Matt (left) & Mark (right) Bebawy[/caption]
Funky Piece is the newest head shop in DC but the cousins that own it, Mark and Matt Bebawy, are old hands at the glass game, as their bright, airy shop on 18th St NW is an extension of their online shop, FunkyPiece.com. They also maintain their own excellent blog of new products they like. It was the Gentleman's pleasure to sally forth into the autumn dusk, dusty-jacketed and begoggled, to survey their swanky new digs.
Mostly, I blabbered at them for ninety minutes. Taking turns between gossiping and talking about how pretty I am, I remembered to journalism in between:
Where are you guys from?
MARK: We both grew up in Silver Spring.
What do you- oh wait, wow. Is that a cannabis plant?
MARK: Yep. Girl Scout Cookies.
MATT: We're keeping her in veg and when she gets close to the legal weight limit, we're going to give out clones.
Very cool. People love GSC. So you've got some growing experience.
MATT: Yeah, I actually consult on some grows here in DC. That side of the business is called Funky Farmacy.
MARK: We're happy to answer any grow questions people might have here at the shop, too.
The shop looks great, by the way, guys, excellent job.
MATT: Thanks, dude. It's been a lot of hard work. I don't know how anybody can start a business and manage a family or life or whatever at the same time.
MARK: It's rewarding, too. It's great to be part of DC's new legal cannabis community. It's awesome that we can just talk about cannabis openly instead of pointing to signs that state "TOBACCO USE ONLY."
MATT: Sure. And we just had the folks out from DC NORML to check out the place the other night, it was great catching up with them.
So why a glass shop? There are lots of creative new businesses folks are using to cash in on DC's marijuana rush.
MATT: Well, we've been selling quality glass and smoking accessories online at FunkyPiece.com already, so it was a natural fit.
MARK: And there wasn't any other shop in the U St neighborhood.
I know what you mean. And while DC is one of the more walkable cities, with the Metro's problems, and parking in general being horrendous, it'd be nice to have a shop wherever you live or play instead of having to make a trek to the few around.
MARK: Exactly. We would like to expand into becoming a dispensary one day, when that becomes possible. Operating a brick and mortar shop, though, allows us the chance to become a real fixture in the community and grow into a dispensary organically along with the expected expansion of DC's cannabis laws. That's what we want.
In the meantime- what's the most expensive piece of glass you sell?
MATT: $470 for the heady stuff, like this Batman bong. And we've got lots of high-quality, American-made glass at a variety of price points. We're really passionate about good glass and personally make sure the products we sell will meet the expectations of our customers.
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Riddle me this, Alfred. Why haven't you brought me the bucket of cookie dough I asked for, like, hours ago?[/caption]
Nice. What if I'm looking for a wax pen? Which do you recommend?
MARK: Can't go wrong with the Dr Dabber. The chamber cap snaps on magnetically, dual coil, ceramic bowl...it's a great piece, I really like mine.
A solid choice in the wax pen market, definitely. What are you guys smoking these days?
MATT: We're loving The Big right now from B.C. Bud Depot. It's a cross of G13 x Butterscotch Hawaiian. Killer genetics, heavy yielder, smells amazing. We're both growing that strain.
That sounds freaking awesome. I can't wait to check that out!
You should check them out, too! They're open until midnight tonight. Here's all the other juicy deets in one handy-dandy guide:
2116 18th St NW, Washington DC 20009
(202) 506-3060
Mon-Wed 12pm-9pm
Thurs-Sat 12pm-12am
Sunday 12pm-6pm
Follow Funky Piece on Instagram @funkypieceshop
Follow Funky Farmacy on Instagram @funkyfarmacy
Online shop at www.funkypiece.com
Blog at blog.funkypiece.com