Books that grow on you

Its amazing what can be made from recycled products, these flowers were old books salvaged from the local Tip Shop. The effect is dramatic and shys away from the normal Christmas themed window. Not a lot of props were needed however the addition of live manequins caring for the flowers is fun and surprises passers by beautifully. More photos and video to follow.

Typewriters, Rust and Quotes

Inspired via a lovely collection of old typewriters held by the Albany Historical Society we got to work.

Thanks to Amanda at 10 point print for the awesome work with the quotes. Add them to some rusty reo bar from the tip and look what happens.

Hard to pick a favourite typewriter, if I had to its probably the Densmore 5, it looks like a childrens carousel - just beautiful.
Mind you the Remington Standard number 10 is a ripper too.

Favourite quote is just as hard.
I do like "Always read stuff that makes you look good if you die in the middle of it"

Cocktail anyone?

Swill & Quill was a 1920's themed cocktail party we held instore in conjunction with the opening night of the local writers festival. A massive amount of work transformed the bookstore into a truly amazing space filled with heaps of interesting going ons......here is a couple of shots and the tv ad we put together.

Jessica Sails In

Its been a while between posts and a fair bit has been going on. We were fortunate to secure a book signing and author talk with the amazing Jessica Watson following the release of True Spirit. A selection of things we did include a copy of the press advert, 15 sec TVC and our Jellyfish window.

New List

Every couple of years A&R updates the Top 100 list. The list is determined by the public and is always an interesting mix.

We put these displays together mindful of the colour scheme on the posters. Posters don't usually make it into the windows, sometimes though they are the best way of getting a message across.

The current cover on Animal Farm stood out, it also reminded me that its a very much a timeless book, one I haven't read for many years....

Jessica

We have just found out that we have been chosen as a destination for the upcoming National tour of Jessica Watson.
Jessica is launching her new book True Spirit in August, she is then running around the country promoting it.

Jessica’s publisher, Hachette Australia sent out notice of the tour last month and asked for expressions of interest in having her appear in store. The team put together a proposal and we sent it off not thinking that much would come of it. That's not knocking our proposal but more thinking that it was unlikely that such a massive name would venture out to the regional areas in a hurried book launch tour.

Thanks must go to the Secondary Schools of Albany, Local media and of course Paul Terry from the Princess Royal Sailing Club for their invaluable support.

Jessica has achieved an incredible amount in a short time, i hope that we all get inspired by listening to and reading her story. Bring on 4.30pm August 13th, we can't wait!

Books, Pictures and Chairs

Time for some branding, Out comes our old A&R sign from the original store fitout in the early 90's. Its also nice to have the enviromental bag message weaved into the display.

Sam found these picture frames and thought they would look pretty cool filled up with books. The chair sculptue is my favorite though....

Mum's the Word

We have put together Mothers Day in a bit of a hurry.....looks pretty good though.

There is a fair amount of store product in these, a nice mix of colours and a nice overall feel.

Also included is a look at one of the book pyramids, the pink skirting works pretty well and gives the display something....not sure what, but it works alright.

I just think the ostrich feather quills are the coolest thing, its good to have them back in the store.

A New Frame

We continue to tinker with the store presentation, this time its the front of building that gets some attention.

We replaced all of the tiling surrounding the windows,the pillars and floor of the entrance. In keeping with our new look we have used layered granite tiles on the vertical faces and black slate on the floor.

Just waiting on a new Stainless Steel handrail, some more paint and a couple of finishing tiles - then the front of store will be a picture in itself.

Its remarkable how much difference just changing the "frame" makes to a picture

Motorbike Mayhem

March saw us produce window displays in recognition of the Ulysses 2010 AGM which was held in Albany.
3000+ members travelled to town from across the country, it was something to behold.

Getting into the spirit of the occasion we went with a serious two wheel slant on the displays.
Thanks to Mick down at Great Southern Motorcycles for lending us the beautiful Harley Davidson 2010 Heritage Softail and a shed full of spare parts to play with.

Sadly we had to give the bike back but Mick had all the paperwork with him when he picked it up..........just in case...........it would have been nice........... nup, i am too young for a mid life crisis!

Congratulations Jon

Congratulation's Jon!

One of our favourite customers and local Albany identity Jon Doust has been nominated for this years Miles Franklin Award. This is a fantastic effort and richly deserved for his book "Boy on a Wire".

Regardless of Jon progressing any further in the judging we thought that a party is in order.

Hence we have invited our Top 100 VIP customers to a gathering in the store on April the 15th.
Wignalls Wine will flow and our good friends Iain & Jo Macinnes from Kookas will prepare some of their finest fare. It should be a corker!

We recently seconded Jon to appear in a TV commercial for the A&R side of the business, see below for his handy work. Thanks also to Dean and Sharon from Lomax Media for producing the Advert for us.

ANZAC Day 2010

To get things started here are some shots of our ANZAC Day Windows.

The Newsagent windows feature artifacts from the Gallipoli campaign in 1915. Some of the items include an Australian issue 303 rifle, Gas Mask, Compass and Binoculars. Also a souvineered Turkish pistol and Dagger. Apart from the reproduced Slouch Hat all artifacts were kindly loaned to us by the Albany Historical Society.

The three windows have different themes but are designed to create an emotional response from passing traffic.

The "Western Front" window was created from timber and barb wire sourced from our farm. We photocopied book covers, burnt the edges, tainted them with watered down coffee and randomly placed them onto the Barb Wire.

The center window uses a large format print reproducing Eric Bogle's iconic ballad "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda". Complementing this is the widely recognisable symbol for a fallen soldier - gun in the ground adorned with hat placed on the rifle butt.

The third window again uses a large format print capturing an Australian soldier at First Light remembering those who fell, to compliment their is a mixture of retail product and artifacts from World War 1.