By Annie Kinnett Nichols
One of my favorite Intown haunts is Paris on Ponce and Pop Marché, which is just steps from the Eastside Trail. You know the place: there’s a big Eiffel Tower with King Kong holding Fay Wray at the top.
PoP will mark its 20th anniversary in 2015, and it’s built a reputation for offering an eclectic range of antiques and oddities. If you’re looking for a unique holiday gift, there are more than 30 unique boutiques located inside PoP.
I also love Le Moulin Rouge, the rentable nightclub space where I’ve witness weddings and a performance by King Sized, and the annual Bastille Day party. It’s like walking onto an ever-changing movie set when you step through the door. And, yes, they do rent props to moviemakers.
PoP’s Holiday Extravaganza is coming the weekend before Christmas, Dec. 20-21, featuring free libations, an aerialist, burlesque girls and more.
Partners Skip Englebrecht and Nicolette Valdespino have made PoP a true destination, and a place I like to take my friends when they come to visit. With a mix of galleries and vendors it’s a neat place to hang out for a couple of hours.
One of my favorite vendors is Absinthe, which specializes in the oddball and quirky including an entire moose. Relics has typewriters, Hollywood lights, an antique bingo roller and neon signs. Altar-ed features vintage wedding pieces.
There’s a guy who specializes in World War II items, while one my favorite antique dealers, Claudia Thompson, former owner of Providence in Morningside, continues to find amazing collections and unusual individual pieces.
I thought Kong and Fay were looking a little chilly, so I knitted scarves for both of them and Skip kindly put them up to keep the couple warm this winter.
Paris on Ponce & Pop Marché is located at 716 Ponce de Leon Place in Virginia-Highland. For more, visit parisonponce.com.