Hello everyone,
Loathe as we are to begin any essay describing WHERE we are sitting while beginning an essay, it does in this case offer something of value…as we are looking through the window of our new Vintage Showcase office seeing friends and customers glide through our East London doors with hope in their eyes and hearts. It’s like BEAUTIFUL out there today. The patio at Anderson Ales is full. Odyssey is blaring Ice Cube. A playlist of Rock Anthems cooks the feet of everyone in our shop. We are back on the ground and participating in the creation of neighbourhoods again AND WE COULDN’T BE HAPPIER!
Earlier today we chatted with the great Chris Stroud of Bread and Roses books. They are our neighbours now! We then watched an old man stare at trains from the sidewalks of Elias (the train regularly passes by the parking lot outside of our space) for AN HOUR God bless him. Retirement goals. It then rained and everyone in the shop stopped and listened to the sincerely poetic sounds of the water drum on the old industrial roof. There was thunder…a good London storm. The Oiuja board in our space moved on its own accord, spelling the name P.A.T.E.R.S.O.N. E.W.A.N. We all stood still, excited and terrified.
To make things even cooler and spookier, this Saturday night we are hosting our first music show in the new space! A group of five musicians will be seducing us all in the bookshop space of the Vintage Showroom: Shawn Durant, Lori Watt, Travis Beatty, Adam Hindle and A Ghost. A Ghost is Robin Henry, whose Willow Switch played the LAST show in our Richmond location. Perhaps Paterson was talking to him. Perhaps he was relaying the music of Southwestern Ontario storms to this musician, in language only the artistic can hear. The old man watching trains appeared, speaking of old ghosts along the railway tracks. We remarked how similar fear and joy can be, and sold some books to a few students who hastily retreated to their cars.
Variety Cafe will be on hand to provide snacks and drinks Saturday night too!
Life can be an acquired taste. Yet we endure, often because of you and your patience. Thank you again for being our awesome customers. Things are evening out again so hopefully we can catch up on all of the emails and messages from the Ouija table we’ve received. Be sure to check out the New Arrivals below and pick up anything you like. You notice a few new collections have come in, music, art, and occult mostly. We just carry the good stuff. Also, in-store shopping is fine but why not ALSO buy something on the intertubes and pick it up in our PHYSICAL LOCATION.
We do accept requests via that TERRIFYING OUIJA BOARD in our space. Those requests, for obvious reasons, will be dealt with first.
Here’s to life in real time. Here’s to the solitude of reading. Here’s to life on the Other Side. Here’s to strange and lovely folk musicians playing in the bookstore.
Here’s to a good summer.
Hope to see you Saturday,
Jason and Vanessa
