Maruka Gallery

When my husband suggested he take me to Tiffany’s for my Christmas present, I thought I’d check out this local boutique instead and I’m so glad I did! Maruka has a great selection of unique jewelry pieces with a whole lot more character than Tiffany’s! Plus, the service was great. I went ahead to scope out pieces that I liked and the woman working took time to help me try a bunch of things on until I found the perfect pieces. Merry Christmas to me!

I can’t speak to the yoga, only to the jewelry and the charming owners, but every time I stop in here I leave happily (and with something new and pretty). They have a small but intriguing array of men’s cufflinks, as well as a growing supply of striking stuff from a designer in Israel whose name I have forgotten. Check it out when you’re in the neighborhood.

I stumbled upon Maruka walking home to the Blagden Alley neighborhood from U Street, and I’m so glad I did. Though I can’t speak to the yoga here, the products at the store are clearly selected with love and care. I bought a chic, light green wallet (apparently from a small vendor in nyc) for only $ 40. I will definitely be back to check out the jewelry and bags.

I recently got the chance to return to Maruka for yoga with some Elite Unilocalers:
Daniel Hickman managed to teach what was probably the most fun-​filled yoga class I have ever attended that Saturday.
My major issue with yoga is that it’s often so serious. Yet with Daniel, the entire class was laughing — a very good thing indeed.

Yoga Studio & Well-​Being Shop in one…
I was pretty bummed that I was in a time crunch and didn’t get to look at the shop after the Elite event here the weekend before last, so I had penned in coming here for the free yoga class and shopping! They have free yoga classes at least once a month and their prices are extremely reasonable for their yoga workshops.
My kind man agreed to ride down to DC with me and check out Maruka, a trip that we had guessed would take about 45 minutes on bike, but some very unfriendly bike routes, inconsiderate motorists and oblivious pedestrians tacked on an extra 40 minutes to the trip. Therefore, we arrived with half an hour left in the class and even though we were welcome to go upstairs and join, I would have felt bad for disrupting their «chi». So, instead, I shopped!
I have to say, I really love their collection of clothes, hand-​made bags (expensive, but so pretty!), aromatic oils, bath soaps and body washes, candles, jewelry and chakra stones. Their products are natural and organic so it’s very nice to be able to shop here and not have to worry about the chemicals if you want to buy something. I really would like to go back and get some of the candles and the body wash I skipped on. The owner is especially nice and knows a lot about everything she carries.
I had to point to stuff and tell my husband, «I like this; gift item!» because I couldn’t take that much home with me in my backpack. I really went into to take a look at some of their more citrus oils to help me wake up in the mornings; I have this diffuser and different scents help me to unwind or wake-​up. They have a great selection for a great price, and all are organic, so I was very pleased.
I never expected to walk out of here with a chakra stone, but I felt particularly drawn to this beautiful, lavender, heart-​shaped amethyst stone, so I bought it. I couldn’t really explain why I was smiling as I held this stone, but it made my husband comment that I had grown a lot weirder over the years from when he first met me.
I like Maruka, so I guess that makes me weird. It’s such a cool place, what’s not to like?