Bev's Notes

Hello, Friends!

Thanks for stopping by to check us out. PULP is a place with beautiful cards, great gifts and tons of charm. We love sharing with our customers new & fun merchandise that they in turn share with their loved ones. Dogs and babies (grown-ups, too!) are always welcome, as are sudden bursts of laughter! Stop in, say "hello" and as always, "come feel the love!"

Thank you for all of your good energy through our transition.  The outpouring of love from the city has helped ensure our future in the MidCity neighborhood! Please read the following message from PULP's former owner Paul Hempel on the past and future of our store.

"A little more than two and a half years after my late husband and PULP founder Ron Henderson died of liver cancer after a hard fought battle, I came to the sad conclusion that I could no longer keep his visionary store on 14^th and S NW in the District open. I had already had to close the store in P-Town after a disastrous summer in 2010 and, although the store in Washington DC was holding its own on and even growing its sales, it needed more investment and I was not up to it.  Over the two years since Ron passed away, with store manager Beverly Jones’s able assistance, we had made amazing progress toward digging the store out from debt during the middle of a recession and sales were growing. I had great hopes that we could keep the store open for the neighborhood and to keep Ron’s vision alive.

In early 2010, I located a buyer and worked with him over about 6 months, but ultimately, the recession made it impossible for him to raise the funds needed to complete the sale and his interests turned elsewhere.  In the meantime, I moved to Oregon to live with my new partner and investing more in a store I could not run day to day seemed impossible, so I decided to close the store with great heaviness in my heart. 

But then something really magical happened.  Within a week of announcing the closure, I had no less than three potential buyers approach me.  Mostly, they were long term loyal customers who wanted the store to continue and wanted the chance to make it happen.  It was a race against time, since Christmas orders, which had already been cancelled, needed to be reinstated very quickly.  It seemed impossible.

Last week I spent part of the week in the District and spent time working with several of the potential buyers on the phone and in person.  At the end of the week, the good news was that Tony Boykins had decided to take over the store and carry on the community vision Ron started almost 10 years ago.  I am very excited about this, not just because Ron’s vision will live on, but also because Tony is a dynamic personality with a good business sense and some great ideas for moving the store forward in new ways while maintaining the special niche PULP has found in the city.  Beverly Jones and Raven Bradburn will stay on as store manager and assistant manager and I will assist with the transition at least through the holidays, so we look forward to a new and exciting future. 

As we were preparing to close, we sifted through some of the vintage treasures that the basement storage had to offer and these are still on offer in the store, although very soon the holiday merchandise will crowd them out of the store.  I hope that the neighborhood will turn out to welcome Tony as the new driving force behind the store and support the store as never before.  Thanks in so many ways for the first 10 years of support for the store."