On Saturday mornings in Ariel bookshop, Oxford St, Sydney, you can buy a little posie of flowers for 3 bucks. I love this.
They wrap them in brown paper for you. It clearly isn’t a profit-making exercise! But the good-will, well, it got me wanting to spread it. The kooky girl behind the counter who likes wearing brooches said, “we just think flowers are nice things to have with books”. Yes! They also sell little Haigh’s chocolates. Flowers, books and chocolate. So nice.
I just bought two posies of daisies wrapped in brown paper for friends, and a copy of The Adventures of Blinky Bill.
(I should probably have a picture of the posie here…but I haven’t worked out how to do that yet.)
Deus ex Machina in Camperdown, Sydney, is same-same-but-different. Dare Jennings (ex-Mambo) likes beautifully built, artisan bikes, duck ragu and art. So do I. And he’d like to share these three passions with all of us. His bike shop is also a gallery and a great cafe. With back issues of the New Yorker on file to read.
It’s important, I think, to care about how you consume. When it’s mindless, it doesn’t satisfy anyone. When it’s infused with care it’s more than just a commercial transaction. Some shops just sell stuff. Others seem more like an inspiring holding space for things the owner would like to share with you.
I don’t like to consume much. But I like generous experiences that contribute to life.
