The Hamsa

The fascination with working with beads has been a life-long passion of mine and it is no wonder that this led me into thinking about and creating beads for worship.  My designs are for many cultures and ideologies.  In Woodstock Trading Company, you will see rosaries, mala, and glass hand blown mezuzahs, along with jewelry bearing the “evil eye” and the Hamsa.

The Hamsa, or the Hand of Fatima is an old icon for protection against the evil eye, and is recognized as a talisman for good luck and prosperity. It has been adopted by many cultures, basically in the original format, including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Shamanism.

I designed a necklace using pewter castings on a silver plated chain so that a wonderfully historic and significant amulet can be purchased at a reasonable price of $10.00.

I do not mass produce any jewelry items. All varieties of our Hamsa necklaces are the same price ($10.00). If you cannot come to the store, we can email images of what is available. At that point, we can write up an order just for you. Give us a call at (856) 424-6166 or email us at wtc@woodstocktradeco.com. Keep in touch…

Fondly,
MOM

It's Time To Celebrate 50 Years of The Dead!

Music is a universal language. You could put 50 people in a room who speak 50 different dialects and they probably won’t be able to hold a conversation. There isn’t anything there to truly bring them together. If you stick those same people in a room and play music, the odds of them joining in song are quite high! Music is universally understood. There are some bands who can connect with one or two cultures with their music, bringing the communities together. It is rare for a band to make that connection worldwide. The Grateful Dead is one of those rarities.

For 50 years, the music of the Grateful Dead has been played in homes, offices, schools and arenas around the world. From the United States to South Korea, the Dead have brought people together with peace, love and good ol’ fun! Stadiums, music venues and parking lots have been filled with people who have come together to celebrate Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann, Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Bob Weir, Keith Godchaux, Donna Jean Godchaux, Brent Mydland, Vince Welnick and Jerry Garcia. Fans have come together to mourn the loss of band members. Because of this connection, the fan base that the Grateful Dead created our more than fans. They are family. They are Deadheads. We are Deadheads. We are everywhere. When another Deadhead is in need, we are there. This is the amazing family that the Grateful Dead created and brought together.

 On 4th of July weekend in Chicago, Illinois, the Grateful Dead with do that one more time with their 50^th Anniversary concerts. Some say it won’t be the same without Jerry Garcia. Some say it isn’t the Grateful Dead without Jerry Garcia. It won’t be the same without Jerry. But Jerry’s spirit and life force pulsate through the music of the Grateful Dead and the Deadheads. You honor Jerry by celebrating the music of the Dead. That is what really matters. The Deadhead community has been doing an excellent job preparing for this 50^th Anniversary celebration. MOM and the Woodstock Gang have joined in on the preparation.

Although we won’t be able to make it out to Chicago for the concerts, we are having one at the store. Woodstock has lawn concerts every spring/summer/fall for people of all ages. Some are unable to take the time to go to Chicago or get tickets. We want to bring that amazing Grateful Dead spirit to the lawn with some great local bands. The Jugband will be supplying the music for our celebration. Keep an eye on our Events Calendar and Facebookpage for more information on the concert. We also have wonderful 50thAnniversary items. Artist Mike DuBois has designed amazing artwork for the Dead for years. He has come up with another beautiful design for the Anniversary. We carry this design in stickers, t-shirts (solid and tie dye) and signed posters. There are also other sticker designs available. A 50th Anniversary fleece blanket just came in and other items will soon arrive.

Whether you need that 50^th Anniversary item for the show, something to celebrate with at home, or you just want to talk about those amazing Grateful Dead moments (that you can remember), come on down to Woodstock Trading Company. You will always be in the company of “Grate” Deadheads!

February Incense and More!

Happy February!  We have some wonderful updates for you.  Here is something from the Incense Guru, Dr. Seth!

The Woodstock Trading Company February Incense is #102, Jah Love.  Jah Love is a beautifully balanced, light, sweet, earthy champa incense.  It makes a wonderful addition for any champa lover.  The unburned stick has a lightly sweet dry fruit note.  There is a subtle hint of marshmallow.  The burned stick is where it all comes together.  That marshmallow note stays around in lovely toasted form.

Jah Love is a great addition for a romantic night…

Jah Love Incense. Available in 15 gram packs.

For the past few weeks, we have been running a promotional for our beads.  Tomorrow is the last day to get 10% off all the beads, with the exception of any hand blown bead or pendant.  This is great for any jewelry maker, especially if they want to make a gift for Valentine's Day!

Speaking of Valentine's Day, we have a special little something for Valentine's weekend.  Starting the 13th and running to the 15th, any in-store purchase of $25 or more gets a $5 promo certificate back.  The certificate will be valid until March 15th.  Add it to your Valentine gift or keep it for yourself!

Ritual Candles

Woodstock Trading Company has been the Rock n’ Roll & Dead-center of South Jersey for over 25 years, supplying the community for all of their classic rock needs. But Woodstock offers more than rock n’ roll items. As many know, Dr. Seth has put together an immense collection of incense from around the world, catering to incense lovers. MOM and Seth have also assembled a wonderful bead selection for the local jewelry makers. However, many do not know that we have also been working hard to make available items for those in spiritual communities. 

Seth, for many years, has supplied spiritual individuals with incense for their prayers and ceremonies. We have Dragon’s Blood resin for those of the Wicca and Pagan faiths, sage for smudging, and Tibetan and Buddhist prayer incense. Local artists have also made rosaries and other prayer beads for the store. After taking suggestions from our community, and some consideration on the best ways to put things in motion, we are happy to announce that we now carry Ritual/Chime Candles. You might be wondering what a ritual/chime candle is.

Woodstock Trading Company Ritual Candle Selections

Standing around 4 inches tall, a ritual/chime candle resembles a standard taper candle. They generally burn for around 2 hours and work well for prayers and ceremonies for faiths like Wicca. Each candle is a different color, having a different use or meaning. 

These candles are $0.50 each. The list of colors and meanings (may vary) are as followed:

White: Enlightenment, Healing, Purification, Protection
Lavender: Selflessness, Compassion, Inspiration
Pink: Love, Friendship, Romance, Caring
Green: Prosperity, Fertility, Luck, Balance
Yellow: Communications, Trust, Happiness
Light Blue: Peace, Creativity, Patience
Orange: Self-confidence, Optimism, Success
Red: Vitality, Will Power, Desires
Brown: Material gain, Home, Problem Solving (Brown is out of stock)
Purple: Psychic Power, Divination, Healing
Indigo Blue: Knowledge, Focus, Truth
Black: Regeneration, Riddance, Transition

We also have Gold and Silver candles. They are $1.00 each. The meanings (may vary) for those colors are:

Gold: Financial Success, Strength, Optimism
Silver: Balance, Health, Victory

Our ritual candles are not available online at this very moment. If you are interested, come on in take a look. If they are something that you would like to order, give us a call at (856) 424-6166, send us an email, or leave us a message on the “Contact Us” page of the Woodstock Trading CompanyWebsite.

Valentine's Ideas 2015

Love is in the air… At least, around the corner… Valentine’s Day is coming up, and people are on the search for that perfect gift for their loved one. Woodstock Trading Company has been supplying sweethearts with gifts and suggestions since 1988, and we aren’t stopping now. 

One of the main points for many Valentine’s shoppers is price.  It is a great day to treat your significant other to something romantic, but many cannot afford lavish gifts and dinners.  Some like to do things on the simple side.  If you tell us what you are looking for and what you like to do, we will try our best to find you the perfect gifts.  We have wonderful incense and candle options, as well as perfumes, jewelry, and drink ware.  

Do you want to do a nice candlelight dinner?  Woodstock Trading Company has a nice selection of lightly scented votive candles.  If you want to go bigger, we have fluorescent and multicolor drip candles.

Multicolor Drip Candle Multi-pack

Finish that bottle of wine and pop a candle into the wine bottle. You can use that bottle over and over again, adding a new candle each time, and creating a beautiful decoration for your table.

Burned Multicolor Drip Candle

If you need some glass to pour the wine in, we have a lovely selection of wine glasses, as well as champagne flutes.  You will find different styles, like Bob Marley, Grateful Dead, and Peace.

For those Rock n’ Roll fans who like to sit back and cuddle, we have warm rock band fleece and throw blankets, like Sublime and Janis Joplin.  If you want some romantic fragrances in the air, we have incense like Satya Romance and, an old favorite, Jah Love.  Jah Love is a beautifully balanced, light, sweet, earthy champa incense...a wonderful addition for any lover.  To save on the mess, we have special incense burner bowls. MOM and Seth make each bowl on the pottery wheel.  They are one of a kind and made with love. To make sure they could be used with different types of incense, the holder is enlarged for types like Tibetan incenses. 

Handmade Incense Burners

Sometimes you want to have a fragrance on the go.  If you are looking for something that is travel-ready, we have our selections of roll-on perfumes.  A February favorite is Auric Blends’ “Love” and “Lover’s Moon” perfume.  “Love” is a touch of Egyptian Goddess (Egyptian Goddess blends musk with soft floral notes) combined with white amber, white musk and woods, while is a heady mix of gardenia, rose and heliotrope to provide sweet floral notes at the top, with sandalwood and musk as the base.  These are two wonderful options, always popular with the ladies, but they are also gain popularity with a male customers. 

If you are looking for that perfect gift, come on in or visit our website.  Some items are not available online, like the wine glasses, drip candles, and incense burner bowls.  If there is something you would like to order, send us an email to wtc@woodstocktradeco.com, visit our contact page, or give us a call at (856) 424-6166.