THE RIGHT STUFF: Entertainment Tonight

 

A FOREIGN AFFAIR
One can be sure it’s summertime in West Stockbridge, Mass., when the expansive deck of Truc Orient Express is engulfed by a veritable tsunami of Asian artifacts—spoils fresh from owners Luy Nguyen and Trai Duong’s annual winter escape to their native Vietnam. Scoop up your own galaxy of vibrant, 100 percent silk lanterns of all shapes and sizes, and send them back into orbit around your own outdoor retreat.

 

About $38 to $45 at Out of Vietnam, 3 Harris St., West Stockbridge, Mass.,

 

 

 

DRINK IN THE VIEW
Though not one to gloss over the bucolic charms of our region, Tara Consolati found herself doing just that—literally—by marrying colorful glass paint to translucent stemware to create personalized gifts. But before the Virginia transplant could say red raspberry martini, word of her Berkshire-tinis was out—and now the keepsakes are something of an ongoing special. Baked onto the seven-ounce sippers, Consolati’s northern and southern Berkshire maps showcase a slew of regional landmarks (a new, clear design will please traditionalists)—and individual twists are always welcome. 

 

7-ounce glasses, about $30 at Bella Flora at Guido’s Fresh Marketplace, 1020 South St, Pittsfield, Mass., , 760 Main St., Great Barrington, Mass., ; KarenKeenan Gifts , 15, Lee, Mass., ; Red Lion Inn Gift Shop, Main Street, Stockbridge, Mass., ; or through Cate & Ava’s—Sweet Girls Sweet Designs, Otis, Mass.,

 

 

ZAP ’EM
Thanks to an invisible plume of carbon dioxide emitted by a modest propane tank, a series of hidden, blinking LED lights, and a classy black-and-white patterned, sticky exterior, the SkeeterVac Mosquito Trap “lures mosquitoes by pretending to be an animal—a hot, sweaty animal on the move.” A hushed vacuum sucks the pitiful pests to an interior wire chamber where they die of dehydration or suffocation—whichever comes first. It may sound barbaric, but the unobtrusive apparatus protects an acre’s radius without employing pesticides or cringe-worthy zaps and runs day to night for weeks on end—also known as the good fight. 

About $330 to $400 at Carr Hardware, 2, Great Barrington, Mass., ; 57 Park St., Lee, Mass., ; 547 North St., Pittsfield, Mass.,

 

 

HIP TO BE SQUARE
Salsa, gazpacho, chopped salad—all are simple dishes, yet ones that require a good deal of slicing and dicing. Enter the longtime secret weapon of home chefs everywhere: the Alligator Chopper, a sleek, folding apparatus that fashions uniform dice out of fresh farmers’ market finds. Firm fruits and veggies turn to mere cubes after one encounter with the gadget’s razor-sharp, stainless-steel grid; a diminutive plastic plate clears the chamber with ease. (A miniature version minces garlic to perfection.) Oh, and onion tears? No more.

About $33 at Different Drummer’s Kitchen, 374 Pittsfield Rd, Lenox, Mass., ; www.haroldimport.com

 

 

 

NIGHT LIGHT
It only looks like a nondescript Mason jar: beneath the Sun Jar’s frosted exterior is a small solar panel that collects and stores sunlight to power an interior lamp for nighttime use. After a full day of direct exposure, the LED bulb switches on automatically, offering five hours of candlelight-mimicking glow, a fitting backdrop to any late-night heart-to-heart.

About $50 at Hancock Shaker Village Museum Shop, Route 20, Pittsfield, Mass., ; Robin’s Candy Shop, 288 Main St., Great Barrington, Mass., ; You Are Here, 24 Railroad St., Great Barrington, Mass.,
 

 

 

MAGICALLY DELICIOUS
Completely unnecessary? OK, maybe. But charming and whimsical? Absolutely. These Crayola-colored corncob spears do little more than capitalize on the wide-eyed wonder invoked among kids of all ages at mere mention of the almighty unicorn, king of mythical beasts—though they’ll certainly spark childhood nostalgia at the family barbecue. Sparkles and rainbows sold separately.

Four pairs, about $9 at Hardware: The MASS MoCA Store, ., North Adams, Mass., , and MASS MoCA by Design, , Williamstown, Mass., , ext. 8140