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    Minding the Store: A Big Story about a Small Business
    Unavailable
    Minding the Store: A Big Story about a Small Business
    Unavailable
    Minding the Store: A Big Story about a Small Business
    Ebook162 pages3 hours

    Minding the Store: A Big Story about a Small Business

    By Julie Gaines and Ben Lenovitz

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    In this graphic memoir, the founder of an iconic housewares shop recounts starting a business—and a family—while trying to make it in New York City.

    Whether it’s a set of vintage plates from a 1920s steamship, a mug with a New Yorker cartoon on it, a tin of sprinkles designed by Amy Sedaris, or a juice glass from a Jazz Age hotel, Fishs Eddy products are distinctly recognizable. A New York institution, Fishs Eddy also remains a family business whose owners endured the same challenges as many family businesses—and lived to write about it in this tale filled with humorous characterizations of opinionated relatives, nosy neighbors, quirky employees, and above all the eccentric foibles of the founders themselves. Readers come to know author Julie Gaines and her husband, with whom she founded the store, and because this is a family business, the illustrations are all in the family, too. Their son Ben Lenovitz’s drawings bring Fishs Eddy to life with a witty style a la Roz Chast and Ben Katchor.

     

    To anyone who has ever dreamed of opening a little business—or anyone with any kind of dream—Minding the Store offers wisdom, inspiration, and an exceedingly entertaining story about staying true to yourself.

    “I really enjoyed this book. In fact, I could go for a second helping!” —Amy Sedaris, actress and author of the New York Times bestseller I Like You

    “An anti-business business book . . . An antidote for anyone who wants insights from successful people but is bored by jargon and unable to face another turgid tome from a bleach-toothed billionaire.” —The Financial Times

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOpen Road Integrated Media
    Release dateOct 30, 2018
    ISBN9781616208868
    Unavailable
    Minding the Store: A Big Story about a Small Business

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    Reviews for Minding the Store

    4/5

    36 ratings6 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 4/5
      a reality check on what is like running a small business. No swanky clothes, but lots of hard work.
    • 5/5
      Heart warming and charmingly simple. Tells an everyday story that is refreshing in a world of drama, deceit and depression.
    • 5/5
      I loved this comic so much. It was emotionally gripping.
    • 4/5
      The story of how the housewares shop Fishs Eddy came to be what it is today. I had never heard of the store (not a New Yorker or overly interested in housewares), but their story is an interesting one, both from an entrepreneur and a human angle. The drawings aren't my style, but they serve the purpose.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book. I found it very sweet. It caught my eye only because it was a graphic novel. The title certainly didn't grab me!This story is about a family owned-business called Fishs Eddy which is probably well known in New York City, but I never heard of it before. It's a store which sells vintage dishes. I used to be a vintage items collector (just for fun) so the topic really interested me. The story begins with a young Jewish woman who just met a compatible man, and they both had ideas of owning a small business. As an owner of a small business with my husband, I know many of the trials and tribulations the couple experienced albeit on a smaller scale. Owning a successful business on any level is something in which to take pride. There were many parts of this story which stood out for me, but I especially liked how the author added so many highlights of her years in business, including when her business expanded, when it started to fail, how her extended family helped with the business, how it was impacted by 9/11, and how she dealt with difficult employees. My favorite part of the book, though? That was the last page! You'll have to read this book to see that page and appreciate it.
    • 2/5
      I'm not sure what the intended audience is for this. The art is childish and the story is told in a very simplistic manner, but I think children would have no interest in this story about a store selling secondhand dishes in New York City. As an adult, I found it dull and a bit frustrating for all the gaps and unanswered questions about how people so bad at running a business have managed to stay in business. Ultimately, I guess this vague and self-serving book is a souvenir for fans of the Fishs Eddy store to purchase in the store.