Where the wild things are
By Providence Phoenix Staff

Best eye for wearable art
For too long artists whose medium is jewelry got short shrift on appreciation, not to mention commissions. The town that's home to the Rhode Island School of Design certainly has more than its share of designers who work primarily on jewelry. A showcase for the best among them has been MARTINA & COMPANY, just down the street from the art school. An artful jewelry designer herself, with a RISD MFA ('88), Martina Windels has a keen eye for aesthetics, concept, and originality in what is essentially miniature wearable sculpture. A good example was her recent exhibition of work by designers who incorporated textiles into their jewelry. Appropriately, the space is shared by GALLERY AGNIEL, where the work of fine artists of the painting persuasion stands in no contrast at all.
120 North Main Street, Providence | 401.272.1522 | www.martina-company.com

Best source for squirrel food
Whether they are selling to neighborhood families in the West End, to food coops or grocery stores, or to retail candy or ice cream outlets, Peter and daughter Candace Kaloostian are a bit nutty about their products at the VIRGINIA & SPANISH PEANUT CO. Candace's great-grandfather founded the business in 1911, importing raw nuts from across the country and then roasting, salting, mixing, and packing them, much as the Kaloostians still do. Nowadays, they also mix in seeds, dried fruits, and small candies, such as M&Ms, to make up trail mixes. They grind their own peanut butter; make up special orders for gift baskets (can't you just taste those roasted cashews?); and look forward to holiday customers getting ingredients for their home-baked goodies (where would baklava be without nuts?). And don't neglect those hungry squirrels! 260 Dexter Street, Providence | 401.421.2543

Best finesse at charming someone
There was the day when a little girl would settle for a simple link chain with a rocking horse, a dolly, and maybe a golden heart dangling from it. No more. There are all kinds of charm bracelets at CHARMED, a shop that specializes in them. The place was opened last year by Florence and Aldo Baiocchi after they moved here from California and she couldn't buy any charms in Rhode Island to add to her Italian bracelet. That style of jewelry is composed of stainless-steel links that get replaced as charms are added. Common themes include personal interests - horses, soccer, theater - and special occasions - a tiny Duomo for that trip to Florence, a winning Blackjack pair for that trip to Las Vegas. They have nearly 3000 charms for you to choose from.
175 Main Street, East Greenwich | 401.398.0972 | www.italianbraceletcharms.com

Best boutique philosophy
It's all about taste. Yours and the boutique owner's. Laura Hirsch runs RELISH with husband Stephen Pancerev, and they nod to that relationship by a mini-manifesto on their storefront window: "Interesting gifts for interesting people." Items reflect Hirsch's concern to balance what she likes with what customers with taste want. One of Cynthia Detroia's outrageously froufrou knit and feathered handbags found itself carried by Sarah Jessica Parker in an episode of Sex & the City. Also very popular, the earrings by jewelry maker Amie Plante are in botanical and otherwise organic shapes. The hand-appliquéd baby clothing by Corey Greyhourse looks colorful and sturdy. Those items are all by local artisans, but there is plenty more here from around the country: hand-painted martini glasses and vases, colorful vinyl tote bags, hanging lamps composed of tiny paper parasols, and so on. Take your time, look around.
377 Broadway, Providence | 401.273.8883

Best stocking up for visitors
Though homemade can't be beat, the chowders and soups made at Blount Seafood are darn close. And isn't it much easier to open and heat when visitors descend on your household? One spring event that gets locals hopping is the BLOUNT SEAFOOD TENT SALE, usually held in May or June. There, at bargain basement prices, the public can purchase cases of sauce, dips, or soups that are usually sold to restaurants, such as Olive Garden, or to retailers such as Sam's Club and Shaw's Supermarkets (under their store brand). A year-round opportunity to try Blount's products at home exists at the Blount Factory Store, which offers a 25-percent discount the day of the annual tent sale. Now the only question is to figure out what the in-laws would be apt to like.
383 Water Street, Warren | 401.245.1800 | www.blountseafood.com

Best excuse to finally retire that Ben Coates jersey
"There's al-ways some-thing happening at Warwick Mall" goes the old song - well, not so much anymore (akin to an old-folks rec room - "Food court closed for exercising and walking"), but it could be worse (read: Rhode Island Mall). Anyway, when the Christmas season arrives, AAH!LA CART SPORTS will be brimming with sports fanatics and clueless girlfriends searching for all things pro sports. Pennants, blankets, and jackets, autographed plaques and pics galore, the ALC takes full advantage of its elongated showroom and is by far the best one-stop pro-shop. Claustrophobics may duck for cover when they spot the new NFL "Replithentic" or EQT jerseys ($100) lining the ceiling; now your guy can finally let go of his faded and tattered Ben Coates Starter jersey from a decade past. ALC has plenty of Pats players beside Brady, Dillon, and Harrison, along with a few dozen super-rare EQT jerseys like Champ Bailey, Shaun Alexander, Roy Williams, Shaun Alexander, and the powder blue LaDainian Tomlinson throwback. Gift certificates available.
Warwick Mall, Warwick | 401.737.3889

Best politically correct tent sale
Each year for the past five, a Cambridge-based non-profit group, with the help of many local volunteers, has set up shop on the lawn of the Meeting House at Tiverton Four Corners. The two-day CULTURAL SURVIVAL BAZAAR features the work of artisans and craftspeople from endangered cultures around the world. With a mission to promote the rights of cultures native to such far-flung lands as West Africa, Bali, Tibet, Guatemala, Thailand, and the Middle East, the bazaar has featured weaving demonstrations, a performance by a Lakota tribe member, and foods of some of the regions spotlighted by their handwork. The latter might include batiks from Bali, blown glass from Guatemala, African carvings, Navajo jewelry, Middle Eastern rugs, and Indian textiles.
Tiverton Four Corners Meeting House, Tiverton | 617.441.5400 | www.cs.org

Best reason to wear socks in the house
Some rugs are so artful and beautiful that they're as likely to be encountered on a wall as underfoot. As a matter of fact, the ONE-OF-A-KIND WOOL RUGS designed by Meg Little have hung in museums, most recently this summer at the Fuller Craft Museum in Brockton, Massachusetts. The hand-tufted designs contain geometric patterns, many based on African motifs. Sometimes subtle gradation in hue is established by combining several shades of yarn in one tuft. For a while, Little tried to mass-produce designs for that sales advantage, but making rugs by hand results in too much variation for most retailers, who prefer consistency. The RISD-trained Little calls her studio On the Spot. She mainly relies on commissions, but once a summer she has an open house for walk-in sales. All are priced at $110 per square foot.
401.847.6899 | onthespot260@mindspring.com

Best way to thumb through the past
For nostalgia reasons, the KINGSTON HILL STORE kept the name it had when it was dispensing nails and sacks of flour. But the 1897 weathered clapboard building now bulges with what proprietor Allison Goodsell says is "a collection run amuck," some 17,000 used and rare books, period magazines, and ephemera such as old post cards. Among the most significant and popular offerings is her section on Rhode Island and New England history, perhaps 1200 items in all. Selling fast are local histories, such as Oliver Stedman's five-volume series, and the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society's A History of Kingston, R.I., 1700-900. Every once in a while she gets in an original copy of the 1643 Roger Williams dictionary, A Key Into the Language of America, which goes for about $125, although an inexpensive paperback was recently issued. Happy browsing, Nétop.
2528 Kingstown Road, Kingston | 401.792.8662 | allisongoodsellbooks.tripod.com

Best name for the shopping-challenged
Though it's stereotypically the male of the species that has a hard time buying gifts, it can actually be tricky for anyone who is shopping for a business colleague, a new friend, or a hard-to-please family member. Don't become a BASKET CASE about it - just head down to this appropriately-named gift shop, filled with baskets which you can custom-stuff to your heart's content. You can choose from novelty items, baby clothes, accessories, kitchenware, Rhode Island food products (such as coffee syrup), or Rhode Island-themed objects, such as a lobster-shaped cookie cutter. Plus, there's the possibly time-consuming task of picking just the right basket from the hundreds that hang from the walls and ceilings of this tiny cottage.
212 Main Street, Wakefield | 401.284.1551

Best one-stop souvenir shop
Land of Ahhs, Ocean State Collectibles, T-SHIRT CITY - we don't know what to call the place, but we do know that this shop is a welcome attraction for rabid sports fans and visitors coming in from T.F. Green across the street. That weird, iron-on aroma recalls begging for a Darth Vader shirt downstairs at its old location at Midland Mall, but the giant showroom offers plenty of Red Sox and Patriots schwag. And for those of us who were born and bred in New England yet have absolutely no interest in the Pats, or need a jersey to match every pair of kicks in the closet, T-Shirt City offers obscure players like Julius Jones and Seattle Seahawks running back Shaun Alexander lining the walls. And this is one of the only shops around where you can pick up a Tedy Bruschi jersey and a quahog ashtray.
1889 Post Road, Warwick | 401.691.3433

Best dog day compensation
These days, no pampered Persian cat worth her goose pâté will settle for an ordinary collar or leash, never mind a boring toy. Dogs may be less finicky, but what they lack in snootiness they make up for in teeth, so if your Bruno would like a couple of pairs of nice, warm booties like the basenji across the street is wearing, maybe you'd better agree. It all started in 1984, when Alice Nichols noticed how boring available dog collars were and made a few brightly colored ones that quickly sold. Nowadays her Rumford-based UP COUNTRY ships to 18 countries. Pet stores and accessory shops around the state also carry her collars and leashes, which sport such designs as leopard and mouse patterns for Fifi and bones and fire hydrants for Fido. There are also bowls, beds, plush toys, and more.
800.541.5909 | www.upcountryinc.com

Best pricing decision
It's always hard to choose between what's good for you and what tastes better. But for most properly handled organic produce, those two things coincide. So what sometimes makes the decision is the price. At EASTSIDE MARKETPLACE, the sting is taken out of higher-priced organic produce by deciding to price it the same as conventional produce. One supermarket industry analysis predicted that the organic market in the US could reach $30.7 billion by 2007 and also that its market share is increasing by more than 20 percent annually. So do a taste comparison of carrots and apples, say. And while you're eating them, think of their lack of pesticides and fungicides, of any chemical alterations at all. Most likely, you'll be as pleased as other Eastside customers who gave discovered the pricing policy.
165 Pitman Street, Providence | 401.831.7771 | www.eastsidemarketplace.com