Local craftspersons and vendors took over the lobby of the Galaxy Towers buildings for six hours on Sunday, Oct. 19 for the annual Galaxy Holiday Bazaar, selling everything from hand-knitted dog apparel to prized Moroccan oils and Brazilian jewelry.
Weehawken artist Martha Colon attended the event to promote her creation Meow Cleeva, a fictional character who appears in her art and in an upcoming short film. “I’m still writing her story. She’s basically a time-traveler,” said Colon.
She sat at a table filled with prints rendered in fine-line pen and ink in shades of black, white, and red. Her character, Meow Cleeva, is a chic and leggy retro fashionista – part Holly Golightly, part Betty Boop. The character was featured in a series of illustrations and some greeting cards that had tiny crystals affixed by hand.
Carleen Swingler is another Weehawken resident, and another budding entrepreneur, with a line of attractive cell phone purses she designed and manufactured. “It holds your cell phone, credit cards, driver’s license, and money,” she said of the tiny leather pouches that hang from straps with hooks for bluetooth headsets or sunglasses.
A host of creative local entrepreneurs sold original art, record albums, handmade fashions, and imported items at the annual event.
____________
Although the Macy’s connection has yet to solidify, Swingler is already planning on expanding her line, including purses for new, larger phones and iPads, as well as a version for men. Her designs can be found at swingbagz.com.
The knitters
At a table on the downstairs level sat Karina Argudo and her mom, Carmen Freire, selling cute, unique dog accessories. “My mother, she makes dog sweaters,” said Argudo. “Also leashes and blankets.”
Each item takes Freire only a single day to knit, according to the North Bergen residents. The pair have been coming to the Galaxy Holiday Bazaar for about five years. They also have a website at freiredesigns.com.
Galaxy resident Barry Nevins knits an altogether different type of product. “I make scarves,” he said. “Last year I had a lot of lacy ones and they pretty much sold out. And this year the new thing is ruffles.”
Under the name Barry Knits, he has been creating a wide variety of glamorous and colorful scarves for 10 years. “I only sell them here,” he said. “It’s a once-a-year thing. I knit all year and then whatever I’ve done I sell here. And whatever I don’t sell I’m going to donate somewhere. A women’s shelter, I’m thinking.”
International goods
Yasmina Boulahcen and Mehdi Nahro import 100 percent cold-pressed argan oil from Morocco, along with specific scents that Boulahcen then blends to create her own product line.
“It’s good for hair and for skin,” said Boulahcen, who began her business about a year ago and is slowly growing it. “It’s a moisturizer and also it’s anti-aging and anti-inflammatory. Those are mixed with essential oils for massage.”
In addition to her line of scented argan oil, Boulahcen sells silver jewelry from the southern Moroccan city of Tiznit (“It is the city of silver”) and black soap made from olive pits.
“It has exfoliating properties,” said Nahro. “They make a paste out of it. It doesn’t foam. You apply it, go into a very hot room or shower and you take it off. You feel right away your skin becomes a lot smoother.”
“We live at the Galaxy, so this is convenient for us,” he said about the Holiday Bazaar. “Just to test the waters, see what people like.”
Across the lobby, Grace Gomes and her business partner Cynthia Nunes were selling jewelry made from Brazilian stones. “I’m from the Amazon in Brazil,” said Gomes. “I saw this jewelry and I fell in love with it because it’s colorful, it’s fun. And it’s very affordable.”
“We noticed that in the United States they don’t have this product,” she continued. “The few boutiques that have them are super expensive.” A former interior designer, Gomes began importing the product for sale before getting involved with the jewelry design herself.
“I raised my daughter and now that’s she’s done with college I want to deal with my passion so I’m switching careers like a lot of people do,” said the Bayonne resident. “I’m going to design more and more pieces. I’m going to design men’s cufflinks.”
The company, Amazon Gems, was launched four months ago and just opened a site at amazon-gems.com.
One level up, Nikita and Nikhil Chothani sat at a table filled with colorful products from around the globe. “We have bracelets, necklaces, scarves, ponchos,” said Nikhil. “It’s actually her business. I’m her brother. Her not-so-silent partner.”
“My dad’s a wholesaler,” said Nikita, explaining how they came to sell products from India, China, and Peru. “He started over 40 years ago. He sells to a lot of big companies. And once a year we come down here and just put some stuff out on the table and do some retail.”
Although most of the products they sold are typically available wholesale only – except during the Holiday Bazaar, of course – some of the jewelry and scarves can be found at their shop, Nikita’s Salon, in the lobby of the Galaxy.
Making friends
James Davila, a retired school teacher from West New York, showed up to sell vintage record albums from his personal collection. “I like to collect the old vintage rock and roll, doo-wop, and jazz. I enjoy all kinds of music,” he said. So what kind of music appeals to the Galaxy crowd?
“I sold every type of record,” he said. “I sold rock and roll, I sold jazz, I sold some Frank Sinatra popular, and I sold some classical. It was great. It’s a nice day. I made some friends.”
“It’s a nice thing for the Galaxy community,” said building resident Mildred Tolentino, who bought toys for her two-year-old son Gianluca.
“I bought things for the home and I bought jewelry,” said Maria Rios, carrying her newly-sweatered Pomeranian Sugar Ray.
“This is our second trip,” confided Eduardo Marrero. “We bought stuff before and came back down.”
Proceeds from the sale of tables went to local charitable organizations.
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.