‘Goddess’ returns to shop-keeping in Clarks Summit

 Work. For most, it’s part of the daily grind, a requirement that everyone has to fulfill. For one local entrepreneur, however, work — or, more precisely, self-employment — is the key to happiness.

Whitney Mulqueen is owner of Goddess Creations and a public relations coordinator for the Scranton Club. It took abandoning self-employment for a time to reach the realization that Mulqueen is happiest when she’s her own boss.

Mulqueen opened the Goddess Shoppe in 1999 on Depot St. in Clarks Summit. There, she sold things like "handcrafted soaps, candles, jewelery, incenses, aromatherapy oils, pheromone oils, flower essences, gem stones/crystals, assorted dyed herbs, artwork, statuary and books."

After running the store for several years, Mulqueen decided that she wanted to try other things. Perhaps, she thought, having someone else be boss might be a refreshing change.

She closed the doors to her shop in 2004, deciding that it was time to work for others in "the real world." She did just that for the next four years . . . but then she realized that she had it right the first time.

"When I decided to try to work for other people, I closed my shop for a year to see if I’d be happier without all the responsibility of being an owner, and what I found out was that I missed my customers terribly and the healing work that I did for them," Mulqueen said. "Other jobs just were not fulfilling enough. It’s the old saying of, ‘You don’t know what you’ve lost til’ it’s gone,’ and when I saw the old storefront back in October of 08, I knew it was a sign that everything in my life had come full circle."

Mulqueen re-opened her store in 2008 in the same Depot Street location and re-named it Goddess Creations, and hasn’t looked back since.

Around the same time, she started volunteering for the Scranton Club, working as its PR director.

She met the manager of the Scranton Club, June Winnicki, in the fall of 2008. The two decided to re-energize the fading Scranton landmark. The club joined the First Friday art walks that are held in downtown Scranton every month. The first artist the club hosted for a First Friday was Paul McCrone.

"I put on my PR hat and got several great interviews for Paul McCrone with Alicia Grega of Electric City and other area journalists," Mulqueen said. "I am proud to say that the exposure Paul got has been terrific for his artwork — he even has pieces now on display at an art museum in Binghamton."

Mulqueen’s work at Goddess Creations has recently spilled over into her work at the Scranton Club.

"Goddess Creations’ initial intertwining with the club was the art link," Mulqueen said. "I was having the art show at my shop and I ran out of space. I asked June if the club could host a show for Goddess Creations and it was a hit idea! Goddess Creations just held its Fall Holistic New Age Craft Show on Oct. 3 at The Scranton Club and it was a fund raiser for The Woman’s Resource Center and The Scranton Club Restoration Fund."

Now that everything is on track in Mulqueen’s business world, she has more time to focus on other aspects of her life.

This winter, she plans to adopt a retired racehorse and to retrain him. The horse, named "What Is," was forced to retire early because he was too slow. This is the first time Mulqueen will adopt a horse, but this isn’t her first time working with them.

She makes a supplement for horses available at her store called "Mare’s Mix" and it’s meant to be fed to "grumpy" mares in training. Mulqueen’ plans to adopt a few more horses after "What Is."

Mulqueen knows she has hit her stride in both her professional and personal lives. She believes that fate has brought her to this point in her life.

"I think that everything happens for a reason, good and bad," Mulqueen said. "When things fall into place— it’s a sort of serendipity and you know that you’re on the right path for your life purpose."

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