Going Shopping #4: Auld Omens

I don't know who called England a nation of shopkeepers... Maybe no one, (quickly resorts to Gemini...) Oh of course, of course, Napoleon. Didn't catch Joaquin Phoenix's Napoleon disparaging England so in that recent Ridley Scott biopic. And here's me thinking all along it was Margaret Thatcher... 

Napoleon was almost right, maybe he lost something in translation, Britain is a nation of shoppers in need of more shopkeepers. I am a shut in, until someone suggests shopping. Then I will almost happily pad around even the most generic stores in the hope of finding a single  idiosyncratic item that doesn’t belong. In our data driven bifurcated world that never happens. Nothing never belongs. I never see a something in Ikea that would seem like a great idea for my home, or in TK, a totally required thing. So. What if there was somewhere where all of your idiosyncratic hopes and dreams could be found in one place? In Birmingham in the UK, that place is the Auld Omens store located in the legendary city centre Oasis Market. Dan and Jade opened the store in mid-July and despite all of the opening month craziness, took a little time to talk to us about setting up an alternative shop in an alternative shopping destination. Here's what they had to say...

Outsideleft: There’s retail. And there’s retail. Let’s begin with taxidermy and widen things out from there. That’s what excited me. It would be fair to say you are tapping into a currently underserved market?
Auld Omens: Taxidermy has had a bit of a resurgence over the last ten years. It has gone from its past of primarily trophy pieces, to honouring the life and death of these beautiful creatures. It's beautiful, skilful work that is far detached from its past, very heavily collectible and scarcely found in Birmingham's city centre shops, until now.

As well as our own taxidermy we also have two other taxidermy-based artists selling at the shop, the range of styles is fantastic to see.

OL: Is there a type of David Jay / Jim Rose Circus sideshow - where they would come to shop, so we can too, vibe, to what you are doing?
AO: The Circus element would be Mrs Omens and I swinging from the light fittings keeping everything going haha! We've gone for a slightly more Victorian gothic style for the shop but there are absolutely some magical elements including a UV Uranium Glass cabinet and as we expand, we want to bring more interaction and fun to the shop.

OL: What made you jump into retail now? And the Oasis, with a massive reputation as an alternative destination. I swear I bought some winklepickers from Boy George there when I was a child. Maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe he was slumming it. I do know he slid a Fashion Footwear warning into my bag before I left. ‘Don’t expect to wear these shoes too often, they are not made to last like regular shows…’ Acceptable I think.
AO: We've been running Alternative Art Markets under the Auld Omens name for around a year now. The wealth of talent and fantastic products on sale has been a real eye-opener. You don't find things like this on sale unless you hunt for it, so we really wanted to bring these artists and makers forward, utilising the perfectly fantastic history of Oasis Market to reach the alternative crowd.

We're chasing whimsy rather than the 9-5 of depression and drudgery; and loving every minute!

OL: Is the much discussed death of the high street a real death or greatly exaggerated? And if it is dying, what’s your analysis, what’s your best Mary Portas take on it? I hear retail analysts talking the whole time and they always seem so wrong.
AO: Personally, I think the death of the high street is more of a hibernation of small businesses, which have been buried away in sheds, studios and spare rooms. A lot of business has gone online, but people are crying out for something to do when they visit the city centre that isn't looking at over-priced items in big name shops.

If you visit any art fair or craft market -especially ones aimed at alternative crowds- they are a real hive of activity.

Shop rents and business rates are far too high for any small business to get a foot in the door, so if we can start something new with what we're doing and support other artists, then the future high street will hopefully have more soul.

OL: In some respects your shop seems, as a concept, sort of performative too. What other plans do you have for Auld Omens.
AO: When we envisioned our dream shop, we imagined a space that had a lot of drama. When you walk into a shop being stared at by a fox, an eagle and a murder of crows the performative element plays out nicely. This is something we want to bring more of too, a bit more fun and drama, including my plans to make a full-size fortune-teller cabinet.

OL: What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever sold/been asked to sell?
AO: I don't get shocked by much anymore, as my first day trip with Mrs Omens was collecting badgers down a busy A road as the sun set. But.. something new to me was Diaphonized pieces. A curiosity you might see in an old biology cabinet, the "fleshy bits" of the animal are cleared to go almost translucent and bones meticulously dyed to create a fascinatingly spooky oddment.

OL: I don’t know whether you are familiar with the Poetry Pharmacy? Deborah Alma, she has a place in Shropshire and on Oxford St. now, but that all began in the back of an ambulance where she literally prescribed poems for ailments. Maybe not physical ailments, perhaps but melancholy ones, I guess. In the world of magic, in a spell, what could I ask for. I mean, I’d like to ask for a lot and what would it cost me?
AO: That sounds absolutely wonderful, I'll be looking that up, thanks for the recommendation! Magic is a force that is hard to put into words, but I'll give it a good go. Magic is usually a subjective and a personal, often times spiritual experience. For me, I try to look for the little bit of magic in the every day. This might only be small but keeps me looking for something small to make every day slightly better.

If you wanted to go down the avenue of spells, trinkets and crystals, it's about the power you put into the practice of magic that brings what you desire.

OL: What are your opening hours? Do you have an online store?
AO: We're open Monday to Friday, 10am till 5.15pm and Saturdays 10am till 5.45pm.
We will be organising our online presence a bit more soon, but for now our trading is mainly within the realms of human interaction.

OL: If people mill around the shop for long enough, might they be offered a cup of coffee or tea?
AO: Mrs Omens is threatening to take a cafetiere to the shop with her, so quite possibly! But there's a lovely coffee shop in The Square by Oasis which serves hot bean juice as well as snacks to recharge.

OL: I know you've only just opened a shop but it strikes me as something that's going to be growing and growing. What future plans might you have for the business?
AO: Our dream a year ago was for a shop front on a High Street. We've made the first steps over the past year to get closer to that goal but we won't stop until we achieve our dream. We already have ideas for expanding the shop as it currently sits and are constantly coming up with new things to try.