Damn the Man! Save Small Friend!
Donation protected
Small Friend Records & Books is a woman/queer-owned shop opened in April by Zoe Golden and Jordan Pulaski. Small Friend was intended to be not just a store selling books and records, but also a community space, hosting live music, author events, lectures, and workshops.
When we rented this space one block from the 17th Street Farmer's Market, we were told the construction would be complete and the market would reopen in May, which meant that we had enough capital raised to cover us until the market reopened and foot traffic in the area increased. However, the construction has since been delayed again, and the completion date has been pushed back to late summer/early fall, which means we now have to get through three more months with little to no foot traffic in the area. We work at the store 6 days a week, and spend most of our day off putting up flyers and trying to find other ways to creatively spread the word on a limited budget. Despite our best efforts, our customer base is not increasingly quickly enough, and traffic on our street remains very slow. Several businesses in the area have closed down or drastically reduced their hours in the past few months, and those that remain are struggling.
While our primary goal is still to increase traffic in the store, many of our friends live out of town or have very busy schedules and have asked about alternative ways they can support Small Friend. We are asking for $1500, which would cover one month's rent and utilities, and any amount above that would go toward expanding our inventory and hosting more local events. We are immensely grateful that people believe in this project and want to see it succeed, and hope that we can continue long enough to be able to pay forward the kindness of our supporters back into the community.
When we rented this space one block from the 17th Street Farmer's Market, we were told the construction would be complete and the market would reopen in May, which meant that we had enough capital raised to cover us until the market reopened and foot traffic in the area increased. However, the construction has since been delayed again, and the completion date has been pushed back to late summer/early fall, which means we now have to get through three more months with little to no foot traffic in the area. We work at the store 6 days a week, and spend most of our day off putting up flyers and trying to find other ways to creatively spread the word on a limited budget. Despite our best efforts, our customer base is not increasingly quickly enough, and traffic on our street remains very slow. Several businesses in the area have closed down or drastically reduced their hours in the past few months, and those that remain are struggling.
While our primary goal is still to increase traffic in the store, many of our friends live out of town or have very busy schedules and have asked about alternative ways they can support Small Friend. We are asking for $1500, which would cover one month's rent and utilities, and any amount above that would go toward expanding our inventory and hosting more local events. We are immensely grateful that people believe in this project and want to see it succeed, and hope that we can continue long enough to be able to pay forward the kindness of our supporters back into the community.
Organizer
Zoe Golden
Organizer
Richmond, VA