The Season of Plum and Cobblestone: Hampden Junque

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Hampden Junque

Oh how I love this place. Kay and I discovered this fabulous lil' shop in May of 2015, but since it's a cash-only business I could only afford my Madrid postcard at the time. (Kayla and I had to search under the car seats to pool together enough change to make three bucks.) What I really wanted was the picture of Christ holding a cigarette in one hand and a martini in the other, but sadly, it was not to be. Hampden Junque is packed to the rafters with tons of unique and wonderful items, but the best part of the shop is owner Michal Makarovich. While browsing, there was an instrumental piece playing that was clearly from a familiar film, but damn it, I just couldn't place it. I asked what we were listening to and Michal said that it was from a mix a friend of his had made and dropped off that morning. It was a mix entirely featuring songs about James Dean or from his films. (The theme from Rebel Without a Cause was the song that was playing, by the way.) Michal then endeared himself to me when he said, " I love your hair. Who cuts it?" I pointed to myself, since I cut and colour my own hair, and Michal exclaimed, "That's a seventy-five dollar haircut!" We got to gabbing and introductions were made. He asked where we were from and told us about how much he loves Philadelphia and how his former partner, John Glover, performed at a charming theatre near Rittenhouse Square. On our way out, he recommended that we check out the Visionary Arts Museum down by the harbour. Funnily enough it was on my list of things to check out in Baltimore; the one that I left back home on my desk and completely forgot about. So we left Hampden Junque and headed straight to the Museum and had a fabulous time. Looking forward to my next jaunt to the Junque and more chit chat with that fab fella behind the counter.