After passing a statue of Ganesh and entering Nectar, every sense is engaged. Spicy-clean incense and soaps and herbal tea blend into one light perfume. Polished wood and brass and colorful fabric draw the eye in every direction, and Wonderling has just found a rare blues CD at the request of a customer; its sounds fill the store. Toys and home furnishings and gifts from every continent are attractively arrayed, a great deal of it fair trade; all of the furniture is made from reclaimed wood. The on-site tea salon beckons the wanderer to sit and chat—at which point, if things aren’t too hectic, one is likely to be offered a cup of organic, hand-blended tea. “Amazing things happen over a cup of tea,” Wonderling observes.
Customer Dakota Blair is in search of unique men’s clothing, so Wonderling reaches out to her network, finds a supplier, and hands him the phone. “The British tended to design towns without a central town square, because the weather there was so nasty everybody had to be inside the pub,” Wonderling says. “I think it’s the responsibility of a business owner to provide a substitute town square where people can connect—I think of this as sort of the healthy corner bar. We do readings and parties, and I never know what’s going to happen next on any given day.” The next party in this lushly exotic setting will be held November 7 from 5 to 8pm to celebrate Wonderling’s relaunch as sole proprietress. Her personal celebration: donating 5 percent of all sales between the seventh and December 25 to Family of Woodstock.
If Marbletown is prospering, perhaps it’s the karma incurred by people like Wonderling and Alan Markel of Alan’s Computers. Located in the Stone Ridge plaza, Markel has made it his personal mission to make sure no one who needs a computer goes without. It began with veterans; then he realized that “everybody’s in some kind of a struggle. So I started working with Goodwill, the Salvation Army, Family of Woodstock—anybody who might know who needs a computer,” he explains. “And I tell people to call me, not be embarrassed—we’ve all been through it. I’ve refurbished and passed along something like 400 computers now.”
It may be true that, as a New York Times writer waggishly observed several years ago, “There is no marble in Marbletown.” But from the bluestone hills of Lomontville to the lowlands beside the canal—from Elsie’s trailer to the posh estates of Legget Road—a careful observer can find much that is far more precious than gold.
RESOURCES
Alan’s Affordable Computers www.alanscomputers.net
Depuy Canal House www.depuycanalhouse.net
Egg’s Nest www.theeggsnest.com
Emmanuel’s Marketplace (845) 687-2214
Marbletown Arts Association www.marbarts.com
Marbletown Multi-Arts www.cometomama.org
Mary Collins Real Estate www.marycollinsrealestate.com
Nectar www.nectarimports.com
Rondout Valley Business Association www.rondoutvalleybusinessassociation.org
Rondout Valley Growers Association www.rondoutvalleygrowers.org
Stone Ridge Library www.stoneridgelibrary.org
Town of Marbletown www.marbletown.net
