Mar 8, 2011

What’s In Store:Bliss 101By Anastacia GrendaEncinitas.Patch.com

Pacific Station may be as urban and modern as it gets in Encinitas, but inside it harbors a tropical paradise.

The new Bliss 101 is a carefully curated gallery and gift shop that owner Helen Zeldes has instilled with a peaceful tranquility.

“People love to hang out here,” says Zeldes, a longtime Encinitas resident who has owned a similar shop, Global Creations and Interiors, on Oahu for 22 years. “In Hawaii, we say ‘talking story’—they come in and talk, catch up on what’s going on.”

It’s easy to while away the day inside Bliss 101, as it seems like there’s a new discovery waiting to be made every time you turn around.

Zeldes is a proponent of helping the community, both globally and locally. That means she carries work from regional artists and jewelry designers, for instance, as well as fair trade, sustainable items from such far-flung locales as Tahiti and Samoa. The end result is a visually enticing space where David Lloyd surf art, Polynesian jewelry, coconut wood goblets and furniture made from repurposed Balinese fishing boats all happily coexist to create what Zeldes calls a “stylish, fun, and funky” aesthetic.

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