POULSBO — In a downtown area that prides itself on one particular heritage, Heavenly Choices celebrates the many backgrounds of the world.

And their philosophy is being embraced across the North Kitsap community.

Poulsbo residents Eileen Angilletta and Susan Johnson opened the shop at the former Wild & Wooley location in July.

The two said the idea came to them when they started talking about world issues on the way to a drum circle festival in April. Angilletta, a teacher at Poulsbo Junior High, had harbored the dream for years but the two were able to pull it together in just a matter of months.

“This was sort of my retirement dream and I pulled her in on it,” Angilletta said with a laugh.

Heavenly Choices carries a wide variety of items from across the globe and also from just down the road. There is a room full of women’s clothing and accessories, including belly dancing costuming and Renaissance outfits. Kitsap company Pacific Moon offers additive-free body care products and the store also carries a line of natural and safe makeup. Store employee Jackie Lax supplies the shop with handmade jewelry and they also carry things like fountains, baby accessories and artwork. All stock has a decidedly international flair but also a message to send.

“We wanted to hit all kinds of cultures and make sure it was fair trade and environmentally friendly, we had to do a lot of research to find our sources,” Angilletta explained. “We also wanted to support local artists and global artists.”

As opposed to similar import stores, Heavenly Choices’ stock also focuses on spirituality. Items include smudge sticks, incense and soy candles, CDs of music for meditation, relaxation and yoga, essential oils, drums and rattles, books and other meditative items. There is also a reading library and gently used and new books for sale.

“We wanted to be able to support people on whatever type of spiritual journey they were on,” Johnson said.

And the offerings are constantly changing. The business partners said that they’ve had numerous locals contact them, offering more sources for fair trade and locally sustainable items. They said they’ve also gotten a lot of support from other business owners in the downtown area, which has simply added to the enjoyment of opening their first business together.

“We just knew a lot of people and things just started to happen,” Johnson said.

“We’ve really met some of the neatest people through this,” Angilletta added.

Besides other business owners, the pair also said they’ve had a wonderful response from the community. They said they’ve had many people come into the store and remark how happy they are to have a source for so many hard-to-find items. For instance, in just three months time, they’ve already become the main costume supplier for one local belly dance troupe.

“It’s been overwhelming, better than we expected and so quickly,” Johnson said.

And because response has been so strong from the community, the pair has already begun increasing the store’s offerings by expanding into the upstairs of the Victorian-style house. They currently offer psychic readings but will soon be hosting practitioners of massage, hypnosis and general energy work. A flurry of workshops are also planned including Chi Kung, yoga and other non-stressful forms of exercise, drum and rattle making, natural dyes from plants and flower essences.

“We have lots of workshops coming up, they’re filling up quickly for October and November,” Angilletta said.