Le Creuset's newest color, Marseille Blue, launched a little over a month ago, but this weekend's Home + Housewares show in Chicago marked the first time we'd seen it in person. Inspired by the French coast, this rich, warm blue is lovely and crisp, and looks especially fresh when paired with stainless steel.

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Earlier this week we talked about classic citrus zesters — the Microplane and OXO tools that help us get great zesty flavor out of a lime, lemon, or other citrus fruit. Well, I have some of those tools (and love them) but I found a new zester at this year's Housewares show that quite frankly blows them all away. More

Some may not think that storage pieces for the kitchen are sexy. Who cares about about containers for leftovers when you can have pink mixers and steampunk teapots? But storage containers are a practical, everyday necessity for all of us, and frankly I was more excited to see the great glass storage on display at Housewares than almost anything else. More

Do you love hot pink in the kitchen? Then the new KitchenAid stand mixer color, Raspberry Ice, is definitely for you. Read on to see more of it, and to see the other hot new color that honestly, I like even better. More

Here's an interesting cookware prototype that Italian cookware manufacturer Bialetti displayed at Housewares: A stacking all-in-one cookware set with folding handles. Is this the ideal set of cookware for a tiny, tiny kitchen? More

You know how much we love Chamba cookware, the black clay pots and pans from Colombia. There's a new line of this velvety black cookware on the market now, introduced at Housewares. It's gorgeous in person, and a little more modern and functional in its form. More

It's still silicone, silicone, and more silicone at this year's Housewares show. It has been the hot thing in kitchenware for years now, and while I have grown completely disenchanted with it as a material for bakeware, there were a few clever uses I noted yesterday. My favorite uses of silicone were these lids from two European companies. One as stretchy and malleable as Silly Putty, and another shaped like a lily pad, but with the strength of a vise. More

These jars are one of my favorites from this year's Housewares show. I actually saw them online a few weeks ago, and I was hoping to see them in person. These are going to be just lovely in the right kitchen. More

Here's one of the more beautiful things I've seen so far at the 2011 Housewares Show: A stovetop set of tools for making hot tea and espresso. The photos don't do them justice; they just stopped me in my tracks. More

FRED & Friends makes quirky, playful, family-friendly products for the table and the kitchen, and they are always one of the first places I visit at the Housewares Show. They are a friendly bunch of people, too, with well-developed senses of humor. Here are a few new things from this year — all playful and a little silly, and awfully fun for the kitchen. More