Description: Of the shops in Old San Juan, I’d say that
The Butterfly People was the most original and certainly the most enjoyable.
If you’ve never taken the time to admire the art that is a butterfly wing, you’ll certainly recognize it when you walk into this shop. The Purington family began collecting and mounting butterflies when their daughter was born in the 70s -– the artwork will take your breath away.
The shop itself is small - you'd miss it if you weren't looking for it. (It's longer than it is wide.) The blue facade reveals nothing about the colorful art inside. Once you enter, however, there are lucite boxes with swarms of butterflies all over the wall. Some are small -- less than a square foot. Others could hang over your living room couch! The butterflies look like they're just resting, which makes you approach carfully as so not to make them flutter away! The shop also sells butterfly kites that are hanging on the wall and butterfly magnets (man-made). There's not much room on the inside, but the walls are filled to the brim with art.
The butterflies are raised in a butterfly farm and when they fall to the earth (not killed), they are saved and used in the unique art pieces.
I just couldn’t get enough of looking at these butterflies. There were blue ones and yellow ones, swallowtails and monarchs, and the shop owners know the name of every one.
These pieces are for sale and range from $5 to $1500. After much deliberation, I chose a one-of-a-kind piece with a small white butterfly and a larger blue butterfly with intricate wing details. When the shop owner put it in the box, she wrote down the names of the butterflies and their native homes. I was now the proud owner of an Appias Sabina from Malaysia (the small white one) and a Charaxes Smaragdalis from Africa (the blue one). I was given care instructions (don’t drop it and keep it out of direct sunlight so the wing colors don’t fade) and given a 10% discount (the whole shop was on sale). The total cost was around $30, a bargain for a one-of-a-kind piece of butterfly art.
Even if you don’t buy the art, stop in to just take a look at the swarms on the walls and be prepared for a goose-pimply experience.
Note: Photographs inside the shop aren't allowed.
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