Don't try this at Walmart: Bartering name of the game for roaming general store
David Bell | CBC News | Posted: August 7, 2018 9:29 PM | Last Updated: August 8, 2018
One of the people behind the project says value can be in the eye of the beholder
Try this at Walmart and things could go sideways fast, but a general store roaming around 17th Avenue S.W. is accepting a good joke as a form of payment for goods or services. Or a lively tune. Or even some finger puppets you might have on hand.
Artists Nikki Martens and Lane Shordee are behind this blast from the past, bartering as an exchange between two interested parties so they both walk away satisfied.
"It's a reframing of that idea," Martens told CBC News.
"We are used to using finance as this filter. It is easy to say, I charge $180 an hour to give you advice. Believe me, I have these papers on my wall, which is legitimate, but how do we determine that?"
She said some things aren't as tangible, and value can be in the eye of the beholder.
"Maybe other people have the best advice in the world, and maybe that's what you need. How do we put a value on that? That is fascinating to us. It's easy with the dollar amount but it's trickier when we have to take time and have conversations."
The general store will be in a new spot all this week. But you will need to look for clues on social media for the Saturday location, Martens said.
"We really want people to come out and find us."
She said it's about value and exchange.
"We used the archetype of a general store, a trading post, which is meant to supply all your needs, to look at what do people want? What do people think is valuable? How do they go about making an exchange that feels valuable to them?"
The store's offerings are being looked at based on transactions recorded in a ledger the couple had to create for their needs, Shordee said.
"We can look back and see what kind of trades we are doing. That helps us change the store to suit the people's needs. If they want more material things, we will bring in more material things. If it's more cultural, more experiential, what kind of items are hot sellers."
They also take cash, if a song or a joke is out of reach.
- MORE CALGARY NEWS | Saudi Arabian crude oil imports to Canada easy to replace, says energy economist
- MORE CALGARY NEWS | Calgary cyclist advocate wants city to fix 'impossible' construction detours
- Read more articles by CBC Calgary, like us on Facebook for updates and subscribe to our CBC Calgary newsletter for the day's news at a glance.
With files from Elissa Carpenter and Justin Pennell
Clarifications:- An earlier version of this story included quotes from Daniel Kirk and erroneously identified him as a customer. He is one of the people behind The Creative Realm, the program behind this project. August 8, 2018 5:06 PM