Barbara Criswell

Owner

How long have you been working at Aquarius?

I opened Aquarius on April 1, 1989.

What is your favorite thing to talk to customers about?

Defining their needs and helping them choose the right solutions.

What is your favorite memory of the store?

When we had bought and were remodeling this building, my 10 year-old grandson spent some time with me and became our helper and message runner. We were having difficulty in getting a permit from the city and were collectively just frustrated and blocked from part of our remodeling. John Lenz set up a Ganesh altar at our old building asking for help in removing this obstacle. Patrick asked what the altar was and why there were M&M’s on it to which John replied that Ganesh can help remove obstacles and that he liked sweet things. Later, Patrick joined us for lunch and asked for cheesecake to go. I went back to the new building and he went back to the old and made an offering of his cheesecake to Ganesh. His request must have been immediately given since from that time on he would tell people “Whatever you want, just give cheesecake to Ganesh.”