Retail
When I work a book fair, I'm working retail.
At a book fair, I have a table, I set up and display the books and posters, etc I have for sale and then as people come in I talk with them, show them what we have and hopefully sell some books.
In most ways this isn't complex, it certainly doesn't sound demanding and yet when the day is over I am usually just totally spent. Saturday, for example, I worked 10am-7pm at a book fair (which was a blast, thank you anyone who came down), but by 8.30pm I was totally and completely done. Off to sleep.
I find that work that sounds hard often isn't, and work that sounds simple is often hard. How tough would, for example, removing grass all day be? Just cutting and flipping sod. Not complex - it's a repeated action - but I'd be absolutely exhausted and probably hurting. Whereas my day job sounds complex, but really it's all fairly approachable and I rarely end a day just wiped.
I wonder why retail is so draining, after all it's also very exciting. When someone buys a book it genuinely is so good. Just really makes me feel excited and on top of the world. So there are these good moments that give me energy, but by the end of it I'm done. Why is that?
It's not as if I go particularly hard at selling, in fact I am quite quiet as a seller. I make my little table, sit down with my water bottle and let people browse without interjecting or interrupting. A book is not something people really can be convinced to buy, I think, either they love it and want it, or it isn't quite their thing. You can't really convince someone that an art book is some inherently valuable purchase and I think I'd feel even more exhausted pretending to be some American salesman. So mostly, retail work involves me standing or sitting, quietly answering questions and seeing some mates that wander through (and again thank you).
It's a tough nut to crack - perhaps there's something in the anticipation of what will sell and what won't. Constantly checking the tally and making sure that things are adding up. Wondering if this person who seems really into this work will buy it - after all it's a bargain - so they should grab it? But then they wander off. Ah well.
Lately I've been thinking that in three or four years I'd like to open a proper retail space. With the Tall Poppy books and some other products I'm working on. I'd like to have a second home where I have a studio I can close, a space that has a community and friends/family will drop into when they are around. I love the idea that my home is open to my friends - but people don't quite feel comfortable just knocking on the door when they're at the local cafe. Which is a bit sad, but I get it - one feels a bit intrusive unless invited.
Which is one of the reasons a shop feels much more approachable.
We'll see if it's possible, it may never be financially viable and that's ok too.
In the mean time, if you'd like to support what I do please consider purchasing our latest book that's open for pre-order: With And For.
This is a pretty exciting title for me as it's taking a bit of a swing. I've brought two photographers together to make something collaborative - building on each practice to create something new. Like I said, a small swing! But most art projects come from people sitting down and working out what they want and executing that. So spontaneity, play, responsiveness - those can be lacking in the process. But not this book - we all had a blast making it.
As I think more about who I am as a maker, publisher and community member - I increasingly think that joy is what I really bring, and I think that's worth a lot.