a world of treasures right here in New England

The expert jewelers at Ross-Simons search the globe for the most beautiful, most current jewelry at the very best prices to bring back home to you.

It all started as a single-store family business in 1952 offering affordable luxuries to Rhode Islanders. In the 65 years since, we’ve become a trusted jeweler with customers all across the nation, but we are still proud to call New England our home.

Our signature Byzantine design is a best seller. (542691) 18" $1395

The perfect complement to our Byzantine necklace. (274396) 7" $995

Knot Earrings

A classic design to cherish forever. (873966) $99

D. 14kt

Knot Necklace

Polished perfection, simply stunning. (831559) 18" $125

E. Rough-Cut Emerald Earrings

Exclusively ours, inspired by the glamour of Old Hollywood. (559226) $95

. Rough-Cut Emerald Ring

An 8.00ct. emerald takes the focus in this commanding ring. Full sizes 5-10. (864294) $99

G. 14kt Gold Starfish Necklace from Italy

A beautiful way to celebrate New England’s love affair with the sea. (871076) 18" $175

H. Sterling Silver Large Monogram Necklace

Custom-crafted in our Rhode Island studios. (444001) 16" $95

J. 14kt Gold Name Charms Necklace

Keep those you love close to your heart. (876203) 18" 3 Names $339

K. 14kt Gold Small Monogram Necklace

Custom-crafted with initials of your choosing. (861490) 16" $285

L. Sterling Silver Monogram Earrings from Italy

Made in Italy, personalized with your monogram right here in our Rhode Island studios. (273546) $59

M. 14kt Gold Monogram

Square-Top Ring from Italy

Big, bold, and definitely beautiful. Full sizes 5-9. (872347) $315

N. Sterling Silver Monogram Chain Bracelet

A customized beauty with an openwork monogram. (811320) 63⁄4" $59

P. Personalized Sterling Silver

Charm Bangle

Dangling a circular charm with a single initial. Adjustable fit. (861972) $49

For complete monogramming and engraving information, and for additional sizes and styles, visit ross-simons.com call 800-556-7376 or visit our Flagship Store: 136 Route 5, Warwick, RI 02886

BY KATE WHOULEY

HORNICK/RIVLIN

ust as the last century turned into this one, I found a tiny cottage in the classified ads. It was only $3,000, but it was also cash-and-carry. I called the number listed, and suffice it to say: Adventure ensued. So much adventure, in fact, that I wrote a book about that cottage-moving year, the title echoing the original headline: Cottage for Sale, Must Be Moved

During one of my early conversations with Bob Hayden, a seasoned second-generation buildingmover, he referred to my project as a “shed move.” I took offense. I’d already hired an engineer, met with a crane operator, applied for a building permit, appeared before the conservation commission, and cleared two hillsides. The pending 16-by25-foot addition to my three-room home was most decidedly not a shed.

In those days, sheds were stocked with shovels and spades, wheelbarrows and lawn mowers, bicycles and off-duty air conditioners. And some still are. But now there’s a revolution afoot. Across America, women are taking to their backyards to reclaim, repurpose, and create new rooms of their own. Introducing: the she-shed.

Search the term online, and you’ll fall through the looking glass into a land of tiny, tricked-out backyard buildings. You may want them all. You may also note that a lot of these lovely spaces are in places with not much, well, weather. And you may wonder: What does a New England she-shed look like? And perhaps you will embark on a different kind of domestic adventure, as I did, crisscrossing Cape Cod in search of real-life seaside she-sheds.

THE SITTING SHED, Brewster

“I didn’t want my shed to become a project,” says Deer Sullivan, lowering herself into a faded blue beach chair. Deer has lived on this property overlooking Griffith’s Pond in Brewster for 13 years. The shed was here when she and her spouse bought the place; she needed only to clear it out and claim it.

Casting aside the Pinterest boards filled with dream house she-sheds, I admire the simplicity of Deer’s 10-by-12-foot structure: minimalist seating, an overturned wooden crate for a table, a large gong (yes, she uses it) hanging by the oversize barn door, open wide to a woodsy view. The pale blue walls hint at the serenity Deer seeks in her shed, while the bold purple floor suggests this sheshedder is also a woman of action. “I am really a doer,” she tells me, confirming my color-borne inference. “And I am an artist, so I’m usually making something, or writing something, or reading something, or creating something with my hands. So I like to have a place where I can just sit.”

Deer takes sitting seriously, especially on Mondays—“mindfulness Mondays, I call them.” She is director of children and youth services at First Parish Brewster Unitarian Universalist Church, where, I’m thinking, mindfulness is pretty much a job requirement. In Deer’s case, this is work she takes home from the office. And she’s created a space that helps her connect to her personal spiritual practice.

Sipping fresh-brewed ice tea, she tells me that she’s always had a shed.

“I’ve been lucky that way. Even when I rented places, they always had a shed, and I would turn it into a little sit spot. For me, it’s more necessary to have an outbuilding to hang at than to have a place to put tools.”