Columnist Muriel Stevens: Rifling through the catalogs

Wednesday, May 3, 2000 | 9:59 a.m.

Muriel Stevens' shopping column appears Wednesdays. Her dining column appears Fridays. Reach her at muriel@lasvegassun.com or 259-4080.

Long before dawn I arose with one goal in mind: to toss the dozens of catalogs that sit in piles on my bedroom floor and take up space wherever a catalog-size space exists. How did this happen? It's simple. The darned things come weekly, in such a quantity that I can barely keep up.

Sometimes companies send three or four of the same catalog, except the cover is different. You don't know it's the same until you leaf through. Why don't I just dump them as they arrive? The shopping gene won't let me. I do a lot of mail-order shopping. To not look through a catalog means I just might miss a rare mail-order op.

Of course, I also get catalogs at the Sun. The box that just arrived contained 38 catalogs covering everything from weather instruments to brownies. No matter that I'm not interested in weather instruments, and I always bake my own brownies. I'll read these catalogs just the same. I confess, I'm a catalog junkie!

Many of the catalogs are ones I already know, but there are plenty that are new to me: L.L. Kids and Traveler from L.L. Bean; Wind & Weather; a.r.t.i.c.l.e.s; Terry's Village; Dancing Dragon; the Lighter Side; separate Blair catalogs for men and women, both with the same motto -- "Because good clothing doesn't have to cost a lot." Maybe not, but the quality of the fabrics, at least from the photos, says you get what you pay for.

Fairytale Brownies looked good, but why spend $48 for 18 brownies in a keepsake box? Who needs a keepsake box for brownies that are usually devoured immediately (at least at my house.) You could bake a mess of brownies using my homemade brownie mix and design your own keepsake box for little bucks. Just e-mail or call if you want the recipe. Be sure to include your name and address.

Land's End catalog of casual business attire is more suitable to Silicon Valley types than regular business types, but I've always liked its style. It's high quality, moderately priced.

I was happy to get the spring 2000 Hammacher Schlemmer. In the days when I was gadget crazy, HS was a favorite source. Any trip to New York City always included a visit to the East 57th Street store. Where else could you find a quartz tide timer, a cordless insect vacuum or a dinosaur topiary form?

And it's hard to resist a catalog named "Things You Never Knew Existed" and other items you can't possibly live without, that sells a video that teaches you how to levitate things (not yourself). But don't try to return the cassette if you don't master the art of levitation -- videos can only be exchanged for the same tape. Strange policy, strange tape!

The Oriental Trading Co. catalog promised free delivery on any order over $50, but the time limit had expired before I received it. There are more party gizmos and trinkets in this funny catalog than I've seen in a long time. Not quite whoopee cushion stuff, but not far above it. If you're giving a luau or another tropically-themed party, this is the source.

Almost as good as the Levenger catalog is T. Shipley. Both offer fine pens, gift items and upscale office and business accessories, but Levenger has a wider range of merchandise. T. Shipley's massage pen: one end vibrates, the other end writes. No, I'm not buying one. Just tempted.