Adiós, Ghost, I’m 5thous’
Monday, March 30th, 2009After two short years in business Babylon Falling will be closing its doors for good at the end of June 2009. This is the official announcement of a decision that was made less than a month ago.
This is not simply a matter of keeping the doors open but of continuing to operate at a level that I’m proud of. I came into this with a finite amount of money in my pocket and a serious aversion to debt. From the beginning I knew that there was a very tiny margin of error in trying to get something of this exact incarnation up and running. Up until recently everything had gone as it had to every single step of the way. Last October saw the beginnings of a peeling back of growth which has continued unabated, and which I have suspicion to believe will continue much longer than I have the stomach for.
Discipline above all else. I refuse to watch Babylon Falling limp to a slow death. So with a twinge of sadness–but nevertheless with my head up– I’ve decided to close the store. This marks the death of one store and does not foretell the death of an industry, nor is it to be taken as a sign of anything other than bad timing and shallow pockets.
My experience with this store–my interactions with the many amazingly talented artists and authors (unknown, up and coming, established, and legendary alike), the loyal customers, and the neighborhood characters–has reaffirmed for me just how revolutionary the existence of an inclusive and vibrant community can be. We were on pace to create something legendary here, and to be able to touch that, if only briefly, made it all worth it. Respect to everyone that was a part of Babylon Falling. Forward ever!
Oh, and we’re having a sale. EVERYTHING* in the store is 50% off. EVERYTHING must go. Still no filler!
*except current exhibit.
Please help get the word out about the sale (facebook, twitter, blogs, forums, etc). The sale will continue through the end of June when the doors will close for good.
We really are pulling no punches here. Signed books, books, toys, dvds, tshirts, prints, everything is 50% off…We will also have a couple boxes of slightly damaged books that will be 70% off the retail price.
As the closing date approaches I will send out/post up a proper farewell/recap of the whole experience. No doubt one of these days I’ll be properly caffeinated and manic enough to write something up with some of my observations about the state of bookselling, retailing, youth counter culture, the radical left, etc.
We’ll be working on a little video/slideshow celebrating the two years which will feature a shitload of pictures that haven’t been on the site before. Between now and the closing (and probably after) I’ll also begin to slowly release all of the great content that, for whatever reason, we haven’t put out. Too much good shit to be hidden away. I’ve also been working on a variety of projects in a variety of capacities that will slowly be published/posted over the course of the next year, and as those drop I’ll no doubt throw up a link here and there.
For now come out, show some love, and take advantage of the sale. We’ve been going full steam right up until now so everything here is quality. Crazy deals!
