Doers and Dreamers – Anthea White and Mark Palmer
Ding, Ding, Ding! I think we have the winners of the “Who Has Emigrated From the Country Furthest From Away Kingston” contest. Hailing from Sydney, Australia this weeks Doers and Dreamers have hit the floor running with their coffee shop in the heart of Midtown Kingston. Just to make this eatery unique enough to draw customers to it’s ‘off the beaten path’ location they have a baby grand piano in one of the seating areas and you might even be treated to an impromptu concert with your coffee.
Your name: Anthea White and Mark Palmer
Business or organization: village coffee and goods, 17 Railroad Ave., Kingston, NY
Occupation: musicians / owners of village coffee and goods
What is your approach to your business or occupation that makes you unique?
Mark and I generally put everything into anything we love and are passionate about. Village coffee is all that, I suppose. We made all the furniture, we sanded the floors, painted and basically sweated our passion into that place. We wanted to create the space that we would want to go and hang out and also a space that would establish a warm community feel, this includes bringing in our grand piano from Brooklyn.
Where are you from originally? 
We are both from Sydney, Australia
What brought you to the Kingston area and keeps you in this area?
We originally came upstate to look for a house as a getaway from the city. When our son was scared of grass was at age 1 we decided it was time to get out our cement existence in Brooklyn. Once we found our cute red brick house in mid town and spent a lot of time fixing it up it was hard to leave. And not only this, we immediately met an abundance of wonderful people who quickly became the great friends that we now call family up here.
What is your favorite hangout in this area and why?
We don’t get to hang out much these days but we love walking to the rondout and our boy Jean loves feeding the ducks. We love the Saturday farmers market and Jean especially loves the live music. And for us parents, we love Brunette Wine bar to hang out for a glass of something and that amazing egg sandwich. We still have a lot of exploring to do!
When you’re not in Kingston, what’s your idea of a wonderful city to visit, and why?
We have to say our home town, Sydney, because it is truly a beautiful city. We both love the beach and Sydney has some of the most beautiful surf beaches in the world. And best of all, our family and oldest best friends all live there!
Tell us something that we never would have guessed about you.
Mark and Anthea first met through their singing teacher in Australia, then joined her vocal ensemble, and they finally got together in Tokyo Japan during a 6 month, Lost In Translation style, contract gig in 2003.
