Stranger in a Strangeland
What makes a good hobby shop? What makes a good hobbyist?
The thing is that these aren’t esoteric questions they have real answers. While we more jovially go through these questions in the video the answer is pretty simple when it comes down to it. It must meet the expectations of two perspectives.
The feminine and the masculine.
The feminine wants the F, in FLGS (Friendly Local Gaming Store) a friendly store. She wants someone she can go to the counter to and know they are going to help them. More important than that, they want to know that this person isn’t a mechanic. In that, they aren’t just trying to make sales by making out something that is essential. She wants someone who knows her hobby or the hobby she wants to get into and can connect her with the community. She has social security, knowing she is in a safe place and though she may stumble or fall.
The masculine wants structure, a literal structure. He’s looking at the lighting, is this a dank cave where I will never be able to bring my lady? He’s looking at whether I can actually fit between those tables when I am between matches and everyone is shuffling around. He is looking at the products in the store, what can I get, is it easy to find, where is everything. And he’s looking for an expert someone he can rely on for the knowledge he may or may not have. That he will have a sanctuary from the storm of life.
Both of these perspectives should be considered when looking at what is a good game store, because a good game store shouldn’t be a store. It should be a Haven, a place of safety and refuge from the world at large.
Seeing other stores, while I was a stranger in a strange land, made me realize…
I am a lucky man to have my haven from the storm.
What makes a good hobbyist?
A hobby is something you do for leisure and so long as you’re doing that you’re a good hobbyist… but that doesn’t make for a good answer for the real question. What makes you a better hobbyist is the question at the heart of the question. Because ‘best is the enemy of the good’ - Voltaire. Being a good hobbyist is about mindset.
First: be humble, I know I am humbled everytime I go online and see the amazing work of others. But more important than that, know that you can learn. You can learn from those who came before you. I don’t mean just follow tutorials from other painters or ‘wargaming’ hobbyists. No I mean learn from those who came before them, before wargaming there were model trains and scale modellers who have probably forgotten more about how to create scenes than wargaming hobbyists have learnt collectively. And art is art! Miniature painting is separate from art, it is a part of it!
Second: Mindset. Having a hobbyist’s mindset will change everything. Seeing opportunities for hobby stuff in other areas. That isn’t tile grout, it’s scale model plaster and mortar for buildings its a bright white paint for filled-in areas, it’s snow and frost sticking to the legs of your marine! However the best discoveries out there. I don’t know. I have no idea what they… and even if I did I wouldn’t tell you. Why? That’s part of the point, looking at something as solved, as the discoveries have been made, makes you have a tired and dull mindset. I don’t know how your mind works but repetitive work drains me. Discovery invigorates me. Perhaps I am simply an odd duck, but I am willing to bet. You feel the same. You read through this because you longed for that discovery by reading through this blog. I hope it was worth the read for you.