For two foreigners to rise to so dominant a position in the fiercely competitive American market is a remarkable achievement. But they wear their success lightly.Their new role as independent art brokers at the heart of the New York market is already beginning to send out ripples. Lucy left Sotheby's first, in September 1994, and has had a phenomenal two years negotiating big ticket sales - which might have gone to Sotheby's if she'd stayed there. Many of those clients now prefer to sell through two people they know and trust, rather than go to auction. All other products tested can be purchased from John Lewis Partnership nationwide.. New Yorkers have nicknamed them "the power duet". David Nash and his wife, Lucy Mitchell-Innes, both British, are among the top fixers on the Big Apple's art scene.

They met working for Sotheby's but shook its dust from their feet a few months ago, to launch a company of their own. From the vantage point of a new gallery on Madison Avenue, opening this autumn, the two British ex-pats look set to challenge the salerooms at their own game They're not just a "power duet" but a British success story. David and Lucy ran Sotheby's Impressionist and contemporary art departments respectively, the two biggest money making departments of the firm, and are beloved by their former auction clients. "It's dinky," reported Justin Silk, "but you can only take four cans if you want to put your sandwiches in it as well, and then the beer gets warmer." Some you win, some you lose.***THERMOS INSULATED BEACH TOTEpounds 23.99This brightly-coloured intricately made tote by Thermos was the softest and most comfortable to carry of all the cool bags tested - a real beach accessory which Andrew Thomson found "garish" but Justine Bartlett thought "lovely". Several panellists commented on the way the beach tote stays on your shoulder whether "full of junk" or not, and Justin Silk loved the detachable money pouch; "I put my car keys in it, instead of scrabbling around in the bottom of the bag," he said.STOCKISTSIcy Cools products are available from large supermarkets. The zip-up insulated compartment is at the bottom, has a two- star heat gain rating and doesn't hold very much - a modest lunch for two, perhaps - but the top pouch provides convenient storage for towels, hats, sunglasses etc, and a net pocket means you have somewhere to put wet swimsuits away from your other clothes. The PortaCool uses simple technology to achieve the desired result; it keeps six cold beers (ie straight from the fridge at five degrees) below 12 degrees over a six hour period.

The basis of the rug is the same as that of some very jolly picnic grips made by the same company and featured on this page earlier this year, which are both cheaper and more practical, since they zip up to preserve the temperature of cold or hot foods (British Standard two stars), whereas the rug merely has carrying straps, allowing you to slip packages into the middle. "It's impossibly heavy with a whole lunch in it," said Andrew Thomson, in summary. "We're better off with a coolbag and separate rug over one arm."***HOT IDEAS PORTACOOL CAN AND SANDWICH BOXpounds 14.50"Hideous," said Sally Ann Thomson in response to this canvas-covered, polystyrene-lined can carrier, while her husband protested that he would "definitely take this to the cricket" and very much approved of the racing green colour, illustrating the gender divide which was comically replicated throughout the panel over this product. Its hard inner surface was easier to clean after spills than any of the other products.**FLECTALON ALL-IN-ONE INSULATED PICNIC RUG AND BAGpounds 59It was hard for some testers to grasp the concept of this padded tartan picnic rug, which benefits from a unique insulation technique based on reflective fibres, developed by space technology. "Is it to keep your bottom cool?" asked Justine Bartlett facetiously, before coming up with the use which most of our panel found it best suited to: throwing over groceries in the boot of your car to stop them deteriorating on a hot day. "They may be heavy - and ugly - but at least you can sit on them," said Donald Hudd, while Justine Bartlett reported taking her Coleman cool box to the Wimbledon tennis tournament every year with very satisfactory results. "We leave it in the car, because once it's full it's the weight of half your fridge.

But you can go back to it over a long day and take out cold drinks, which is a great treat." I took mine on a boat for a whole summer weekend, and still had cold butter on the Sunday evening. Given these testimonials, and despite the panel's collective penchant for aesthetics, we voted this box the winner in our test. Several testers complained that the box bangs against your legs as you walk, making it uncomfortable to carry, but this seems to be the price for greater efficiency. So it seems fair to point out that, according to experts, white wine should be served at around 7C, since this "makes it taste fresher, emphasising the acidity". The rule is even more essential for champagne, apparently, "to prevent exploding corks and a tableful of froth." The Decor wine cooler, despite its cunning central reservoir of salt water (to be pre-frozen) allows the temperature of champagne to rise over a period of six hours from 5C to 10C, and you can certainly taste the difference.