title: How do I select a single row in Magento in a custom database for display in a block?
body: <p>I don't want to use <code>foreach</code> to loop through an array of multiple rows, as I am planning on only displaying only <em>one</em> row and using a variable. I can't find information for this online.</p>
  
  <p>What doesn't work</p>
  
  <pre><code>    $param = $this-&gt;getRequest()-&gt;getParam('manufacturer');
      $extrabrand = Mage::getModel('brands/brands')-&gt;getCollection();
      $extrabrand-&gt;addFieldToFilter('attributelabelid', $param);
      //$extrabrand-&gt;setAttributelabelid($param);
      $extrabrand-&gt;load();
  </code></pre>
  
  <blockquote>
    <p>Fatal error: Call to undefined method
    Desbest_Brands_Model_Mysql4_Brands_Collection::getDescription() in
    /home/desbest/public_html/clients/magentofull/app/design/frontend/default/default/template/Desbest_Brands/brand_info.phtml
    on line 20</p>
  </blockquote>
  
  <p>Plus there is no EAV.</p>