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Earthsong provides a healthy 'alternative'

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Earthsong Bookstore on Janesville's north side is about to celebrate a 20th anniversary.

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Assistant Manager Elene Wagner, left, helps Doris Kreger of Janesville select a piece of jewelry at Earthsong.

Photo

Photo by Dan Lassiter

Items focused on Egyptology are on display at Earthsong of Janesville.

JANESVILLE — Before yoga became mainstream.

Before big box bookstores had whole sections labeled "Recovery."

And long, long before anyone in Janesville practiced the Japanese art of Reiki, there was Earthsong.

This weekend, Earthsong Books and Gifts, 2214 Kennedy Road, will celebrate its 20th anniversary.

It's a big deal for the little store.

First, for the obvious reasons: Locally owned businesses always have had to work harder to survive in the world of chain stores and mega-malls.

Secondly, because Earthsong—a promoter of the alternative, the holistic and the cutting edge—always has been a welcome piece of California in Janesville.

"I laugh about it being in the Midwest," said Linda Caldean, co-owner of the store. "It takes a couple of years for some of those ideas to get to here from the West Coast."

Caldean, a practicing nurse, and Michael Strelcheck started the store to provide a place for people to go for recovery materials and different types of holistic approaches to health.

"It was a pretty conservative society back then (when the store first opened)," Strelcheck said. "People would have had to go to Chicago or Madison for these kinds of things."

But Caldean and Strelcheck understood there was a market right here in Janesville and, instead of abandoning the city, they set up shop.

"Then, things like yoga, mediation and acupuncture were thought to be rather odd, rather strange," Caldean, said. "Now, of course, they're kind of mainstream. There's a Madison hospital that offers Reiki classes, and yoga is everywhere. People are finding it plays a role in their health."

And today, ShopKo has aromatherapy, grocery stores carry essential oils, and Target sells yoga mats.

Over the years, the store has evolved both in size and use, and its products have evolved along with it.

It has become a resource center for practitioners and consumers of a variety of non-traditional healthcare methods and spirituality practices.

A wall at the back of the store is filled with business cards, pamphlets and posters for local practitioners offering services.

Earthsong's owners have picked out products that represent the best of the best in the alternative medicine, green living and spirituality fields. Books, CDs, DVDs for sale and for rent fill the shelves. Shoppers can find books from evangelical leader Rick Warren or a book about Wiccan practices.

Also available are Tarot cards, "wisdom decks" (sets of cards with inspirational messages and advice), rosaries, dragon jewelry and statuettes, locally made jewelry and pottery, rocks and crystals.

And despite the diverse selection of products and belief systems, it all comes together. The store is a soothing spot for jangled nerves: The air is filled with the mingled scents of oils and the quiet burbling of tabletop fountains.

The secret to Earthsong's success?

"I think we've done it by combining traditional and alternative philosophies," Caldean said.

Their knowledge has made a difference, too.

"We do have a staff here that is very knowledgeable," Caldean said. "We share a vast amount of information with consumers."