- - - - Copyright The Times, 2001
- - - - Title: Stuff and nonsense
- - - - Stuff and nonsense
A modern-day curiosity shop has acquired cult status among literary New Yorkers. Margie Borschke reports. At the back of a dimly lit Brooklyn shop, Amie Barrodale's face floats high above a glass-fronted display case. The rest of her is hidden behind the cabinet that sits atop a painting entitled Police Officers Walking on Water. Lining the walls are old letterboxes and cabinets labelled with creamcoloured cards and filled with oddments: taxidermy and cow-grooming supplies -curious items that one wouldn't have imagined were in high demand on the southern edge of Park Slope, where the unnamed shop is wedged between a psychic and a hair salon. Nevertheless, the store has a cult-like status among young literary Americans hoping to catch a glimpse of their hero, Dave Eggers. Eggers, who became a success with the publication of A Heartbreaking Book of Staggering Genius, also edits the literary journal McSweeney's, where Barrodale, 25, is an assistant editor. McSweeney's developed a following largely due to the humour that its writers find in the minutiae of modern life (high-calibre contributors such as Rick Moody and Denis Johnson also helped). Barrodale, whose story about a man who constructs subterranean dog runs will be published in a forthcoming issue, has built her business on a similar aesthetic. She opened her curiosity shop with money inherited from her great-grandfather. "I had all this stuff I'd ordered from catalogues," she says. "I thought I'd better unload it somehow and decided a store would be a good way." Although Eggers contributed some catalogue finds of his own -tubes of show-pig relaxant and doll furniture that "flew off the shelves" -he has little to do with the store apart from using it as an address for his McSweeney's empire and "editing" the many framed signs that adorn the store's walls. One reads "Dioramas are for silent enjoyment - no commenting please"; another says "The following questions are permitted: May I leave now? May I give you this money I have? Would you like a drink from next store Amie? I am bothering you am I not? All other questions," it says, "are prohibited." Neverthless Eggers's fame is undoubtedly a large part of the store's draw. How high can the demand be for a pair of pewter bird's feet or a feline restraint bag? Who would consider paying good money for the "sweat maximiser", a garment intended to be wrapped around a show cow's neck? When asked, Barrodale responds earnestly: "I guess they either need to thin the neck of their cow or maybe they just wanted it." Not that Barrodale spends her time fretting about lack of customers. "If business is slow," she says, "I'll rent the space out for teen parties." The shop is at 429 7th Avenue, Brooklyn. Open Tuesday to Sunday usually from noon to 6pm ( 00 1 718-499 9885). - - - -
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