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Sloan/Hall

Sloan/Hall far exceeds expectations for what might seem to be, at first glance, another candle and card shop. Marcus Sloan and Shannon Hall, who bring historic preservation and exhibition design experience to their glass-fronted shop on the edge of River Oaks, aren't so much buyers as they are curators of decorative arts (William Spratling silver from Mexico, Ted Muehling porcelain), jewelry (Katherine Azarmi-Rose), fragrances (Comme des Garçons, Serge Lutens), and fashion accessories (Louisa Cevese handbags, made of rubber and Milan fashion-house fabric scraps). As for the candles and cards, they're of the most intoxicating (D. L. & Co.) and wittiest (MikWright) sort. Sloan/Hall are also eclectic book buyers, piling three tables with lavish new titles, including travel guides, the occasional novel, Taschen art and architecture tomes, and erotica. The setting is just as choice as the merchandise, with terrazzo floors and Swarovski crystals on the walls in the shapes of sea creatures.