Business corner: Peddlers’ Junction

NEW HARTFORD — Peddlers’ Junction, located at 510 Main St., is a consignment and gift shop. 

The store opened five years ago, when Corinne Markwald Johnson and her daughter, Marni, decided to rent the space.

Corinne grew up in New Hartford, the daughter of area physician Heinz Markwald.

To her the idea of operating a small business in a village that held meaning for her was appealing. 

She wanted the store to carry a combination of antiques and modern items of all kinds.

A special education teacher by vocation and still actively involved in the classroom, Corinne works at the shop on weekends while Marni covers it Monday through Friday. 

Johnson’s husband, Ralph, is also an important part of the business, often unloading items from his truck, helping to hang and display items and being an overall support to the business.

By her own admission, Johnson said she did not know the first thing about running a business, having spent most of her life teaching academia. 

She said that the store was the kind of opportunity offering a balance she was looking for. She called the move “an adventure.” 

The shop carries homemade and handmade products, such as Nolan snowflakes, beeswax candles, Victorian lamps, old-fashioned cloth dolls, custom-made wooden signs, burlap and cloth bags, jewelry, many sizes of wind chimes, all-occasion cards, colorful birdhouses and several varieties of soup and dip mixes.

The store showcases local artisans’ works. In addition to the products already mentioned, the store also features scarves, wooden bowls and furniture, glassware and Caldrea sprays and hand lotions. 

The store is open Monday through Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information call 860-379-3282.