Sometime around 1969 Alex returned to New York City and spent some time living on the upper west side before finding his way downtown to Soho.  He met with a Gypsy family at 152 Prince Street who shared with him stories of the neighborhood and secrets of selling and soon he had the keys to the storefront.
In the early days, he sold magic books and tarot cards, tie-dyed shirts and leather belts as well as Tarot pendants he created using a print making process of acid etching.