Best of Rhode Island 2008 Editors' Picks

A tiny, ramshackle storefront hides summer dresses, jewelry, housewares and body care products from all over the world, assembled with a discriminating eye by graceful proprietor Mary Anderson. For nineteen years, she has created a colorful, casually stylish, global-chic world inside this stand-out store along the island's main commercial street. With young twins at home, she now relies on friends to bring back kurtis from India and soaps from France. Her focus is increasingly on small, local vendors, such as Providence's Alex and Ani and bags by Abas in Massachusetts, all well worth a look behind the hand-painted sign that marks the door.