Deadhead paraphernalia sellers expect sky-high sales - The Detroit News
When the Grateful Dead’s long, strange trip comes to an end this weekend with a series of farewell concerts at Soldier Field in Chicago, it will give devoted fans one last chance to commune with the band in a sea of tie-dyed glory. One such outlet is the Sunshine Daydream Hippie Shop, a suburban, 17-year-old psychedelic storefront that has been selling all things Grateful Dead like there’s no tomorrow. “The people I’ve been seeing the past few weeks are mostly older people I’ve never seen in the store before,” said Mark Paradise, 49, the store’s owner and a dedicated Deadhead. 1 thing they’re buying is T-shirts, because they don’t have a tie-dye or anything with Grateful Dead on it and they don’t want to look, for lack of a better term, square. Paradise, who grew up in Chicago, began hawking Grateful Dead merchandise at the band’s Midwestern concerts in the 1990s while still holding down a day job in marketing. He became a full-time Deadhead retailer in 1997. Located in a shopping center along U. S. Highway 12, Sunshine Daydream is amid such mall staples as Jo-Ann Fabrics, Great Clips and Advance Auto Parts. Inside, tie-dye shirts, blacklight posters and a plethora of Grateful Dead merchandise cover every corner of the small store, and every possible use of the band’s logos and images. Source: www.detroitnews.com
