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"title": "On three ideas for speculative shops…",
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"plaintext": "For a while I've been thinking about a loose side project idea I'm calling \"Spec Shop\", based around ideas for a strange speculative online store. I put out a call for collaborators a while back:"
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"description": "The plan: launch a speculative storefront for small experimental products made with friends. (WIP: making this on Metalabel!)",
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"plaintext": "I since got sidetracked with moving and other, non-side project work, but have been thinking about this more on the back burner."
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"plaintext": "One impulse here was wanting a container to do small fun experimental collaborations with friends. And to mix that with a playful subversive approach to selling things on the internet…"
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"plaintext": "But an issue I found: I didn't have a very clear idea what that might look like, either in the process, or what products I might sell! The best I came up with was things like \"creative prompts\" or \"pop-up social experience\" or \"file collections\"."
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"plaintext": "I had some great chats and bounced around ideas with a few friends, but they were all over the map and not super concrete."
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"plaintext": "So lately I've been thinking about this more and I'm coming to the conclusion that the medium should be the shop itself."
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"plaintext": "Spec Shop, then, is not an abstract shop as umbrella container for selling experimental items; it's a lens by which I might experiment with a series of different speculative shops, that each stand alone and do something interesting and playful!"
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"plaintext": "Still lots to figure out, but so far I have three spec shop ideas I think it'd be fun to play with:"
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"plaintext": "Spec Shop idea: bookstore in a basement fridge"
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"plaintext": "I have an extra fridge in my basement, and want to fill it with books and make it a tiny hidden bookstore."
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"plaintext": "Once filled, I could host an opening or some kind of periodic events where people could browse and purchase, perhaps in atypical ways (like pay what you want, or tip me + buy it online yourself, etc.)"
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"plaintext": "It'd also be fun to get friends to bring books as well, either to sell or just to have on display as part of a rotating collection / guest curated temporary exhibit."
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"plaintext": "This gets at kind of a bookstore as museum direction I also find an interesting lens! I'll have to think more about what makes sense for browsing / purchase / collaboration mechanisms."
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"plaintext": "Spec Shop idea: experiential lemonade stand"
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"plaintext": "It's summer and I thought it coud be fun to try a lemonade stand that bundles drink plus experience!"
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"plaintext": "Lots of simple ways that could start with just buying a lemonade but actually include some kind of fun small social dynamic…"
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"plaintext": "As with the bookstore idea, I like this because it's a physical 'store' I could easily do from my own home…thinking about online versions could be fun too though, like a Metalabel shop (still want to try something there). The Arena gift shop Laurel manages is a great example! It'd be fun to do something collaborative too!"
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"plaintext": "Spec Shop idea: roving consigment shop"
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"plaintext": "I'd like to get one of these vests with many many pockets, and fill them with goods to sell while walking through the park."
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"plaintext": "The products could be little treats, tiny handmade items, not sure…the act of buying and selling while meandering through nature is the key part, I think :)"
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"plaintext": "Maybe I invite people to track my location for a few hours…or just hold up a sign. Maybe I include a handwritten receipt or other small ritual with each purchase (some kind of documentation could be interesting)."
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"plaintext": "And maybe I do it as a consignment shop, where I get creative friends to contribute little items they've made and split the proceeds!"
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"plaintext": "Next up, try some experiments!"
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"plaintext": "Not sure to what extent I'll make these collaborative, but I think so far I like the idea of having guest contributors in some form, maybe more than a series of projects structured around 50/50 collaboration. The latter I still think would be fun, but hard to coordinate and not sure I have the bandwidth."
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"plaintext": "For now I think I could do a prototype version of each of the above three things more or less on my own — or with whoever answers a casual call to contribute or participate — so I'd like to start there!"
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