
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 15, 1995                   TAG: 9511150086
SECTION: HOLIDAY GIFTS                    PAGE: HG2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: JOANNE ANDERSON
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WHEN USEFUL JUST WON'T DO, TRY WHIMSICAL

Webster's New World Dictionary defines whimsical as "oddly out of the ordinary." So a whimsical gift is most likely one that, besides being out of the ordinary, is not a necessity of life and probably not something one would buy for oneself. A pet rock is a good example.

Whimsical gifts come into play when the practical and perhaps useful categories of gifts have been exhausted or perhaps just disregarded as too predictable. Antiques are whimsical gifts, not because the actual item is not practical or useful, but more because giving antiques is not so common.

At the Upstairs Downstairs Boutique in Pulaski, owner and German native Marlis Ryssell-Flynn displays lots of antiques along with her uniquely painted furniture and glass. The unusual designs on goblets, cabinets, bottles and chairs exhibit her own creative artistic talent resulting in some really whimsical pieces.

"The ideas just come into my head," she explained. Her style is a cross between tole painting and rosemalling, a sort of "German peasant painting." It's all original, and Ryssell-Flynn can create custom pieces to match wallpaper or a special theme.

Bonomo's in Blacksburg has lots of whimsical gifts this time of year, like Wooly characters - small, stuffed, carrot-nosed snow people on skis and toboggans. The store also has small sewing kits and fanciful sewing accessories from England, and carrots and tulips in little pots that are really ink pens in holders.

Picture frames with little pots and planters and gardening tools can be found at For The Birds. The frame is sure to draw more attention than the photograph.

Some kitchen appliances can be labeled whimsical. The Mr. Coffee company sells a "Mrs. Tea" appliance that takes boiling water over a tea bag one step further.

The machine brews six cups of hot tea in about seven minutes and keeps it at "perfect serving temperature."

Handmade jewelry from craft shows or places like the Fine Arts Center of the New River Valley sport cats, dogs, birds, buildings and abstract designs. Silly telephones, kaleidoscopes and a teapot shaped like a sewing machine are definitely out of the ordinary.

The J.C. Penney catalog advertises an old-fashioned gumball machine on an antique-looking pedestal. You can adjust the coin from a penny to a quarter or do away with the money part all together. The bowl can be stocked with gumballs, malt balls, jelly beans or other candies.

Gift shops, boutiques and stationery stores are good places to find whimsical gifts. The Encore gift shop on Norwood Street in Radford carries "artful gifts and expressive jewelry."

Christmas is the perfect time to give someone a music box or figurine or teddy bear that's not needed and wouldn't otherwise be purchased but will be treasured, along with the giver, for years to come.

by CNB