Salem native Tricia Hughes Ross stands among the books and other educational and inspirational offerings in her Nature + Nurture shop, located inside A Touch of Gracious Living, 435 E. State St., Salem. The new business is holding a grand opening from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today. A Touch of Gracious Living, owned by Jennifer Brown, is celebrating a grand reopening today after one year in business. Jen’s Paint Cellar also operates out of the downtown location. Today is also Salem Second Saturday’s Pamper Your Pets celebration. (Salem News photo by Mary Ann Greier)

SALEM — Nurturing through nature — that’s the idea behind a shop opened by Tricia Hughes Ross to inspire minds with children’s literature and poetry, puzzles, games, art, tree-growing kits, kaleidoscopes and more.

“I’m selling togetherness, resiliency and safe places,” the Salem resident said.

Called Nature+Nurture, the store located inside A Touch of Gracious Living, 435 E. State St., will hold its grand opening from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today.

The inventory includes a large selection of books, stuffed animals, artwork, T-shirts, butterfly nets, educational materials, jewelry, journals, greeting cards, coloring books and unique gifts, all with a heavy emphasis on nature, “living that nature lifestyle,” Ross said.

She launched her website last month at naturenurture.shop and said customers can get free local pickup at the store. The store hours are tentatively set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Call 614-975-1290 to check the hours or set an appointment.

A 1997 graduate of Salem High School, Ross is the daughter of David and Tina Hughes. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English with a concentration in creative writing from Cornell University and moved to Columbus in 2001 where she completed Leadership Columbus. She also did some volunteering in her hometown of Salem with Main Street Salem, the American Red Cross, the Burchfield Homestead Museum and Salem Preservation. She also took some coursework at Eastern University in Philadelphia, Pa.

She likes Robert Frost and Salem’s hometown artist, the late, great Charles Burchfield and counted her late art teacher, Janis Yereb, as someone who inspired her.

As a single mom with five children ranging in age from 3 to 10 years old, Ross said her love of literature and the power of stories helped them all bond and build a resiliency. They do a lot of nature journaling, drawing what they see as they enjoy the outdoors.

She had the idea of the shop brewing and was encouraged by Jennifer Brown, owner of A Touch of Gracious Living. She also had some guidance from the Small Business Development Center of Kent State University Tuscarawas. Julie Needs of the Sustainable Opportunity Development Center of Salem pointed her in that direction.

Brown has opened her store up to both Nature+Nurture and Jen’s Paint Cellar as a business incubator.

“She was so gracious to give me the space,” Ross said.

Friends also helped with building displays and she even received donations from strangers.

Her tagline is “creating a culture of community, creativity and calm,” which her mother, who’s a retired educator, came up with. Ross took all the threads of her life, nature, literature, inquisitiveness and children and kind of tied them together for the shop.

A Touch of Gracious Living will celebrate its grand reopening after a year in business as a full-service florist shop with many unique gift items, including puzzles, bereavement lanterns, music boxes and cards. Brown has 40 years experience as a florist and is one of the members of the Beautification Committee of the Salem Area Chamber of Commerce who take care of the flowers in downtown. She can be reached at 234-575-0068.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Brown picked her location because she wanted to promote the downtown and she has huge windows at the front of the store to draw people inside. She decided to also host other small businesses as an incubator. Jen Walter is the owner of Jen’s Paint Cellar, featuring upcycled furniture, Chalked Country Paint and finishes, do-it-yourself classes and paint classes. She can be reached at 330-831-2594.

Today is Salem Second Saturday with the theme Pamper Your Pets. Visitors are encouraged to share photos of their pets on the Salem Second Saturday Facebook page, showing them enjoying their favorite places and purchases in historic downtown Salem. Up for grabs is a $50 gift card.

According to Brown, several businesses downtown have dogs that hang out, including Annie and Lola at A Touch of Gracious Living.

Nature+Nurture can also be found on Facebook or can be reached via email at tricia@naturenurture.shop.

mgreier@salemnews.net