What's the Big Idea?
After the big May Day celebration of 2001 there was so much energy and support in the radical community. Out of this energy the ideas for opening a radical/alternative bookstore emerged. This was the birth of The Big Idea. Many other cities have radical bookstores, so why not Pittsburgh? Stores that carried some of the material we do no longer exist, such as Gertrude Stein bookstore, St. Elmo's books, etc. Almost three years of work has brought us to the grand opening of our own store in Bloomfield.
In the beginning we held meetings which were attended by up to 25 people and have leveled off at about 6 - 10 people per meeting. Meetings were held for several months before procuring books and records. In these meetings we discussed structure of the business (we wanted a collective, consensus organization), location, book and record ordering, fundraising, and more. After much deliberation and talk, we decided we would start to have a presence at different politically-oriented events and punk shows around town in order to raise money.
In August 2002, we were offered a corner at a new space, Roboto II. After they closed down in November 2002 we shared a smaller space in the (original) Mr. Roboto Project down the street. We were able to settle in both of those places for free giving us time to save up money. After we started expanding and taking up too much space, we moved in next door at the Multi Tool, sharing space with Free Ride (a bike recycling workshop).
We looked into grants for a while, but realized that we would rather put our energy into more creative funding methods. We hosted benefit shows, sold mugs and crafts, Hardtravelin' records put out a benefit CD compilation for us, we received donations and more. Local bands and writers donated items for us to sell to raise more money.
From the beginning we have made a conscious effort to support local progressive and independent authors and musicians. We do our best not to carry books and records that other independent businesses carry. We just direct people to those businesses instead creating competition. We also try our best to order our supplies and items as close to the community as possible (sans our Canadian cash register). Environment and local economy are important to us. If we can get something used or recycled, we will. We feel it is important to keep money in the community so we can see where our money goes as opposed to giving money to corporate chains to fatten the pockets of invisible billionaires.
What we have ended up with is a 100% volunteer collective that makes decisions based on consensus where an issue is discussed until all members feel comfortable with the outcome. Rather than voting, which relies on majority rule, consensus (hopefully) ensures that everyone feels empowered and engaged in the project. The structure allows members to feel as though their actions affect the project and their community.
We are dedicated to the active promotion of radical and alternative cultures through community networking and the distribution of literature. We hope to create a safe and accessible space for people to take part in an open and empowering community. We actively support politics and lifestyles that we deem as alternative, multicultural, woman-positive, queer-positive, class-conscious, and all the things that promote a sustainable community.
Our grand opening weekend was February 13th - 15th and was a great success. We hope that people will continue to come out and use The Big Idea as their source for radical and alternative literature. Please visit our website for updates on our new store.
- Deanna Hitchcock
 (L to R): Kevin Burns, Emma Rehm, Leanne O'Connor, Deanna Hitchcock - some members of the Big Idea Collective. (Photo by Marie Skoczylas) |
Store hours: Wednesday - Saturday 12PM - 7PM Sunday 12PM - 5PM Address: Phone:
|