TRR photo by Tom Kane Ray and Nicole Gonsalves await customers in Nicolina Country Place. (Click for larger image)

By TOM KANE

NARROWSBURG - Nicolina Country Place, a gift shop with a difference, opened September 22 on Main Street in Narrowsburg.

The smell, the look and the items on sale give the shop a different appeal. It's more like a shop on Madison Avenue, rustic and natural in a chic sort of way.

"I have a similar shop in Manhattan in the Theater District," proprietor Nicole Gonsalves said. "It was somewhat risky to open it there. It's on 47th near Eighth Avenue, but it caught on, especially with the theater people."

Actress Barbara Harris, renowned and widely respected, has become a close friend of Nicole's.

Nicole harbored a dream of opening a similar shop up in a rural setting, in a county town with a down-to-earth feel. "When I saw Narrowsburg, I said to my husband Ray, 'this is the place,'" she said. The couple began collecting unique products that they hoped people on both sides of the river would like.

Nicole's husband, Ray Gonsalves, is a partner at the store and a rustic artist who uses old barn wood and hammered tin ceilings as canvases. His work is on sale at the shop.

Also on sale are aromatherapy candles, massage oils, pure soaps from France and bath oils. The smell of lavender and other herbs gives the shop an inviting aroma. "The products are natural, based on harmony and enhancing your senses," she said. "I have been looking for body lotions like these for years, and now I'm bringing them to Narrowsburg.

"They reawaken your vitality when you're stressed," she said.

Ray and Nicole make greeting cards as well, and the shop carries CDs in unusual wrappings that could also be unique gifts.

In a few weeks, Nicole plans to add a collection of books on a wide array of subjects such as Fung Shui, New Age philosophy, Buddhism and Taoism.

"We are so happy with Narrowsburg and Main Street," she said. "We are delighted to be on the same street as the Big Eddy Diner, the Delaware Valley Arts Alliance, the wonderful antiques shops that are here, the barber shop and The River Reporter newspaper."

At the rear of the store, the window looks out on the wide expanse of the Big Eddy of the Delaware River. "It's so beautiful and rustic, we are happy to make this our home," she said.

Store hours are Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through the end of October. Near Christmas, the store will also be open a few days during the week.