|
 Laura
and Roy Lenhard of Huntington, CT, are proud to announce the opening of
Talisman, a New Age gift shop, which will commence business at 150 Main Street
in Monroe on Saturday, April 14, 2007.
Talisman
represents the culmination of a decades-long dream for Ms. Lenhard, in creating
a shop offering unique artifacts and objects, both newly made and vintage, all
of a spiritual/mystical nature from around the world.
In
addition to an assortment of gems, candles and incense, Talisman will offer many
one-of-a-kind art pieces and antiques. In the years since she left Southern
California, where she grew up, Laura has come to know many talented artisans who
are now supplying the store with quality merchandise.
Among these is a local
jewelry maker who grinds her own gemstones and incorporates fossils and other
natural elements to make truly unique pieces of wearable art; a Connecticut
metalworker
and his wife who make regular trips to the deep South to buy intricate metalwork
from antebellum mansions which they turn into gorgeous candelabras and amazing
yard art; craft items made by Lakota artists from the
Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota including smudge fans, medicine bags,
rattles, and beaded jewelry; fabulous gothic jewelry; a Brazilian farmer who
creates wonderful agate coasters – “my gemstone wholesaler keeps this guy in
business” – and an Australian taxidermist who has a working agreement with the
local aviaries to supply her with expired birds. In addition, Laura notes that
“I’m working with an art dealer who makes regular trips to Mexico and brings
back the best folk art and Day of the Dead stuff. I loved this idea in
California, where it’s celebrated on November 2nd with people having
picnics on their loved ones’ graves and in general, approaching death with a
sort of festive gaiety, and hope my patrons with come to appreciate it as
well.”
A
fascination with the metaphysical world has been a lifetime in the making.
While caring for her mother and grandparents, all of whom passed away from
terminal illnesses within a year and a half of each other, Laura spent a great
deal of time working with Hospice. The Hospice workers, both here and in
California, helped her understand that it is commonplace to find that when you
are living with and caring for a loved one who is terminally ill, very often you
find yourself experiencing things that cannot readily be explained away - not
that Laura wasted much of her time trying. “My family is predominantly Irish,
and I grew up with folklore and superstition being treated as a matter of fact
rather than fancy. I had a cousin in Pennsylvania who read tea leaves, and
people came to see her from miles around, and I’ve been reading tarot cards
since I was a teenager. Adding to all that, my father served in the Army during
the Korean War and returned with a love of Eastern philosophy and its religion –
so reincarnation was mixed in with Catholicism as part of my overall spiritual
upbringing.”
All of
these experiences finally led to a realization that, for her, traditional
religion didn’t deal with spirituality, death and the afterlife in a manner she
could relate to. Laura is hoping that “Talisman will be a place where people
can meet and gather to discuss ideas and issues concerning aspects of their
personal beliefs and experiences without fear of ridicule or judgement. In
addition, we are going to offer our patrons the opportunity to experience
diverse spiritual encounters by contracting with individuals representing a
variety of psychic abilities. We’re planning to host tea leave-reading parties,
pet psychics, handwriting analysis, past life regressions, tarot card and other
readers. We’d also like to hold workshops on such topics as creating a home
altar, practical gem magic, aromatherapy and creating effective herbal formulas
– we’re just planning to talk to our customers to find out their interests and
needs, and then do our best to try and meet them.”
 Future
plans for the store include expanding downstairs to create rooms showcasing what
Laura is calling her signature light and dark “Glamour Goth” looks. This is a
personal statement against the current trend in home decoration to the throwback
1970’s modern style – which she hates. “Glamour Goth can go moody and dark,
with deep colors and rich fabrics and stained glass creating a very
Victorian/Art Nouveau feel; or pale and weathered, with crusty paint and rusty
metals and maybe a gorgeous crystal chandelier combined in a state of urban
decay – in either case, it’s immensely livable for children and pets.” Even if
an overall redecoration of their home is not desired, anyone can create what the
Victorians called a “cabinet of curiosities” to add interest and personality to
a family room or library. “Depending on your taste and color palette, start
with a wonderful old glass-fronted storage piece, maybe something in a highly
carved dark wood or an antique white metal dental cabinet. Then layer natural
items such as taxidermy, skulls, fossils, large stones and gems, architectural
fragments, statues, shells, birds’ nests, old painted tiles, handmade wooden
boxes, coral, crystal orbs or marble spheres. Every time you go on vacation or
even when exploring your own backyard, you can add an interesting stick or rock
or art piece to build your collection. In a time before radio and television,
cabinets such as these were a primary source of entertainment, as visitors to
your home would inspect your collection of natural history objects, often with
magnifying glass in hand, then discuss each item in great detail. And what do
you know, there’s this great new store in Monroe where you can buy the most
interesting things!”
Growing
up, Laura’s favorite television show was “The Addams Family” and she’s come to
think of Morticia Addams as her personal muse. “She was an intelligent, sexy,
stylish woman with a great sense of humor who loved her family above all else –
so basically, if I see something that Morticia would have in her house, then I
want it in the store!”
Talisman
is located in Chuck’s Corner, at 150 Main Street (route 25) in Monroe. The
telephone number is (203) 261-0047. Winter hours for the store are as
follows: Tuesday through Thursday 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. – 7:00
p.m.; Friday
open until 8:00 p.m. Saturday 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. and Sunday closed.
A call
in advance is recommended if traveling from a distance.
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