Now and Zen Shop Moves to New Wharfside Location

The new Now and Zen is located at Wharfside Village in the former Dreams and Dragonflies space.

Now and Zen’s larger new store enabled owners to add large wooden carvings like the one of Buddha, above.

After more than a decade in its old location, Now and Zen recently moved across Cruz Bay to Wharfside Village.

Now and Zen owners Lolita Bratten and Ric Hathaway opened the doors to the shop’s new spot in the former Dreams and Dragonflies location late last month.

“We were in our location for 12 years, ever since we opened the store in Cruz Bay,” said Bratten. “Now we’re in the old Dream and Dragonflies spot which is a great place. I really like how it’s an individual little building in the middle of an open-space mall.”

The new store is more spacious than Bratten’s old location across from Cafe Roma, allowing the store owner to share even more exciting finds from her world travels.

“This summer went to Thailand and Bali and brought back these amazing wood carvings,” Bratton said. “The new store is a lot bigger so we’ve been able to bring those carvings in and it’s so much fun. We have these big Komodo dragons, lizards and carved mahogany fish and Buddhas.”

In addition to the Asian wood carvings, Now and Zen still offers an array of locally crafted goods like clothing from Carolyn Roust’s Planet Carolyn, wood carvings from Herman and body butter by Nazeema, Bratten added.

“We still have our local artists and our jewelry,” she said. “We haven’t taken anything out. We just added some really cool new things thanks to our larger space.”

Bratten also opened a Now and Zen outpost in Coral Bay last year which also gives shoppers the chance to pick up finds from Bratten’s far-flung adventures and artwork created right on St. John.

Now and Zen in Cruz Bay is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and the Coral Bay store is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information call Bratten at 714-1088.