Category Archives: New Businesses

By Jill Nagy
Whether nostalgic for tie-dye T-shirts or need just the right crystal to help get through difficult times, Mystic World strives to fill the bill. The business, long a fixture at the Wilton Mall in Saratoga County and in downtown Lake George, recently opened a new store at 423 Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs.
They are still trying to get settled in at the new location, owner Violet Cannistraci said, and December was a very busy month, sometimes too busy for store employees to answer the telephone.
She said people found the Saratoga location mainly by word of mouth but also through listings on Facebook and Google. “The support for local business is amazing,” she said.
Some shoppers patronized both the Wilton Mall and the Saratoga Springs outlets, searching for just the right crystal. Each crystal is unique, Cannistraci noted, hand picked by her at gem shows.
“My house is full of crystals and I always have crystals with me,” she said. They are the most popular item in her stores. People buy them for their possible healing properties, because they are beautiful to look at and as a way to connect with the earth, she said.
Mystic World offers a variety of items in addition to crystals and tie-dye shirts. There are incense, aromatic oils, herbs, candles, jewelry, singing bowls, statues, and a variety of hand crafted items from around the world.
Cannistraci has particular affection for the hand-crafted items and noted that she got her start importing and selling “items I fell in love with (on my travels) and wanted to share with others.” She began traveling as a teenager, spending time in Ecuador and buying things from members of indigenous communities there.
Her first sales outlet was a holiday season pop-up store at the Wilton Mall. From there, she expanded to a seasonal shop on Canada Street in Lake George. She has been there for about a decade.

by Jennifer Farnsworth
High fashion has come to Lake Luzerne thanks to Cre Whitty, owner of the designer thrift shop Cre’s Closet.
The business, which opened late fall, is filled with brand name women’s apparel and accessories.
Whitty said her entire life has had a connection to the fashion industry, beginning with her mother, who was a designer in Manhattan in the 1960s and 1970s. Whitty herself worked in the city during the 1980s and it was then that she fell in love with the concept of thrift stores.
She moved to Lake Luzerne a few years ago. When the opportunity presented itself to start her own thrift shop, she said she knew it was time to take it.

By Jennifer Farnsworth
Angelica Marquina brings the latest trends and techniques to lashes, skin care and waxing to the North Country with the opening of her 518 Beauty Room shop in Glens Falls.
She credits her entrepreneurial drive to the support she receives from her family, adding that they are the reason she has been able to accomplish so much at a young age.
“I know how lucky I am to have the support system that I do. They encouraged me to do what I love,” said Marquina.
She has two other employees who work with her in her 1,500-square-foot location at 18 Ridge St. One specializes in cosmetology and the other in waxing and facials.
All COVID-19 safety precautions are in place, including mask wearing and temperature checks.

By Christine Graf
Glens Falls business owner Robin Barkenhagen recently opened a second location of his 42° ventures. The new glass gallery and smoke shop is located in Ellsworth Plaza on Route 9 in Malta.
Last year, he relocated his Glens Falls store from Park Street to the Colvin Building at 206 Glen St. The building was purchased for $945,000 in January 2019 by Brian Bronzino, part owner of 42°. Barkenhagen and Bronzino entered into their partnership in 2018.
The first 42° opened in 2010, and the move to the larger store on Glen Street allowed Barkenhagen to expand his product line.
Both stores feature glass products that are handmade by more than 100 independent glass artists throughout the United States, he said. Convenience store items are also sold at the Glens Falls location.
“We sell things like cigarettes and vape products,” he said. “Our glass gallery features high-end glass. We have pipes ranging from $15 to $80, and our most expensive piece is $40,000. It’s a glass chess board that’s in our window in Glens Falls.
“Some people buy our glass and use it as decorations. There are collectors around the country that will seek out some of these blowers that we have that are nationally and internationally known,” Barkenhagen said.
42° also sells a full line of CBD products. They carry several brands including their own proprietary product line of pain creams, tinctures, and candies. It is produced with CBD that was harvested in 2019 during Barkenhagen’s brief foray into hemp farming, he said.
Although the market is flooded with CBD products, Barkenhagen said not all products are equal. The 42° brand of products are made with strains that have a very high CBD count, are competitively priced, and “offer more for less.”

By Jennifer Farnsworth
After a year of running a successful online boutique, Jonie McCleary has opened Something Secret Boutique at 4 Bridge St., Lake Luzerne.
McCleary said online sales were much stronger than she anticipated. But she was starting to long for the in-person experience and decided open the Bridget Street location. McCleary said there was some skepticism about opening a brick-and-mortar store during the COVID-19 crisis.
“Honestly, 2020 was the best year for online sales. I don’t know if it was because people were just home and couldn’t shop in the store. But whatever it was, I am more than grateful.”
“I didn’t want to be just restricted to being behind a computer screen. So I decided why not? I have had people tell me I am crazy for—number one, opening in the off season for my area—and number two, opening in the middle of a pandemic. I If I can make it now I should be able to make it through whatever,” she said.
It was January 2018 when McCleary said she decided to go back to school for business. A marketing professor noticed her knack for business and encouraged her to follow her dreams.
“He said to me ‘Jonie you have entrepreneur written all over you’ and at first I kind of just dismissed it. And then his words kept popping back into my head … I always knew I wanted to be my own boss. I’ve always had a drive and what I like to think is a good work ethic,” said McCleary.
She opened the online boutique in early March 2018, initially with a small group of friends and family. The business quickly began to grow. In 2019 she started Facebook Live and her 100-member group turned into nearly over 5,000. When she began shipping to at least 20 different states she realized she was outgrowing her then basement-based business.