The Boring Store - Chicago |
Thursday, 01 March 2007 |
ìNot a secret agent supply storeî. Reads the sign placed in the window of the new Boring Store.
Located in Chicagoís Wicker Park, The Boring Store addresses all your
hollow needs including but not limited to, openings, apertures,
punctures, perforations, pits, cavities, and just plain hollows. It
also boasts zero customers for the past 28 years and sells nothing of
any utility. And, it doesnít sell secret camera-glasses, moustache
disguise kits or underwater voice amplifiers. Just so you know.
So what is it? The owners, 826CHI, are an organisation that run free
after-school tutor and mentoring classes for children aged between
6-18. And they needed some money. So what better way of making
some cash than by duping people into buying well, nothing? Or so
they say.
The storeís real purpose, apart from raising money for new programmes
for kids, is to also serve as a catalyst for the communityís
creativity, and tempt locals to volunteer at the school. Itís
also a hell of a good way to spend a couple of hours. Each item that
you buy, including wallets disguised as moustaches, secret safeís and
briefcases with handcuffs, is wrapped in an identical cardboard box
concealing the items inside. And all proceeds go towards funding the
courses. The only telling difference is a sign on the front that says,
ìthe product within this box is not comprised of a thirty-three foot
nylon rope and collapsible hook for grappling.î Or some other
non-description of the boxís contents.
Drawing inspiration from the founder of the free-writing programmes,
novelist Dave Eggers, the store combines charity, humour and everyoneís
desire to be a spy all into one extremely amusing package.
The store celebrated its ìBland Openingî on February 24 this year, and
has been inundated with kids, adults, spies (but how do they know
theyíre spies?), and anyone who appreciates good writing. They
also stock pretty much every McSweeney publication in existence. By Matthew Hussey
|
Delicious
Technorati
Digg
Stumble