Interested in Pinterest

For a few months now I’ve been hearing a lot about Pinterest (mainly from a few friends) and to be honest I wasn’t sure it was right for me. However, I have kept an eye on it and realised that it could be right for our shop. Pinterest is an online pinboard that allows a user to share visually as a pose to say Twitter that relies on a more textual approach.

 As far as I can see there are few charity shops using it at the minute, but I’m sure that will change. For me and our shop it seems to be the perfect way of quickly separating out and sharing with others what we like on the internet.

 What I have done so far is create four boards:

1. Charity – this is where I pin all things that are relevant to Oxfam and out part within this. For example the ‘Big Bra Hunt’ campaign that is running at the moment.
2. Donations – this is where I pin pictures of items that have been donated to the shop, which we like or find interesting.
3. Articles on books – This is where I’ve been pinning any interesting articles on the web that are directly related to books and bookselling.
4. Things we like – This is a place for everything else, not necessarily book related or even to do with charity but things that we feel others might enjoy seeing or knowing a bit more about.

 I think as time goes on this may change; as both the shop and Pinterest evolve I imagine I will think of other ways of categorizing the shop’s activities. For now Pinterest reflects how the shop operates, in that we are multi-facetted – part charity shop, part second-hand bookseller, part community store and always interested in all things books related.

If you would like to see what we’re doing with Pinterest click on the link http://pinterest.com/oxfampetergate/

New Year at Petergate

While the holiday season is over, giving (or donating) continues throughout the year. We’ve enjoyed a very busy past few weeks and appreciate all of the support, but what this means now is that our shelves are thinning.

Making donations to our shop is simple: Bring in during opening hours the books, cds, and dvds that you have already enjoyed (maybe even some you haven’t liked so much), and we will resell them. To make things even easier, we also make house collections. If you have more books than you would be able to carry all the way to Petergate, we are more than happy to come to you. Just give us your details when you come in the shop or else give us a call at 01904 652749. The donation process and what happens after we receive your items is expained on the Oxfam website here.

The money we raise from reselling the books you have graciously donated goes directly towards Oxfam’s global fight against poverty. So that Jasper Fforde novel you finished over the holidays or the children’s sticker book of ‘extreme’ deep sea fish that your father gave you as a joke (both true on my account) can translate into clean drinking water or a health check for a child. You may be thinking about how you might not need, say, all 13 of the published Wheel of Time books, and all over the world there are poor communities that will benefit as a result of such donations. Beyond assisting the development of impoverished communities, Oxfam is constantly active in disaster relief efforts across the globe as well as campaigns for change for those who are underrepresented or undervalued. Christmas may have come and gone, but our service never stops.

So please take the time to consider donating to our shop your used books, cds, and dvds that you think someone else may like.

Christmas Tree

First of all it has been a bit quiet on the blog front of late and this is something that will change in the new year. Secondly I just wanted to share a couple of photos of what we’ve been up to over Christmas.

One of the things that I like about running an Oxfam shop is I get the chance to work with lots of different people from a variety of backgrounds. And sometimes you never quite know what is going to happen next.

One of our newer members of the team approached me about creating a window display, she had seen a Christmas tree made from books on the internet and wondered if she could give it a go.

I jumped on the opportunity, largely as I’ve never really been any good at window displays.

So this is what she came up with, it is entirely made up of books with a few tasteful additions. And we at Petergate like it lots. Oh, and the book at the top is a copy of North Star by Hammond Innes.

 

What We Know Now About Bookbinding

 Last night we were fortunate to host a demonstration and talk on the craft of bookbinding. The talk was given by Brian Cole from The Castle Bindery, Stonegate, York. Often in the shop we come across  books that in a varying state of repair without necessarily thinking about the techniques involved in making them.

Brian’s talk was both fascinating and enlightening. he gave us an overview of the development of the book through history from the use of papyrus in ancient Egypt to the book as we now know it.

He also showed us various methods that he uses to restore books. And managing to clear up the distinction between a folio, quarto and octavo.

If you’re interested in binding or want to get something restored his workshop within the antiques centre on Stonegate is well worth a visit.

A History of Bookbinding

 If you’ve been down Petergate way today you’re probably wondering about all the old books in our window. They are in the window firstly because we have them and think they are lovely and something worth showing off. Secondly we have an event running on Wednesday evening at 6.30pm. As part of Oxfam Bookfest (which starts today) local Bookbinder Brian Cole from The Castle Bindery on Stonegate, will be giving a talk and demonstration on the history of bookbinding. We are all extremely excited by the event.

Of course all the books are for sale they are priced from £5 up to £100 so even if you can’t make it to the talk you can always pop in and buy yourself a lovely and old book.

Oxfam Bookfest 2011 – Upcoming events @Petergate

So, here they are, at last…the events happening in the shop as part of this year’s Oxfam Bookfest. This year Bookfest is running between 2nd and 17th July for more details of what is happening nationwide and how you can help see http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/content/books/bookfest.html.

For us at Petergate, we’re hosting the following events.

Wednesday 6^th July

A History of Bookbinding

6.30pm Admission Free

 We are delighted to announce an upcoming talk by Brian Cole from The Castle Bindery, Stonegate, York. Brian will give a presentation on the history of Bookbinding and demonstrate some of the techniques involved in binding and restoration.

 

Then a couple of nights later we have…

Friday 8^th July 2011

Four Poets for Oxfam

6.30pm. Admission Free

Miles Cain is a writer, musician and storyteller. His poetry has featured in a variety of journals, and his debut collection of poems will be published by
Valley Press in October 2011.

David Cooke won a Gregory Award in 1977 and published Brueghel’s Dancers in 1984. His most recent collection, In the Distance, has just been published by Night Publishing.

Joanna Ezekiel’s first poetry collection, Centuries of Skin, was published in 2010 by Ragged Raven Press. Joanna blogs at http://mydelayedreactions.blogspot.com.

 Oz Hardwick is a writer, photographer, academic and occasional musician, who has published several collections of poetry, most recently The Illuminated Dreamer (Oversteps, 2010).

We hope to see you all there.

 

Oxfam’s Upcoming Bookfest

It’s that time of year again! The Britain-wide Oxfam Bookfest is approaching. I know, better than Christmas, right? Well, for a lot of people throughout the world, it probably is. This year it will be from 2-17 July, and as the signs of last year’s event proclaimed: “All our books have a happy ending!” All the books donated and sold through Oxfam shops help to make the world a better place. With children in Africa receiving education and clean water, adults learning valuable commerce skills, and other poverty-fighting operations going on at home and away Oxfam does much to ensure happy endings everywhere.

Although the Oxfam Bookshops scattered about the UK make it clear that books provide an excellent way of helping others- easy to donate and very much wanted by the public- the regular Oxfam shops of clothes, accessories, and hats often carry books as well. These shops need the increased awareness brought on through the Bookfest event to remind people of the important role donated books play in the fundraising for world aid. Places like the beloved Hay Festival provide more opportunities to donate and help out the Oxfam cause.

The Bookfest offers different events throughout the country, each organized by each shop. Even famous people can drop by! I would definitely want to meet Bill Nighy! According to the website: “Now in its third year, the two–week festival will run from 2–17 July 2011 and will feature more than 400 local promotions and book-related events which will take place in Oxfam shops and other venues across the country.

The events will feature a host of authors, poets and celebrities, and activities for the whole family.”

So, whether you donate the books or give money by buying the books, you can always drop by and see what’s happening at your local Oxfam. And perhaps pick up the new OxTravels (wink wink).

Remember: 2-17 July!