The Fantastic Umbrella Factory in Charlestown describes itself as “a 19th century farmyard shopper’s paradise and international bazaar.” Understandably, we thought this sounded pretty cool. Stop by the South County complex to visit a number of local artisans, including Small Axe Productions, selling domestic and imported gifts, musical instruments and more; The Purple Shell, an […]
Last year, hand sanitizer was a popular not-really-a-joke gift. This year, you can make up for it with a locally produced and sold magic hand formula. Dry, chapped hands can be painful, especially during the COVID era of extra handwashing and sanitizing. Instead of grabbing some chemical-filled concoction from the local drugstore, if you’re looking […]
A Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles VHS tape. A jacket worn by USPS letter carriers in the 1950s. A mirrored end table with Levi Strauss & Co.’s elaborate vintage logo embossed in the center. These are just three of the many eye-catching things you can purchase at Pawtucket’s Top Shelf Vintage Co. Owner Annie Schisler, a […]
Max Formal, the shop on North Main Street in Providence with the sign painted by Shepard Fairey, is not a tuxedo store. It’s an old-school dry goods store named after the owner, Paul Formal’s father. You’ll find deals on tee shirts, socks, jeans, high-thread-count linens and a fun line of “Rhode Island State of Corruption” […]
Plant parents have one thing in common: They always get excited about adding more greenery to their collection. In a time when saving the environment is a top priority for so many Earth-conscious individuals, a plant is often the perfect gift. Jordan’s Jungle in Pawtucket describes itself as a 10,000-square-foot “tropical oasis for all plant […]
Chip Samson, owner of Shaidzon Beer Co., is a huge fan of the URI Rams. Mike Delehanty, Operating Partner at Union Station Brewing, loves all things Providence, including the PC Friars. The two college basketball fans decided that they’d make a collaboration brew in whichever town hosted the matchup, and this year, on 12/4, the […]
Until recently, I thought Thanksgiving was the quintessential American holiday: no politics, no religion, just friends, family and food. Then an Indigenous American told me that for them it was a national day of mourning. Revelations like that put dampers on the enthusiasm. Yet I still believe in the possibility of the American Dream. Not […]
Before you flipped to this page, you probably noticed our illustrated cover. It’s evocative of a simpler holiday season of yore, before the consumerism and capitalism drove us to the egg nog, before we ever knew that our party-hardy brother-in-law existed, and back when the idea of “holiday dinner” provoked thoughts of eating said dinner […]
For those who knew him, it was not unusual to use Maytum as a synonym for Mayhem. A small collection of friends whose lives were touched by Ethan Maytum gathered last week in Cambridge, MA to remember him, and every story of his exploits shared around the room would have likely been dismissed as an […]