GREER WYLDER -- Best Buys

My favorite paint shop, Gekco Paint, at 1730 Pomona Ave. No. 8 in Costa

Mesa, has the best quality paints and the best color selection. The

owner, Greg, has patience for matching colors from little pieces of

fabric that I bring in. The paint shop used to be on East 17th Street in

Costa Mesa a couple of years ago, and has since moved to Pomona Avenue.

If you have a hard time finding the shop when dialing information,

there’s a reason. It’s long story, but the owner misspelled Gekco when

naming the business, and has since tried to change it to the proper

spelling, Gecko. The phone company hasn’t quite fixed the mistake, so it

might be hard to find. Gekco Paint or Gecko Paint carries Ameritone

Paint, Devoe, Zehrung, Evrgard, Purdy and Z-Spar. There is also

everything you need in the shop for painting, wood care, and supplies.

It’s open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call (949)

548-9984.

If you ever need any kind of lighting repair done on lamps, sconces or

chandeliers, the best place to go is Custom House Lighting at 308 N.

Newport Blvd. The lighting shop fixes all kinds of problems, including

re-wiring, switches and sockets. And it can mount just about any object

and turn it into a lamp. The shop also carries Dana Creath Designs of

iron lighting and iron tables. If you’re looking for lampshades, there is

a nice selection and they make custom shades in about two to four weeks.

Call (949) 642-4546.

The new 11,000-square-foot Shape-Up Fitness Center in Corona del Mar is

opening next month. To celebrate the grand opening, Shape-Up is offering

a free, one-week trial membership and special rates on family, phase one

and corporate memberships. It’s on the corner of East Coast Highway and

Avocado Avenue in Corona del Mar. The original Shape-Up Newport is at

Westcliff Plaza on the corner of East 17th Street and Irvine Avenue. Call

(949) 631-3623.

24-Hour Fitness offers many group classes in addition to its free

weights, weight equipment, cardiovascular equipment, and swimming pool.

The long list of classes available include aerobics, water aerobics,

step, turbo kick-boxing, tai chi, yoga, precision cycling, ethnic-based

dance, body pump, abdominal workout, trekking, and hip-hop or funk. For

more information on membership and classes, please call (949) 650-3600 or

stop in at 555 W. 19th St. in Costa Mesa.

Plaza Cutlery is one of the best places to find top-of-the-line kitchen

and sport knives. It’s known as California’s leading cutlery store and

offers professional knife sharpening of kitchen, hunting and pocket

knives. For kitchen use, they carry J.A. Henckels, Wusthof, Trident,

Global, Forschner and Messermeistr. Plaza Cutlery carries the ceramic

knives made by Kyocera, used by Ming Tsai, of The Blue Ginger restaurant

and cooking show fame. For hiking and backpacking, there are knives made

by Gerber, Kershaw, Ontario, Sog, Spyderco, United Cutlery, Benchmade,

Boker, the original Swiss Army knife and Leatherman. If you need knives

sharpened, you can call for an appointment or leave them at the shop for

a few days. Occasionally, if you time it right, you can have your knives

sharpened while you shop. Plaza Cutlery is on the second level of the

Sears Wing in South Coast Plaza. Call (714) 549-3932.

Serious coin collectors and novices will love Newport Harbor Coin Co. The

shop buys, sells, and trades coins. There is a good selection of coins to

choose from, from well-worn to mint condition. The shop also does estate

and insurance appraisals. The store is carrying the books for the new

U.S. quarters, which are very popular. It’s at 1808 Newport Blvd. in

Costa Mesa.

* BEST BUYS is published Thursdays and Saturdays. If you know of a good

buy, send a fax to (949) 646-4170 or write to Daily Pilot, Best Buys, 330

W. Bay St., Costa Mesa 92627.