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Quantum Magic

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17:24 / 16.01.06

So I'm running a magic shop (part-time) here in sunny Brighton, starting this week, huzzah! It's called Dragon's Gate, it's in Kemptown, it leans toward providing tools and materials for serious practioners rather than wanna-blessed-bes*.
What would you stock? I'm starting with more books (although they have Agrippa's 3 Books already for example) and stuff that is hard to get elsewhere, Crowley memorabilia from his time on the south coast maybe, unusual things like Promethea, Invisibles, Occult Software if there is such a thing, what would y'all add?

I'm also keen on a message board (literally, not like this place) to encourage people interested in the occult to mix, running events for the same reason, reading and teaching Tarot in the shop, any good ideas anyone?

Also if anyone wants part time shop work in Brighton UK, PM me, and I will be contacting some of you people about potential teaching work. You know who you are.

* apologies to apostrophe watchers if it's ...-be's

Less searchable M0rd4nt

19:27 / 16.01.06

Oh, well done Quants.

19:37 / 16.01.06

i wish i still lived in the south of england.

20:35 / 16.01.06

To be honest, Quants, I'd stock what sells. You need the tills a'ringing if you're going to stay in business, even if it means stocking David Icke or all manner of new age atrocities. Watkins in London is an my bookshop of choice as they have a comprehensive range of stock - they've got everything, including a great out the way imported and acadmeic stuff in my specialised field of interest. I believe they bankroll this by selling loads of crap. If Silver Ravenwolf gets flogged upstairs to ensure I see lovely acadmeic obscurities downstairs, then more power to their elbow, it's that sort of thing that'll keep me coming through the door. Think money, and your boss will love you forever.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

20:44 / 16.01.06

Yeah man, don't be too much of a purist. Nobody's going to turn their noses up at the shop just because you stock $RW and quartz pebbles. You need a decent turnover.

08:20 / 17.01.06

Thirded on the stock things that sell front. Is there an extra room for events or is it just the shop floor? If there's an extra room you can turn it into a kind of community nexus point for everything going on in Brighton, like Treadwells is for London. If you've just got the shop floor then you could still host talks and readings, with all important drinks in the shop afterwards to give people a chance to speak to eachother.

In terms of unusual stock, if it was me, I would sell all of the really cheesy hoodoo ingredients because that's the sort of weirdness your passing trade wants to see in an occult shop and the average tourist punter is likely to pick up for a laugh, as well as the practitioner. Things like banishing aerosol spray, racoon penis bone, image candles, roots and herbs, creepy paraphernalia.

09:41 / 17.01.06

racoon penis bone

That's going on the stock list right now.

Populist stuff to fund the obscure, check. Watkins is also my bookshop of choice in London for those same reasons, I'm hoping to make Dragons Gate the shop of choice in Brighton. The main thing is to attract lots of people into the shop I think, which I'm hoping to achieve by making it look interesting, accessible and friendly. Of course advertising won't hurt either. And we have attractive staff.

I think it's too small to hold events in (damn) but it would be a great place to advertise them- hopefully I'll be able to get some talks arranged relatively soon, and as you say have a nexus in Brighton.

I'm so excited, this is much more fun than my normal job. And I got some regular weekly Tarot teaching, so all in all I'm smug as a bug in a rug at the moment.

09:51 / 17.01.06

Have you thought of having a website for the shop?

10:29 / 17.01.06

I second the idea of a website/webshop for the shop, and with your idea of a messageboard how about a messageboard on the website as well?

This way people who aren't living near or in Brighton can get stuff from you and if they are popping to Brighton for the day will know what's going on occult-wise.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

11:03 / 17.01.06

A web-based messageboard or maybe a mailing list might be a good idea. I live in Spain but I'm on the Treadwell's list so if they're doing something exiting and I happen to be over I can catch it.

Goodness Gracious Meme

11:08 / 17.01.06

I think it's too small to hold events in (damn) but it would be a great place to advertise them

Think about setting up an ongoing rel'ship with a nrby space/cafe/somewherethat does have the space for events? You bring 'em customers, they give you a regular space, somewhere under your banner to set up events?

Goodness Gracious Meme

11:13 / 17.01.06

(we've done this in the bi group for a monthly book group and it's working pretty well)

Also, in case I didna make clear on saturday how excited I am for you: wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Goodness Gracious Meme

11:16 / 17.01.06

I believe they bankroll this by selling loads of crap.

Yeppers, there's a decent fetish shop in bton that does exactly the same thing, I've chatted to the owners and basically they put aside one room for bogstandard/MOR pr0n, which sells by the bucketload, so they can stock more interesting/niche/obscure stuff. It's a good business principle, *especially* when you're starting out.

11:53 / 17.01.06

Sounds great Quantum. I hope it's very sucessful. I'm in Brighton semi regularly and will make sure to pop in.As others have said definately go with a web presence and events mailing list.

11:57 / 17.01.06

sounds really good. mundane questions i'm afraid: how far up St. James St. is it? (only have the weekends free for walkies really) and are you open sundays?

there's that bell, book and candle one in the lanes which is a little bit like walking into my hippy nightmare - not been open long, do you reckon it's a sign of a burgeoning market, along with the hocus pocus place, or are you worried about the danger of them having cornered the trade already? (St. James St. is much less useful for the passing trade. but not the Trade. soz.)

17:27 / 17.01.06

As well as all the fluff wot sells, you should probably get catalogues from Capall Bahn and Ignotus Press and stock up on their stuff, as they're about the only decent publishers around that deal mostly in occult type stuff.

17:37 / 17.01.06

there's that bell, book and candle one in the lanes

dear god.
that brings back horrible memories.

17:47 / 17.01.06

When I first saw this thread, I thought it would be about some new kind of magick tradition based on advanced physics

. And considering that I live 6,000 miles away from London (and am one of those "wanna-blessed-bes", I can't take advantage of this wonderful new shop. Anyway, congratulations, Quantum, and I wish all goes well for you.

09:53 / 18.01.06

The Advanced Magical Physics comes later, my friend, but it is coming, oh yes. Wombat and I are trying to fuse magic and science independently of each other, like an informal modern wizards duel. First to summon some antimatter wins.
The phrase 'wanna-blessed-bes' is a reflex Buffy reference, pay me no mind.

bell, book and candle
funnily enough that's a spin off from Hocus Pocus, run by a woman who is less than friendly. When I got interviewed for Fate and Fortune magazine, she was one of the Seaside Psychics they tested as well (along with Ivor Fireman the Pier reader), and I blew her out of the water in terms of querent response, so now when I see the shop I just feel smug. I went in there once, and was driven out by the almost palpable aura of hostility. All the more reason to make our shop dead friendly.

website is in the pipeline, I'll link to it ASAP

talks Mad Hatter cafe on Western road has a fabulous space for talks, and a cafe below for after-drinks and is cheap and easily accessible. So I was thinking of arranging a series of talks hosted there under the auspice of the shop, maybe monthly if possible.

Dragons Gate is about five hundred yards up St James' St on the left, open until 6-7, but not Sundays. Also Gumbitch I *still* have a sack of comics for you so let's arrange a pint. Friday night? PM me.

10:12 / 18.01.06

are you worried about the danger of them having cornered the trade already?

Well, Hocus Pocus and Winfalcon are the two main magic shops in Brighton, and I don't go to either because they don't stock what I want. In fact I considered reading Tarot at both places but after a bit of research they turned out not to be my kind of places- uptight, mercenary, hostile and soulless in my humble opinion. No offence to the owners if they're reading this (which I doubt) but meh, teh suck, how hard can it be to smile at your customers?

So I'm hoping to provide the same things with a nicer service, and stock the things they don't, so the shop gets a reputation as the best place to go. Hopefully the website won't take too long, so we can focus on mail order as well.

Went in yesterday- we have a staff copy of Three books of Occult Philosophy, and of the Fourth book. That pretty much rocks harder than a gigantic granite asteroid smashing into the Earth, and rocks much harder than those lame Hard Rock Cafes. Again I say w00t!

10:31 / 18.01.06

Have a look at the Treadwells list, if you want to see a really good programme.

10:59 / 18.01.06

The Advanced Magical Physics comes later, my friend, but it is coming, oh yes. Wombat and I are trying to fuse magic and science independently of each other, like an informal modern wizards duel. First to summon some antimatter wins.

Cool, be sure to firewall against trojan demons...

11:03 / 18.01.06

Mail order/ webshop works well along side a real shop. My local shop has a good mail order service for the stuff they do stock, which is just as well as the staff are very cold. It's a shame as they did have a really nice guy working there who was unbelieveably helpful since he left it's been going a midge downhill.

If a shop's staff are unfriendly then I will go out of my way to head to a different shop. For example rather than give my money to a shop 10-15 minutes walk I would rather head into London (hour's journey) and go to Treadwells or Atlantis.

Also not charging over the top prices would be good, and being honest. I know you wouldn't do that but it's a pet peeve about some of the more new-age shops.

12:18 / 18.01.06

That's "wanna-bes" and "Dragon's Den", Mr Q.

I really think you should pursue the talk thing, as well as the website, message-board and mail order service. You really need to add value to your business, and frankly you need every edge you can get as a) not only are you not in the pedestrian/tourist/shopper hotspot that is the Lanes, you're pretty much off the beaten track, and b) your market would seem to be saturated.

12:20 / 18.01.06

Oh, and bloody well done, by the way.

13:14 / 18.01.06

I've always thought running a magic shop would be such fun! Color me jealous. And there's one more reason to be bummed about not living in the UK.

I'm a knicknack addict, though, so I'm not going to try to tell you what you should stock. I'm the one who goes into a shop for a book, and then spends hours looking at boxes and bottles and drawstring bags and jewelry and mirrors and bowls and tarot decks and incense burners and candle holders and altar cloths. If I had a magic shop it would look like Aughra's house in The Dark Crystal.

Congrats, though, and best of luck!

Goodness Gracious Meme

16:41 / 19.01.06

Talks. Mad Hatter cafe on Western road has a fabulous space for talks, and a cafe below for after-drinks and is cheap and easily accessible.

MH is a great space, but it might be worth seeing if there's anywhere likely v.near yr shop, as that way, you can have people browsing before and after talks, rather than having to make a seperate trip to visit the shop?

Goodness Gracious Meme

16:42 / 19.01.06

If it's where I think it is, you've got several cafes that only open during the day around there who might well be interested in making a bit of money on an evening and are 'browse distance' from the shop?

Less searchable M0rd4nt

17:47 / 19.01.06

If I had a magic shop it would look like Aughra's house in The Dark Crystal.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

20:15 / 19.01.06

Please don`t summon anti-matter till you have a provable control anti-matter technique. Or just give me time to get the fuck off the planet.

More importantly... what are the opening times and days?

15:00 / 20.01.06

Antimatter control is easy, you just need a magnet and a bottle innit. Or is that a magical bottle I'm thinking of? Magnetic battle? One of those things anyway.

We're open about 9:30-6/6:30 every day except Sunday I believe but I'll be posting more details after they're confirmed next week. Anything you want me to get in specifically?

17:23 / 20.01.06

Hey, it would be cool if you posted a few pics of the shop, for those of us who can't go and pay a flesh-&-blood visit...

14:47 / 02.03.06

If I had a magic shop it would look like Aughra's house in The Dark Crystal.

It does look a bit like that...

Anyway, pics and website are under construction as is the mail order. We're stocktaking to provide accurate listings for e-buying, and recently got in a load of rare and expensive collectors books- e.g. a huge (2ftx18in-ish) Book of Satyrs, some first edition Waite and Mathers, The Red Book, Liber LI (Crowley's book on Atlantis) and much much more.

Watch this space.

16:51 / 02.03.06

huge (2ftx18in-ish) Book of Satyrs

Ohhhh, it would be worth the train fare to have a look at that one.

Seriously it sounds like things are going great guns down there in Brighton. Can't wait to see the website and pics!

16:15 / 03.03.06

'Very rare Ltd edition of 500 - A Book of Satyrs by Austin Osman Spare. 1979 fascimile of the original published in 1909. Large book 13" x 17 1/2" printed on parchment and published by 93 Publishing, Quebec. Excellent condition. '
Clearly my eyes are small.

I'd also like to mention Waite's 1926 US 1st ed. of 'The Secret Tradition in Alchemy' a delightful blue book, and say the 1968 New Dimensions Red Book is a symposium on practical occultism with contributions from Dion Fortune, W.E. Butler, Gareth Knight, 'F.P.D.' (Uncle Al of course) and others, and did I mention 'The Eye In The Triangle' by Israel Regardie (ltd. ed. of 250) with an introduction by Robert Anton Wilson, signed by the author? Signed by Regardie dude, I'm looking at it right now. His sig is that old man's rounded copperplate style, I wonder what an analysis of it would say?

My bibliophilia glands are over-secreting, I love old rare magick books a bit too much.
Anyway, pics of the shop will be on the site as well as details of all the books we have (and the rest of the stuff) so people can order Dragon's Blood Ink and the like (Seriously, Anna Riva supplies our Dragon's Blood Ink).

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