Miniature Fountains

PRODUCT Known as "serenity ponds" or "calming pools," these desktop waterfalls are intended to reduce stress

HOW IT STARTED First came feng shui. Then aromatherapy. But burned-out consumers wanted more

JUDGMENT CALL Cool, if you stick to old-school Asian designs and steer clear of new-age Lava lamps

This month, in the holiday-gifts section of the Stein Mart in Charleston, S.C., a musical fish could be heard singing Christmas carols across the aisle from a miniature fountain retailing at $24.97. Both gadgets promise to be top sellers this season. But unlike the $19.97 Big Mouth Billy Bass, the desktop waterfall may outlive its novelty status, drawing on ancient themes to soothe a stressed-out age.

For thousands of years, feng-shui practitioners have used the sound of running water to dissolve negative energy. Modern psychologists describe the constant gurgling as "white noise" that drowns out distractions. On the basis of such notions, the same companies that ushered in aromatherapy are now cranking out Zen-inspired relaxation tools, dubbed "calming pools" and "serenity ponds." And consumers are buying into the idea that burbling rock gardens are effective stress relievers. Americans purchased more than a million of them in 1999, and sales are expected to top 5 million this year.

Powered by electric pumps, these aquatic Nirvana kits are being sold in stores as varied as Bed Bath & Beyond, OfficeMax and the Sports Authority. Helene Jeffer, a middle-aged Board of Education supervisor in New York City, recently bought one at T.J. Maxx. "It's very soothing," she says, but confesses to having moved the 24-hour trickler out of her bedroom because it inspired too many trips to the bathroom.

What's fueling the estimated $150 million miniature-fountain business is the buying power of America's graying population. "Baby boomers will do anything to keep from aging, and stress makes you look and feel old," says Paulette Abraham, marketing director of industry leader HoMedics, based in Detroit. The company, which also sells foot massagers and therapeutic magnets, began mass-marketing Chinese-made fountains last August. It offers 25 designs ranging from $20 nightstand models to $250 slate water walls 4 ft. high. The waterworks aren't always a hit with the younger crowd. This summer a 26-year-old bride in Belmar, N.J., returned all four of the fountains she received at her wedding. She wonders, "Do people really think newlyweds need that much help relaxing?"

To bridge the generation gap, designers are branching out from the traditional Asian look to include, among other things, Day-Glo marbles and colored lights. Some models are decorated with picture frames, others with spinning balls. There's even a dizzying version of a water-based Lava lamp. Conair, known more for its hair dryers than its home-spa products, is developing a fountain with water flowing over a 3-D photograph of--you guessed it--flowing water. "It's reinvent or die," says Abraham. "That's the only way to keep a trend like this going."

SPI Sports/Science, a small Dallas-based company that began selling stress-relieving sound machines in 1993, is embracing that philosophy wholeheartedly. In addition to its Texas-shape fountain, complete with oil well, the company has trademarked a line of whimsical frog fountains, and is developing one with giggling piglets. "It gets more absurd as we go along," admits president Suzanne Harper. Coming soon: a gargling Billy Bass jet d'eau.