This fantastic sculptural piece serves a very casual purpose: chips and dip on the coffee table. Designed for Nambé by Neil Cohen with his usual sense of wit, the Lounge server just looks darn fun to use. Shaped like a double-curved scoop, the server features a well for anything from hot cheese dip to salsa, while the bowl part of the scoop holds several large handfuls of chips or, for the health-conscious, carrot and celery sticks. Gleaming, intriguing, sleek, and irresistible, the 15-inch Lounge won a design recognition at the prestigious Chicago Athenaeum Good Design Exhibition, and comes gift-boxed for your favorite lounger. The metal piece can be heated in an oven or chilled in a freezer, and should be washed by hand, rather than in a dishwasher, to preserve the mirror finish. Nambé was founded in 1951 in a village of the same name in scenic northern New Mexico. From the beginning, the company focused on hand-producing high-quality, functional metal items such as bowls and trays with great attention to timeless, modern design. Still made in the USA, Nambé's signature metal alloy is liquefied, poured into a hand-made sand cast, and the resulting piece repeatedly polished and smoothed by hand. Exceptional gifts for the most special of occasions, Nambé metal bowls and accessories are now joined by porcelain and crystal pieces, each flawlessly crafted. Nambé ware has won numerous design awards, has been shown in or recognized by nearly two dozen museums worldwide, and is part of the permanent collections of many, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York. --Ann Bieri