Ultra Pop celebrates 10 years of weirdness — and small-business success

Ultra Pop celebrates 10 years of selling weird things like Madballs. | Courtesy of Ultra Pop

Ten years ago, I walked into a small storefront on Bardstown Road for the first time. What I saw made me feel like my unconscious mind — filled with bright colors, strange toys, loud music and arcane comic books — had suddenly sprung to life. I was hooked the second I stepped foot into Ultra Pop.

Ultra Pop owner Paul LePree recently visited Japan. | Courtesy of Ultra Pop

A decade later, the little store with underground art, high-end collectable toys and all kinds of weird stuff is still around, still selling anything that tickles the fancy of curator and owner Paul LePree.

LePree spoke with Insider on the challenges of being a one-of-a-kind retail outlet, the ups and downs of the last 10 years, and the moments that have made it all worthwhile.

His story is familiar, one he shares with many small-business owners.

“I was working for a mall chain retailer and had had my fill of that,” says LePree.

A lifelong pop-culture junkie and an avid Prince fan, LePree had been percolating an idea for what kind of store he wanted to open.

“My previous job took me out to Los Angeles three or four times a year, and I would usually stay with friends a few days after the meeting,” he says. “And they would take me to all these stores they knew I would like.”

The shops included everything from vinyl-focused toy stores like Giant Robot in Santa Monica to Melt Down Comics on Sunset Boulevard.

“I saw these stores I was really into and I thought, ‘Well, what if I take a little piece of each one and mix it up under one roof?’ I knew (Louisville) would not be able to support something too specific, so I took elements of different places I was a big fan of and just kind a put it all together,” he says.

Ultra Pop is located at 960 Barret Ave. | Courtesy of Ultra Pop

Though LePree had been planning the job switch for a while, when the time came, it happened faster than expected.

“Kopilot was in existence over on Bardstown Road, and I had been a regular customer there,” he explains. “I went in one day and said, ‘Look, I’m thinking of doing my own thing,’ and (the owner) said, ‘Well, I’m kinda done, I just want to do screen printing, so if you want the space, move on in.’”

When the opportunity for a Bardstown Road address came along, LePree pulled the trigger.

“So I cashed in all my 401K and vacation time,” he says. “I had been pre-planning for a year … putting money aside and working on an SBA (Small Business Administration) loan.”

The accelerated plan for opening his own store did cause him some moments of anxiety.

“Actually, the SBA didn’t get approved until two days after my last day at work, so I was kinda sweating it there for a minute,” says LePree. “I was, like, what am I gonna do?”

But the shop opened in 2007, and LePree was ready to share his quixotic sense of cool with the rest of Louisville.

“I kind of had to educate a little bit, to explain what this stuff was and why people should love it,” he says.

Just like vinyl records, comic books or Eames furniture, the goods LePree had for sale weren’t worth much until local nerds, artists and collectors began to see these things the way LePree sees them.

One of the reasons Ultra Pop is still around is that LePree’s genuine fondness for his wares permeates his personality and the store. When he tells you — for example — about the latest limited release kidrobot figure, he doesn’t come across like a bored jerk hipster. Instead, it’s more like he’s your cool older cousin letting you in on the secret of what’s hip.

The store partners with many local artists. | Courtesy of Ultra Pop

But it hasn’t always been easy. Due to rising rent prices on Bardstown Road, LePree decided to move his shop over to Barret Avenue a few years ago, right when a certain high-profile neighborhood restaurant — ahem, Lynn’s Paradise Cafe — was closing down. The closure cut down foot traffic LePree had been counting on.

Ultra Pop managed to turn into a destination spot and bring its own dedicated customers to the Barret Avenue corridor.

Over the years, LePree has maintained a network of national contacts that help supply him with his merchandise, but he’s outlasted many of his suppliers.

“Every time I do these calls (to order merchandise), there’s a chunk of my list that just isn’t in business anymore,” he says. “The designer toy scene has had its ups and downs in the 10 years I’ve been involved.”

You can find art, high-end collectables and all kinds of weird stuff, like these masks. | Courtesy of Ultra Pop

While some companies have closed, new companies have opened, and LePree usually doesn’t have trouble getting his foot in the door.

“I’ve called vendors before that I hadn’t dealt with, and they’ll be, like, ‘Oh, I heard about you, someone said something to me the other day about Ultra Pop.’”

In addition to his national and international network, LePree relies on local artists, scenesters and friends.

“I surround myself with people who enrich my life,” he says. “There’s a lot of shit I wouldn’t be able to pull off if it wasn’t for the friends and the people I’ve met in the community. That’s one of the biggest rewards for me — just knowing all these people.”

Next up for Ultra Pop? Well, there currently is a 10-year anniversary group art show hanging at the shop that’ll be up through the summer. It features a variety of artists who have been shown or sold goods at Ultra Pop over the years.

LePree also just got back from a trip to check out possible new merchandise in Japan, the first international trip he’s taken.

Paul LePree | Courtesy of Ultra Pop

“I wanted to see if I could go over there and find enough merchandise for the store to make it a yearly thing, and I certainly found enough stuff,” he says. “It’s just a matter of selling it now.”

Ten years in, LePree and Ultra Pop still bring new things to town, keep Louisville weird and fill a niche many people didn’t even know we had.

Ultra Pop, located at 960 Barret Ave., is open from noon-7 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; noon-8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and noon-6 p.m. on Sunday. For more info, pictures of cool stuff and updates on events and merchandise, follow Ultra Pop on Facebook.

Ultra Pop hosts ‘The Beautiful Ones,’ an art show honoring Prince and David Bowie

Art by Angel Hawari and Stezio

It has been a dark year for music lovers. The one-two punch of losing David Bowie and Prince left a hole in many hearts.

On Saturday, July 9, artists from around Louisville and beyond will get a chance to share what those musicians meant to them when Ultra Pop hosts “The Beautiful Ones: A Tribute to Prince and David Bowie.”

Any Ultra Pop regular knows that owner Paul LePree is a hardcore Prince fan. Frequent Ultra Poppers will have seen concert footage on the big screen in the shop and heard LePree spinning Prince on vinyl. And given LePree’s propensity to chat with regulars, many probably have had conversations with him about Prince. He spoke with Insider Louisville in advance of the art show and shared his memories of growing up with a Prince soundtrack.

“I was living in Rockport, Texas, a little tiny town outside Corpus Christi. This was 1982,” says LePree, recounting the day he discovered the purple one. “I went to Walmart, which was, like, the only store you could buy cassettes, and I bought Prince’s 1999. I listened to it, and I was, like, I don’t know what this is but I like it.”

Art by Chloe Lee

Until that point, the music LePree listened to was dictated mostly by his parents. He recalls hearing classic rock and things like Led Zeppelin and Neil Diamond. But LePree felt a sense of ownership in his relationship with Prince.

“It was kinda the first music I discovered that was mine,” he says.

LePree was hooked, and a few years later, he begged his parents to take him to see “Purple Rain,” even though it was rated R. He laughs when recalling the experience.

“I’ll never forget how uncomfortable I was during the sex scene with Prince and Apollonia in his bedroom,” he says, dropping the levity of voice to add, “Prince taught me how to love women, and I mean that in all sincerity.”

LePree — whose shop focuses on pop culture and filters things like nerdom, cartoons and music through a pop art lens — decided to host a David Bowie tribute shortly after Bowie’s death in January. Ultra Pop’s schedule is booked months in advance, however, so it was going to take several months for a hole to open up. He booked the Bowie show, and then on April 21, the unfathomable happened — Prince died at the age of 57.

LePree says the idea to host a dual show honoring both artists didn’t come from him. “Several people were, like, ‘Paul, why don’t you do a combination Prince and Bowie show?’”

While their musical senses didn’t often line up, there are similarities in the cultural impact the two artists made.

“Prince and Bowie are definitely two of those artists who transcended what they recorded musically,” says LePree. “Gender, fashion, individuality — both of them sent the message of, ‘Be who the fuck you want to be, sleep with whoever you want. You wanna wear makeup, you don’t wanna wear makeup, just be your self.’”

Art by Chloe Lee

LePree observes that the artists were special to “outsiders, those people on the fringe.” Many of those outsiders grew up to be artists themselves, and LePree expects a big turnout for the show.

“I think it’s gonna be a lot bigger than I anticipated,” he says. “I think it’s gonna be nuts.”

You can also expect to hear some Prince and Bowie spinning at the event. LePree DJs on the side occasionally, including the yearly Prince birthday party at Meta. He’s known around the scene as Ultra Paul, and his Prince proclivities are also no secret. The day Prince died, LePree fielded multiple requests for his DJ skills and his impressive collection of Prince on vinyl.

“I had a couple good opportunities to DJ his music after he passed,” says LePree. “I played at two places that night, and for his birthday this year, they played ‘Purple Rain’ at the Palace and I DJ’ed, and then went to Meta. It really helped me get through it.”

Calls to DJ weren’t the only ones LePree got the day Prince died.

“I heard from more people than I heard from when my father passed away a couple of years ago. I heard from ex-girlfriends I hadn’t talked to in 10, 15, 20 years. People far and wide reached out to me.”

Art by Stezio

He admits he was surprised by the depth of feeling he experienced. “I never thought I would be affected by the death of somebody I don’t know, but his soundtrack was the soundtrack to so many moments in my life.”

“The Beautiful Ones: A Tribute to Prince and David Bowie,” opens Saturday, July 9, at Ultra Pop, 960 Barret Ave. The reception/party runs from 6-10 p.m., and the exhibit will be up through July 31. Submissions still are being accepted until Thursday, July 7.

If you need a little extra David Bowie and Prince in your life, check out a musical tribute planned at Haymarket Whiskey Bar on Saturday, July 16, and Sunday, July 17. Get your tickets now, as the show is expected to sell out.

Louisville Cartoonist Society launches its latest anthology at Ultra Pop

The Louisville Cartoonist Society’s latest anthology

The Louisville Cartoonist Society will release its newest anthology at a special art show tonight, July 3, at Ultra Pop, an art gallery and toy store on Barret Avenue. Members of the organization will offer an array of art for purchase, including original pages from their fantasy-themed “Tall Tales & Little Lies.”

LCS’s Phil Back took a moment to talk with Insider about the group and their latest anthology. He says they formed six years ago out of necessity.

“Our mission is to bring like-minded comic book creators from our community together,” says Back. “We want to build collaboration and cultivate talent.”

The group is a loose collection of artists and writers who often use the society to find partners for personal projects outside of the LCS anthologies.

“There are writers looking for artists, and artists looking for stories, and there’s always somebody looking for someone to color their book, or letter their book, or their comic strip or something,” explains Back.

Joining the group doesn’t involve a lot of hoop jumping. Back likes to keep things casual. If you just show up and participate, you’re in. The easiest way to get involved would be to check out LCS’s weekly “drink and draw” at Zanzabar, where members converge every Wednesday night from 7-11 p.m.

The group has turned out an impressive full-color anthology once a year for the last five years. After the first year, each collection has been organized around a theme, including a horror anthology, a children’s anthology and a Louisville stories anthology. Originally, themes were chosen by the participants, but then the society decided to try something different.

“We want to create books that people want to read and we want to build our audience, so we decided: Let’s put it out for a vote,” says Back. “So at the Derby City Comic Con, we let people choose from a list of 10. We’ve done that for the last few years.”

The audience chose last year’s Louisville theme and this year’s fantasy theme.

Art by LCS member Steven Bowman

Back says the newest anthology, which features 32 collaborators, has surprising takes on the fantasy genre: “There is a story by Steven Bowman that features a fantasy battle of the bands. There’s a Western. We run the gamut, pushing the theme in different directions.”

LCS first worked with Ultra Pop owner Paul LePree on a series of custom toy shows. The shop is the ideal location, Back says, and a friendship between the store and the society was a no-brainer.

Friday’s exhibit will feature an array of offerings from LCS members. Back says he’s encouraged everyone to bring their own portfolios and prints — “We’ll just have a big LCS mini convention right there in Ultra Pop,” he says.

Ultra Pop is located at 960 Barret Ave. The show starts at 6 p.m. on Friday, July 3, and continues through the weekend.

A Night of Naughty and Nice: Dueling art openings on Barret Avenue

This Saturday, the cool art crowd will be hanging out on Barret Avenue, as two young annual art shows pop up for their second and third iterations.

Double billing themselves as “A Night of Naughty and Nice,” Revelry Boutique and Ultra Pop will host a who’s who of my favorite local painters, sculptors, mixed media-ers, and — best of all for the budget-conscious art fiend — print makers.

The “nice” will be located at Revelry as “Cuteopia” hits us in the sweet spot with its sophomore outing. Revelry’s website promises the works (by an all-female roster of local artists) are “so cute you’ll puke.”

Last year the entries struck a balance between the ironically saccharine, the weirdly chibli, and the sincerely sweet.

I’ll personally be on the look out for affordable works by co-curator Lindy Lou (of Zombie Attack birthday fame) or Miss Happy Pink, who sold me my two new favorite T-shirts back in December.

After you’ve cuted yourself into an art-induced sugar high, you can head over to Ultra Pop for something salty, as the third annual XXX Art show hopefully lives up to its name and reputation.

In previous years art has run the gamut from racy to downright graphic, so much so that Ultra Pop owner (and righteous local DJ) Paul LePree felt it prudent to black out the windows.

Because think of the children.

Mo McKnight Howe, co-owner of Revelry and co-curator of Cuteopia, points out that it’s “a great way to buy something for a significant other that’s going to be different, something really unique.”

Could the same be said for the XXX Art Show? Hopefully you know your significant other well enough to judge if your gifts to them should be nice or naughty.

Paul LePree knows the pearl-clutchers out there might not be lining up to buy at this show. He notes that “it’s not a brisk sellable show because of it’s nature,” but cites how much the artists love it, and asks, “If I’m not going to do it, who is?”

Because of the edgier subject matter, LePree is able to lure regional artists to Ultra Pop, like the HAND group from Detroit and Matt Barnes from Cincinnati.

Local artists contributing include Robby Davis, Gerald Tidwell, and Vinnie Kochert, among others.

Cuteopia hangs until Feb. 28, but it is a “buy and take show,” according to McKnight Howe. If you buy it, it goes home with you right away. The artists will replenish some of the pieces as they find homes, so there should be some great pieces available through the month.

The XXX Art show will also hang until the end of February.

But the artists and the cool kids will be on hand Saturday night at 7 p.m., and the absolute best pieces may be snapped up early at both shows.

Ultra Pop and Revelry both keep shops full of excellent items in addition to the art shows they host. Stop by and buy something fun.