Common (Hallowed) Grounds Bookstore
Vampires, Kreature’s, Taiyaki |
I’m a funny guy, so when I heard of a bookstore throwing a vampire-themed market with 20 small-business owners selling their wares to me in monster costumes a month before Halloween, I checked it out. The event was hosted by Kreature’s Oddity Market at Common Ground Books, both local Tallahassee organizations focused on the cultivation of the Floridian art scene. Really, if you’re trying to convince the friend you’re bringing with you that the place you’re headed is full of vampires, there’s no better spot than Common Ground Books. The bookstore is tucked away between lush trees by the Old City Cemetery. Once a house, Common Ground is now a cozy respite boasting all a reader could hope for: old wooden floorboards, windows that let in light, a fireplace to pretend it’s winter, and shelves upon shelves of literature. Common Ground is an LGBTQ+ bookstore that keeps its schedule busy. It’s an institution proud of the variety of events and non-profit services they offer, namely, the bookstore’s new Common Ground Closet, a free gender-affirming closet upstairs.
After poking around the bookstore, I checked outside. The Kreature’s Oddity Market brought together all sorts of vendors along Common Books’ yards. Each stand fit that gothic aesthetic, one could see the effort and care put into each station and their wares. Seriously, if you’re a fan of thrifting, styling, set design—even just to get an artifact to better channel your whimsy—keep track of Kreature’s. Tallahassee’s art scene is popping and there’s truly no telling what you’re in for each time the Oddities Market brings people together. Big time shoutout to @freakers.ball.taxidermy for letting me hold a jar with a pickled pig fetus in it. Shaking that thing made my week.
It’s always fun to go to markets like Kreature’s, they take you to the spots you’ve seen but have never had the excuse to enter otherwise. And you get to meet people that stick out in your mind,@divinedeyent for instance. I met this absolute lad at the Sweetheart Market on last year’s Valentine’s Day and had the opportunity to meet him again at Common Ground. For artists, little communions like the ones Kreature’s Oddity Market hosts are invaluable. They change what you view as possible for art, and sometimes seeing what others have done is enough to inspire you to experiment. DeYent works with animal bones, metals, and gemstones to create his jewelry, but our conversation centered on the One Piece “Death” ring sets on display. The experimentation is refreshing, and so is the open collaboration. Vendors talk to each other freely, willing to share their space and time. Just by asking around I received an above and beyond amount of advice from people whose art demanded they process animal carcasses. Now I’m that much closer to trying hunting and taxidermy.
That night, there was a SoFA meeting I had to attend virtually (shout-out) so I placed an order to the Toasty Taiyaki food truck corralled in the backyard and sat in a parking lot. There were a couple surreal moments where I’d forgotten about the vampire theme and looked up, petrified, to see people walking up to me in leather dusters, only to pass me, looking for their cars. I’m not sure what Taiyaki is, but mine was a fluffy pastry oozing marshmallow and chocolate cooked by a man in a digitized Wrench mask from Watchdogs 2 (I have no idea how he withstood cooking in it). As I munched contentedly, I felt grateful to be able to finish a school-day like this. Outside, mind wandering, eating, meeting people who made things I’d never considered worth making before, afforded me a break from the early school year monotony. Amidst a culmination of months of work, I spoke with the makers, learned their techniques, how their dedications to their passions occasionally became plights mirroring my own. Though, this strain is never recalled on days like market days. The Kreature’s community is stellar for what it does for local artists, yes, but also for their service of making those buzz words of “community” and “collaboration” actionable.
Attached below are the socials for Kreature’s Oddity Market, Common Ground Books, and some of the artists whose works I alluded to throughout the piece. Thank you so much for reading! It is my genuine recommendation to seek thelittle gatherings out in your community, especially if you feel like you’re burning out. It’s a chance to put out the fire so later your brain can reignite brighter. Happy September!
Possible T.W. for below? (Pug Preserved in Bottle )
Kreature’s Oddity Market Common Ground Books Toasty Taiyaki
Instagrams:
@divinedeyent
@witchypunx
@freakers.ball.taxidermy
