Mona Lisa edit

We had an idea the other day. Well I had seen it in a high street retailer in York where they used an old painting in an easel and in bright pink paint painted over it with “spring stock NEW ARRIVALS” I thought it was brilliant. It was an old landscape scene with trees and sheep you know the normal.

Can I just add I in no way endorse graffiti but once on a trip to Rome whilst taking an evening stroll with a guide one of the other visitors pointed out the graffiti on the city walls and asked why they didn’t remove it, the guide simply replied in a swish Italian accent “We look at it as art”. Enough said.

But I wonder if Leonardo would object to someone sprawling “Free buns with every cuppa” across the Mona Lisa leant against a makeshift cafe outside the Louvre. Then again she has survived being shot at.

We had an old print in the shop in a tatty frame. We checked it for value etc plus it was damaged so we used some orange paint and painted in bright colours VINTAGE.

We have placed it on a shelf above our vintage clothes section - it does look very effective but has been met with mixed response and an occasional gasp but overall it’s positive.  I look at it as creativity and modern thinking and actually this sort of thing has been done for years I remember seeing an artist painting a scene in a very large flagship Topman store.

Vintage clothing as I have said before do generate a lot of interest and if you create a section dedicated to it you attract a whole new shopper without compromising the integrity of the rest of the shop.

I have been to vintage fares in the past and let me tell you there is a lot of money spent! The last time I went to one they had two 1950s pin up girls with a basket of candy floss and a DJ spinning vintage war time tracks mixed with contemporary dub step. Great atmosphere – not saying I am going to start blasting out dirty bass beats featuring the velvet tones of Vera Lynn belting “We’ll meet again” ....

I don’t think so Autism Plus shoppers you have been saved!

Second Hand Illness

Today I feel ill. I sometimes wonder if everything we get donated in is actually visible. What I mean by this is sometimes I think maybe people donate their germs. My immune system must be pretty stable and well stocked seeming as though I’m coming into contact with the public every day and their donated belongings.

We steam the clothes after hanging them to make them look presentable and I think it must release some allergens. I always get allergens, endorphins and dolphins mixed up I don’t know why as they are nothing alike.

I am definitely more sensitive to sprays and fragrances than I used to be but this is the same in any place you work, for example if you work in an office you are technically inhaling everyone’s recycled oxygen through the air conditioning unit. Same difference really you can’t hide from micro organisms, neither can you see them - they are sneaky devils!

Anyway onwards and upwards as my Gran used to say. We're not doing too bad here at the shop steady with fits and starts (another one of my Grans old sayings) we can be quiet and then it’s like a coach trip arrives.

The recent snow has had a funny effect on people they all seem hyper and incoherent, babbling wrecks muttering useless jargon everywhere I really don’t know what’s going on, is there something in the snow?

On the way to work a lorry had lost its load and caused massive delays, daredevil  1.2 Corsa drivers overtaking in freezing fog and people walking their dogs (without tartan check coats) at 6am - has the world gone mad? Admittedly I do like snow and have enjoyed walking in it, it just can be a pain travelling in it and I think that’s why I’m ill, I have exhausted myself by walking. 

It’s also been my birthday this week so I’ve had a lovely white snowy birthday I will not disclose my age as it is getting painful but let’s just say everyone here at the shop has been lovely and remembered and made real efforts with homemade cards and wine (not homemade shame I hear it’s very potent!!) and even some of our customers have brought in cards.

We sell quite a lot of craft, card making and textile books for bustling crafty fanatics and sometimes they bring in their creations for us to sell - for example a customer with disabilities makes us beautiful homemade cards to sell in our shop and they sell very well. It’s a real pleasure to be able to offer this service and sell them in our shops to make money for a great cause, a real endorphin moment!

Plug me In to 2012

Here at Autism Plus all the retail shops have been implemented with computers and the World Wide Web. It is proving very useful.

We can make our own posters, signs, keep spreadsheets of data and forms and do research on items for price checks etc. It’s all very modern but I must admit I quite liked the novelty of working in a place where this it could still be 1940 - well in the back anyway with a wireless.

I fear like anything else as soon as its modern it’s outdated and we can’t keep up. The main obstacle was finding a suitable place for this equipment as it is very sensitive and at home I’ve often found myself contemplating throwing mine through the window when it crashes and pops up with a blue screen of death. The situation is that it’s such a small premises there isn’t room to swing a cat without hurting someone or the cat, so it was a real challenge. Thankfully we were innovative and created a space and in doing so created an oasis of paperwork, files and pin boards.

It’s a real micro office now I can even sit down which is not sarcasm it is a real treat. But there was drama we couldn’t use the card machine at first as we weren’t supplied a splitter? Or something like that and our printer broke it started crunching and eating the paper it turned into a cannibal printer.

One of the guys from IT whizzed over on his motorbike with a printer in his POD and whipped it into shape. I’ve sent a number of emails now so I’m well and truly plugged in!