Meet Jonathan Alberico of The Learned Lemur in Aurora

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Alberico.

Jonathan, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in an antique shop on South Broadway, along Denver’s Antiques Row and back then, I would sort out all the odd things no one else wanted. It has since evolved into the oddities business I have today; now, I sell all those odd things, like antique medical devices, taxidermy, and religious relics. In addition to reselling old oddities, I have been doing skeletal articulation for about ten years and have two dermestid beetle colonies. Those beetles provide us the opportunity to offer pet memorial and custom cleaning services, as well as keep our shop stocked with skulls of all kinds that are cleaned in-house to museum quality.

Has it been a smooth road?
Being raised in the antiques world definitely helped develop the passion for this unique business and the ability to make connections and think alternatively from a standard business perspective, so I owe a lot to my parents for any of the business success I’ve had thus far.

Owning and expanding such a niche business is tough in a handful of ways. Transitioning from a self-taught hobbyist to a full-time pay the bill’s business is a challenge and there are few experts to learn from, at least here in Denver. Since we deal with human and animal remains, there are tons of laws to know and continually check for updates, and everyone knows dealing with the government is never easy. In a heavily death-centered industry, misinformation and questionable ethics are often an issue so proper education and ethical integrity are central to the business I’ve built.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Learned Lemur – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
The Learned Lemur is Denver’s first oddities shop, providing antique and oddity consulting since 2010 and established as a retail business in Aurora, Colorado, in 2016. In 2019 we also began traveling with the Oddities and Curiosities Expo and a handful of tattoo conventions, and plan to resume touring as soon as possible. We offer a range of services and items, including skull cleaning, pet memorials, real human remains, medical and religious antiques, taxidermy, wet specimens, skulls, ephemera, and whatever odd stuff we come across. In addition to our retail shop and touring, we have an online store with oddities and merchandise and ship everywhere we are legally allowed.

As a company, we are most proud of our flesh-eating beetle colonies, which allow us the opportunity to clean 99% of our animal skulls in-house and see custom orders through from start to finish. Overseeing the entire process means we can provide beautiful and unique museum quality specimens to each and every awesome client. Working so closely with clients when memorializing their beloved pets is a very special experience and we are always honored to be trusted with such important commissions. Cleaning and processing our own animal remains also gives us a marked advantage in terms of affordability and ethical integrity. Our knowledge, ethics, and staunch unwillingness to compromise on quality are what set us apart from others.

Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Being born and raised in Denver, it’s amazing to see how much it has grown and changed since I was a kid. The incredible diversity of the city is something we can see in our varied clientele, and the growth has helped my business to do the same. Unfortunately, expansion is a double-edged sword and we’ve seen so many small businesses and like-minded companies, artists, and venues close because they can no longer afford to function. Once humble and grungy music venues are now overpriced and crowded, once-thriving artists’ communities have shuttered, and so much culture is lost to trendiness and new development.

Hopefully, with ongoing development, we don’t forget that the heart and soul of every city lies in its arts and culture, and the people who create it.

Contact Info:

• Address: 1947 S Havana Street,
  Aurora, CO 80014
• Website: www.learnedlemur.com
• Phone: (720)600-7585
• Email: jonathan@learnedlemur.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_learned_lemur/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/learnedlemur/

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