Sunshine Daydream
434 State St., 250-2365
10 am-7 pm Mon.-Wed., 10 am-8 pm Thurs., 10 am-9 pm Fri.-Sat., 11 am-7 pm Sun.
There are few real hippies (you know, who actually grew up in the '60s and rebelled against the mainstream culture) still hanging around in the spotlight, but the hippie shop phenom lives on. There's one in every college town, and in Madison, Wis., it's State Street's own Sunshine Daydream, where there's nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile.
Radical rockers, cheeky political types and, yes, the diehard patchouli oil lovers of the world will dig this emporium of goodies owned by Jacky and Jim Trudeau. The store is stocked full of sundry concert T-shirts (think Bob Marley, Led Zeppelin, the Grateful Dead), bumper stickers, statement buttons, braided hemp jewelry and maybe a pipe or two - in case you're into experimenting with wild herbs.
"We love State Street," says Jacky. "Rents do nothing but go up, but I think it's important for communities to hold on to unique spots like this street."
Make it a day trip and check out these cool things: a groovy Jimi Hendrix textile poster flag ($18); a hemp shoulder bag with floral print by Kathmandu imports ($26); fragrant - but not overpowering - Tibetan jasmine incense sticks ($4.69/pkg.); a sleek metal zodiac necklace on black cord ($8); colorful tapestries that can be hung, worn or laid out as a bedspread ($20); and a locally blown glass pipe with flower power motif ($25).
