square, tulip and round - and are recharge-able for hours of use. And of course, there's none of that fire danger that comes with real candles. $19.95 for a single, with 2-, 3- and 10-packs available; 10-packs are $199.99

The store: Online only at amazon.com; type 'Aurelle' into the search box.

Web site o' the week: Can't find that perfect light bulb? Try servicelighting.com.

Retailers, got a great item? Readers, need help finding that perfect something? Write to Great Finds at mygreatfinds@aol.com or winburne@commercial appeal.com. Call 529-2372.

(c) 2007 Commercial Appeal, The. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.