My shop

I am thinking about my shop today...yes, in Jakarta, thousands miles away. I am thinking about the colorful wrapping paper, boxes and other things that we sell inside. I am thinking of our dearest shopkeeper, a friend of mine that running the store for a time being and some people who depends on the existence of my little shop.

I was thinking of closing it down, once, when I planned to go to Deutschland. But our neighbor shop around us talked to me that if I closed down then they all will lose hope to survive too. They said my shop has marked the traditional market because of its dynamic colors. I was moved, but still business is always means business. If it is weighing you down then you got to let go the burden.

However, as a women I am, emotional factor always get in the way. I remember why I created the store almost 4 years ago. I wanted to have an independent bookstore in my neighborhood, dreaming the little bookstore in You've got mail the movie.

But my dream doesn't stop there, I want everyone to have their own independent store, it doesn't have to be a bookshop, it could be a handmade bags shop or anything. I want Jakarta to have unique independent shop that marked the city with characters of the people who lives in this city.

I walked in a narrow street in Passau a little while ago, and I saw this small shop. This shop sells kitchen utensils, but the owner put all of her heart decorating her shop that somehow the presentation feels like a tourist spot ( in a good way, of course). When I saw this shop, it made me dream about my own kitchen and took my mind wanders about English kitchen that I used to see in a movie.

As I walked a little bit further, I saw this fragrance, bath and body soap. The shop called La Vie en Rose (my favorite song). I have to admit that I stopped in front of that store because of its name, but then just to look on its windows I could smell the fragrance from soaps and parfumes inside. I swear it smelled sweet and soft. While I think they decorated the shop professionally, they still didn't lose the owners personality in it. I could read their message clear, "If you buy our soap, then your body fragrance would be irresistible..you would smell soft and tender, anyone would cuddled you anytime."

Not too far from this shop, I was looking for a place to buy something to drink. Then I saw this shop. It's a small fresh juice shop, but the red bench in front of it was sooo inviting you couldn't stopped yourself to go inside and buy some delicious fresh juices, of course after that you would sit on that bench making a memories of your own.

You see, those three shops marked the city beautifully (there are still bunch of them if you asked). People would say, don't forget to stop by at that shop once you visit Passau. This is what I really want to happen in Jakarta. Every corner of the city has to have its own landmark shop that reflects the originality of Jakartan natives with their own character. And that is what I wanted of my own bookshop, to stand out and shout that this is me, this is us, Jakarta the way we love, the way we know it. All of those reason are preventing me from closing down my shop. I really hope it can survive for another year, another decade if I may dream so.