Coral and seashells, especially big, snowy-white examples, have been a classic finishing touch used by haute interior designers for decades in Europe and America. But now the trend is surfacing in the mainstream. The trick is to go big and bold. Little shells don't do a lot for a space unless you're filling one of those clear glass lamps, which is a cliché but an effective one.

Right now, branch coral seems to be the sea jewel of choice. In Naples, I've recently seen gorgeous pillows at And So To Bed and place mats at Gattle's that pick up on the branch-coral motif, treasures to covet for your home. This craze for shells and coral makes Larry Liss, the owner of The Blue Mussel on Fifth Avenue South in Naples, a happy businessman. He confides that esteemed Naples interior designer Sean Johnson often comes in to choose glamour shells and coral for his clients. And not too long ago Liss' mother, Eleanor Liss, helped an elegant gentleman with a very refined eye buy out half the store. "He made very fast decisions," she remembers. "Just pointed to this and that. He was so charming, but he knew exactly what he wanted and didn't waste a minute." The man paid by credit card and later that evening, when Larry was going through the day's receipts, he noticed the signature on the sales slip: Oscar de la Renta.

One item that Eleanor Liss refused to sell to the famous couture and furniture designer is the giant clamshell near the front door that belongs to the permanent Liss family collection. Larry uses it for display and occasionally loans the impressive shell to caterers for weddings and to churches for baptism ceremonies. He also loans it to parents who want to use it for birth announcements, a practice that began six years ago when a pregnant Swiss woman came into the store and asked if she could borrow the shell. She wanted to photograph her newborn in it on the beach. Larry liked the idea and consented. Now, the mom and her son (a first- grader) come back to Naples every year and buy shells at The Blue Mussel and visit with the Liss family.

"Four generations have bought shells, coral and jewelry at this location," says Larry. At age 42, The Blue Mussel is the oldest shop in its original location in Old Naples. It was established by Bea Sweet, who still stops in weekly when she's downtown to get her hair done. Larry Liss bought the shop eight years ago, working with Bea for nearly a year to learn the inventory, meet suppliers and sort through all the governmental regulations that control the import and export of shells and coral.

The regulations are getting tighter because of environmental concerns, and Larry Liss believes that coral is fast going the way of ivory. "Our supplies are limited and highly controlled now," he says, "but fairly soon coral is going to be even harder to get."

The same goes for the queen conch, the famous pink and white shell often identified with Florida. The golden cowrie is already on the endangered list. The Blue Mussel displays a real beauty at $395.

Liss says that the stiff regulations are "like a stake in my heart as a businessman. But as a scuba diver and nature lover, I certainly realize that treating certain shells and all coral as endangered species is the right thing to do. It just increases my challenge to find secondary sources for fine specimens." He buys collections from private individuals, flea markets, antique stores and estate sales.

When people come into The Blue Mussel, they usually ask two questions: Are these real? Are they painted? Yes. No. The most popular items in The Blue Mussel inventory are pink conch, chambered nautilus, sand dollars and starfish. The Blue Mussel carries about 15 varieties of local shells, including whelk, triton and king helmet. In the world of coral, white is most popular, pink and purple the rarest, followed by blue coral.

In all, the shop offers more that 300 varieties of shells and coral, some in the form of jewelry, night lights, boxes and wind chimes. The handsome, all-white shell mirrors are done by Joe Liss, Larry's dad. At $80, they're a genuine bargain and a fabulous designer accent.

No matter who comes into the shop, Mulligan Liss, the resident five-year-old white Labrador retriever, makes sure she gets her full share of attention. Mully's paw print is on The Blue Mussel business card. And she wants everyone to know that she's the star attraction at the shop. Mully is frankly bored by the sea-treasure inventory and keeps her eyes on a box of doggie treats on a shelf in the back room. The UPS man feeds her one or two when he comes. And she adores it when customers give her a pat.

A vacation in france in 1999 confirmed for Karen and Howard Williams their decision to open an eclectic French boutique in north Naples and to stock it with furniture and unique home accessories from several regions and many historical periods of France. At Le Bourdon (it means "the bee" and was the symbol for the Napoleonic era), you can decorate like Josephine Bonaparte at Mal Maison, Coco Chanel at her Paris atelier or maybe even M.F.K. Fisher in her indulgent kitchen in Provence. Le Bourdon is simultaneously many things, both luxurious and rustic, to a legion of lucky buyers.

One of the outstanding features of Le Bourdon's ever-expanding inventory is Karen Williams' extensive collection of authentic santons. She carries three different lines, one of them miniatures (three inches). Santons or "little saints" are traditional Provençal crèche figures of clay that date from the late 1700s. Crafted for seasonal home use during the Yule season and meant to be added to over generations, santon figurines represent village occupations-the baker, carpenter, shepherd, and so on. Santons are dressed in period costumes of the French Revolution, since it was during that tumultuous time when public displays of the nativity were banned and the crèche scene became a private indoor icon of family devotion.

In France, santons are most often displayed from Dec. 4 through Feb. 2. In the rest of the world, santons are avidly collected by tourists to France and exhibited year-round as precious souvenirs. Some people collect santons indiscriminately, others form groupings based on size or vocation. I have a chef friend who only buys santons that relate to culinary occupations. She showcases them on a shelf in her kitchen with her cookbooks. Another woman I know collects santons that depict the female lavender gatherer in all sizes and from as many villages as she can find.

The price range at Le Bourdon is remarkably reasonable. Miniature santons are $63, and the price escalates to about $275 for a santon vignette, which is a highly detailed scene of two or more santons performing their labors, in an olive grove, perhaps.

You can also scout Le Bourdon for lavish coffee-table books about France and Italy and for resource catalogues on French fabric and wallpaper (Karen can special-order bolts and rolls for you). She carries an exclusive line of French ceramics that go from fridge to oven and are absolutely beautiful. I also admire the painted terra-cotta garden urns, throw pillows, armoires and writing desks, Provence benches, paintings and sculpture. You can easily outfit a single room or a whole house in a French style from this store.

On the tiny side there are silver gifts for newborns and exquisite scrimshaw bookmarks made from vintage ivory piano keys and hand-painted by local artist Marty Ford. At $16 each, these one-of-a-kind bookmarks are unusual and lovely.

A successful hotel gift shop should advance two missions. A large part of the inventory should directly relate to the specific experience of that particular place so that departing guests can take some of it with them in the form of souvenirs. Second, an exemplary hotel gift shop should be a shopping resource for people who live in the town. It ought to be a place to find unusual gift items not available in generic mall stores.

Bravo to the Registry Resort & Club's retail manager, Kevin Kennedy, who's met both those goals at La Boutique. Kennedy has put together a winning collection of signature gift items to charm hotel guests and to lure local shoppers searching for something out of the ordinary.

If you've enjoyed Sunday brunch or a weekday lunch at Le Chablis café, you've probably admired the multicolor acrylic salt shaker and pepper grinder on each table. Well, don't steal them. You can buy a set of your own at the gift shop for $33, and there is every reason to do so. They're modern, fun, classy, and they function efficiently.

The Registry also offers its own private-label assortment of six loose teas that come handsomely packaged in glass jars, each with a cork top. Some are grouped in gift sets ($35 for four two-ounce canisters) along with a handsome, long-handled silver-tone tea infuser. An accompaniment to the teas is a jar of honey pearls (tiny crystallized seeds of honey that you spoon out) for $10.95. No mess, no drips.

The spa pampering collection, called Cocomango, offers larger sizes of the bathing amenities supplied in all the Registry guest rooms. These products are used at the spa, too: shampoo, body lotion, shower gel, after-bath spray, tanning and sunscreen potions and such, all in pastel, soothing colors. This collection is so popular that Kevin Kennedy maintains a database of Cocomango devotees who phone, write and e-mail from all over the world to regularly renew their supply or order gift sets ($22) for friends and relatives.

Finally, there's the signature Registry Resort lady's shell-pink bathrobe lined and accented with soft white. The price is $125. Consider it an investment in luxury. There are roomy outside patch pockets and convenient hidden inside pockets, too, and the fabric is cloud soft. The gift shop does a huge business in these robes at Mother's Day, but the shop sells them year-round, too. If you slip into this robe on a Friday night, you will not want to get dressed until Monday morning.