New business won't be hiding under a bushel

In October, Pure Light - Crafts & Beyond opened its doors at 233 Raritan Avenue in the heart of Highland Park’s business district. The owner, Julio Arboleda, is no stranger to the borough: Highland Park is the first town in which he lived when he arrived in the United States more than 20 years ago.

Mr. Arboleda’s shop specializes in the sale of items which he classifies as “yoga and meditation supplies, gifts and ‘New Age’ products.” The roots of this entrepreneurial undertaking sink into the soil of Arboleda’s Andean homeland.

His grandmother and her mother before were Quechua-speaking indigenous Quichua Shamanic healers, according to Arboleda, and “(my) sister inherited that spirit. She is a very well-known Reiki Shaman and is frequently interviewed back in Quito.”

“I followed my sister,” he explained. “I began to explore. I studied shamanism and also educated myself in Reiki, Buddhism and meditation. Over the years I’ve participated in a number of seminars for mediation and yoga. I’m into this.”

“After visiting several spiritual stores, I was inspired . . . I knew I would like to open a store like this,” Arboleda says. “Two years ago I began looking at localities, doing market research and then I began narrowing my search. I wanted it to be in a small town."

After deciding on either Metuchen or Highland Park, he learned through a friend of the available storefront where he ultimately opened shop.

Prices at Pure Light vary, with a few items marked at less than one dollar. Goods include candles, stones, crystals, jewelry, silk floral arrangements, ceramic pieces, pendulums, oils, loosely fitting apparel and other yoga and meditation accessories.

Theoretical and instructional books, music and videos on these and other spiritual and physical realization processes are also for sale.

“My intention is to serve the Highland Park community through my business. I plan to continually customize the store according to local needs and preferences,” Arboleda stated.

Merchandise at Pure Light is largely imported: the current inventory includes items from Ecuador, Mexico, Guatemala, India, China, Korea and Nepal. Arboleda also says that every effort is made to sell “products which are hand-made and that utilize natural fabrics.”

In addition to running Pure Light, Mr. Arboleda teaches Spanish in Middletown High School and at Middlesex County College as an Adjunct Professor. He is an alumnus of Rutgers University, and also earned a masters degree in Spanish Literature and Culture from the University of Salamanca in Spain. He has traveled extensively in Europe and Latin America, and is fluent in French as well as English and his native Spanish.

In 1989 he came on vacation for his native home in Quito, Ecuador to visit family members here in the borough. He decided to stay, and has continued to reside in Middlesex County for most of the ensuing decades. Today, Mr. Arboleda has two adult children who live in nearby Edison.

In a room adjacent to the retail offering, Pure Light hosts a gallery space. Currently the work of a Pennsylvania artist is on display. However, the owner plans to dedicate the space to new artists from the area.

While store hours will be extended in the immediate future, currently Pure Light - Crafts & Beyond is open from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.

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