Harriman”™s a “wink and it”™s gone” kind of village ”“ the one you just passed on the map but didn”™t quite remember. There”™s a neatly manicured square at the village”™s four-corner intersection, where the first MIA flag is proudly flown. A handful of stores and businesses in its center helps Harriman retain its small-town charm.
For Brooklyn-born and California raised Marci Siegel, who split her time in the retailing trade in both Hollywood and Greenwich Village, “Harriman is close enough to the city ”“ if you want to go in and spend the day ”“ but far enough away to give you that feeling of ”˜country.”™”
What enticed this vintage rock-n-roll memorabilia retailer to pack up her Greenwich Village store and head for the hills?
9/11.
Siegel had a successful enterprise in lower Manhattan prior to 2001, but after the Twin Towers were attacked, she needed a change of scenery ”“ and a change of lifestyle. The Hudson Valley offered both.
Selling on E-Bay was a viable way to support herself and work from her new home in Blooming Grove, but after visiting a friend who had recently opened a store, Cynthia”™s Off the Wall Boutique on Monroe”™s Lake Street, Siegel felt the urge to get her foot back in the retail door.
“I didn”™t realize how much I missed it until I spent some time with Cynthia Cornacchio in her shop,” said Siegel.
She began looking for a location, and found one right on the corner of Harriman”™s four-corner intersection that had just been vacated. Wanting to bring something different and affordable to the tiny village, Cynthia”™s new store, Pink Cloud, offers an array of handmade items, many which come from other local entrepreneurs.
Among the offerings, from clips to keep baby from losing his pacifier to women”™s jewelry, Pink Cloud has niche products geared to those in the process of recovering ”“ and it doesn”™t have to be from a chemical or alcohol dependency. Some are dealing with a tragedy, a loss of a child, a husband or wife, or who have come through a painful, life-changing experience, Siegel said.
“I have handmade leather-bound diaries that have ”˜The Serenity Prayer”™ on the first page, and several other items that have a variety of that theme. Some people have come back from the brink. Others have been pushed to it. The idea is not just to appeal to those who are recovering from a life-changing crisis or loss, or those who have maintained their sobriety ”“ the goal is a gift that will put a smile on the receiver”™s face and let them know you care.”
Buying gifts for people who have suffered through personal turmoil is especially difficult, particularly if you want to help them celebrate a milestone. Pink Cloud offers gifts meant to inspire and encourage those who have undertaken the road to recovery and succeeded. Along with gifts that make the giver feel as good as the receiver, Siegel said, everything in her store is meant to “make someone you care about feel good ”¦ and I”™ve kept my prices reasonable. I don”™t want to scare people away, especially in this economy.”
Is Siegel worried about the trembling on Wall Street? “Yes, I think New York is struggling, and could certainly stand to be more business-friendly, especially in this climate. But as far as our economy, after visiting my family in California recently, I”™d say we are doing fairly well.”
Siegel, who also did some real estate work during her career, says housing in California is off by more than 50 percent. “In this area, housing may be off five to 15 percent, but when you compare our situation to the West Coast, it”™s day and night.”
While New York has a long way to go in boosting its economy, comparatively speaking, said Siegel, the state”™s doing fairly well.
“Failure is not part of my vocabulary,” she said. “I”™m working my store hours around the business community already established here. I”™m not going to let the economy stop my dreams, and I”™m confident that people will get to know my store and shop here.”
Intrigued? If you”™d like to stop in, the Pink Cloud offers a cup of coffee or tea ”“ along with a helping of inspiration ”“ on the house.