Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Part 11 at the publishing series. NWA Express yourself. Getting tired of this yet? What’s the point of making a magazine? For a mag like GR, it’s to get what you want out there. We started as a zine, and I’d like to think that we retain some of that rawness at least in spirit or concept. Some mags start by being decent. They’re putting in what they want, and how they want it, but soon, it seems like a popularity contest. Questions like, “What content needs to be in there to get more ads?” is all about the money. You’re now in a mode to make the magazine to appease advertisers and not yourself. Ultimately, your readers will know you’re full of shit. The new readers you get who aren’t smart enough to know the difference, are great since they spend their money on you, but that wasn’t your audience to begin with. At this point, you’re in the magazine business to sell it one day soon. A comments like, “Oh they’re good? Let’s write about it” is another kiss of death. The comment is something that happens when you don’t care about what you’re writing about, and you’re more concerned with being popular and being part of a trend, rather than publishing what you want to write about. One of the reasons why GR started was because there wasn’t anything out there which fit my interests. Writing gigs weren’t coming my way, so a magazine had to be created. Luckily, an audience developed over time, and we’re still able to do what we want. Some Asian American magazines came and went, and their problem was that they didn’t say anything, and they tried to express words for everyone. If you’re trying to make something unique, then it’s best to stay with your tastes, since ultimately, that’s what will make your product special. Going the MOMA and seeing paintings that you’ve seen before is sort of like visiting an old friend. I’ve heard Souther say that once when he came over to my house and saw one of his works on my wall. Now I know what he’s talking about, except maybe in his case, they’re not friends, but his children!
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Part 10 within the publishing series. 10. Business Mind. This part is age old. But do some math before you go balls deep on a project, even if it’s not your money. You’ll end up figuring out ways to save. The typical thing I see, is that folks work hard on an idea, they do the graphics, (let’s say it’s a magazine) and they write, get friends to help to put it together. This is all great stuff, but in the end, who’s going pay for this job? Again, are the ads just going to show up? The most unfun part is to figure out where is the funding coming from. If you don’t, then that project that’s sitting nicely on your mac will stay there, and that’s sort of a slap in the face to all who helped you. Do the math first. A) If you’re alone on it, you have to know that in the worst case, it’s going to come from you. And in most cases, you should assume that. I would even have a big chunk of the funding first before you dive into designing, writing, and all that fun stuff, since if you have the funding, there’s a more realistic eye on the prize. GR started with $200 since it was a zine. The funds went to photocopies. The collating and stapling of the 64 page zine was done by hand by everyone I knew. This is called starting raw. Very few could start this raw and get to where we’re at. It was intentional… which brings us back to part 8… thinking ahead. We didn’t. B) Stay out of debt. Credit cards aren’t really available in Japan for a reason. It’s to keep the people out of debt. This is debateable since great projects have been funded by credit cards only to be paid back with the enormous success later. But these are the stories that you hear about. What about the 99% of the credit card projects that fail? You don’t hear about them, because the person is either filing for bankruptcy or is working their ass off to pay for it all. No debt for GR, thankfully. C) Be careful of borrowing money. You might have a partner who has some money but can’t really do the work. This is dangerous. Imagine one year later, and you’re growing, but the person who loaned you $1000 (let’s say) will expect an exponential payback. Can you afford that, and how much should it be? If you get large, even a 10 times return isn’t enough, and that person will own a chunk of your company. Good or bad? It can be either, but that’s something to consider. There’ll be people who think or feel that they have a part of what you’ve done. In some ways, they do of course if they helped… D) KAWS put it simple when he said something to the effect of: Basically it’s logic. You put in money, and...
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9.5 The Breaks. Since I mentioned taking a break, I suppose there’s two things you can do. 1) Do something that takes your mind off of your work, hence a break. This is what most people do when they get away from their work. Get away, and come back fresh. This is probably the most common thing one hears about breaks. For me, it doesn’t always work out. If it’s a pressing deadline of some sort, breaks just freak me out. I want to get back to the job so I can try and hammer it out, then I’ll take a break later. 2) This is the other thing you can do, or “just happens”. While you’re out, it’s possible that whatever you’re up to can help you get your “thing(s)” done. For me, shit just comes to me. I went to MoMA yesterday, and while walking around aimlessly looking at random pieces of art, I came across one piece that looked something like a t-shirt I was trying to make but couldn’t get right. Looking at the painting gave me an idea on how to possibly “fix” the design. I was only at MoMA for a couple of hours, and I left with an idea that was worth more than the $20 price of admission. One can’t really look at it this way, since I think you’ll always be behind in terms of money, but this time, aside from seeing great art, I think I solved a design “issue”. Inspiration can come from anywhere, it’s how you channel it that makes a difference. I’m now excited to get to that design which basically means, I’m wanting to get to back to my work. We’ll see if this t-shirt comes to fruition, but at least it’s not just a boat on a hill for another chance. I’m not sure if this is something you can practice, but either way, walking away from your project and coming back can help you if you’re stuck. Speaking of stuck, I’ve heard of people talk about writer’s block. Know much about that? Thankfully, I’ve never encountered it. I’m not sure if a break will help you get over that, since it’s already sort of a break when you’re blocked. Maybe the idea is just to plow into it before it turns into a phobia like Charles Barkley’s golf swing. *in case you don’t know what I’m talking about. Retired NBAer, Charles Barkley was once a decent golfer, but for some reason he developed a weird hitch in his swing that won’t go away. It’s a phobia of some sort and it’s the most hideous golf swing you can imagine. BTW… Yesterday was Souther’s opening here in NYC, the new space is cool, and different compared to the rest of GR, it’s seems like an example of growing organically. GR shops have art exhibitions that are coupled with retail. But GRNY2 has an art section that stands alone in the front with the retail in...
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Part 9 at the publishing series. 9. Take a break. Leaving the job even for a few hours can change everything. For me, I’m leaving this blog until tomorrow. But we’ll see, in a few hours I may add more.
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Part 8 of the publishing series. 8. Thinking ahead – thanks for the idea… Poketo asked this question: With all of the things on your plate… mag, store, restaurant, and chilling out… daily stuff seems to consume. how do you make time and what is your approach to ‘thinking ahead’, taking GR where its been and where its going? Now, it’s late nite talk show time For Giant Robot, thinking ahead isn’t exactly part of the program. There are two ways to go about growing just about anything. It’s force feeding it, and pushing growth, which is sort of like steroids via marketing and getting whatever you’re doing out there in a hurry. It’s the notion of forcing a square into a circle. The second way, is to go organic, which is good and bad. In GR’s case, we grow as we go. There’s no five year plan, marketing plan, or growth plan. Nothing is written down and nothing is deliberate. However, we do care about where we’re going, but we don’t exactly plan it. Souther Salazar is having a show at GR NYC, where I’m at right now. If you know Souther, you can pretty much guess that he doesn’t plan too far ahead. It works for him. The last entry was about diversifying. We did that without planning it. As we saw needs, we tried to fill them. The needs weren’t public needs, but they were our own needs. The first store opened in 2001 because our webstore was overgrowing it’s space. We needed a place to put our goods, and a store was a logical way to deal with that. The second store happened when our first store got overpacked, and the art exhibitions we wanted to have required more space. We opened GR2 in 2003. The restaurant was a little different. I ate at the udon shop which was the previous occupant of the gr/eats space. One day I ate there, and they told me they were closing down. The next day, we decided to try our hand at opening a restaurant, and that was an idea until I ate udon that one day. Thinking ahead for GR isn’t a big concern. It may be something important for others, since without a plan, you won’t be able to borrow or get investment. Who’s going to believe that you’ll spend their money without blowing it? For us, these kinds of plans aren’t our style. Right now, we’re happy with the direction things are moving, and we’re letting time, the changes outside of us, and our own needs dictate a little of our direction. The only plan I have now is to keep on going, and that’s actually a long term plan.
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