Treasure Tomorrow: The Sustainable Shop Revolution
The Eco-Collector’s journey of fossicking, and unearthing history in every corner.
Written by Vandy
Thirty years ago, a broke student’s twenty cent book find scored him twenty bucks.
John Needham was always a reader, and upon finding a book too cheap to be true, he took it to another store and learned that what he’d picked up was relatively rare, so he gladly traded it for a green note.
Since then, John has been in and out of the secondhand book world, finding hidden gems that would have otherwise ended up in landfill.
He’s now one of nine residents inside Fossick, and a self proclaimed hoarder.
After years working in bookstores old and new, when reflecting upon the friends and experiences he’s gained throughout his life John often uses air quotes around the word “job”. This prompts the question; does it feel like a job?
“No” Is his short and simple answer.
“That’s why I’m here, because I don’t want a job.”
John’s days of work at Fossick consist of a lot of looking through his stock of books, cds, and records. While his main point of interest is second-hand books, seen in Fossick’s several shelves stacked with unique reading material, John is generally just really into rescuing the retro.
“There’s so many things that would otherwise just get thrown out. Once it’s gone it’s gone. I try to keep that from happening.”
John Needham
And while on his journey trying to save vintage treasures, he’s come across some interesting finds.
“I think the coolest thing I ever found was the original Scotland Yard security papers for Winston Churchhill’s state funeral”.
He also shows me a hefty book with the outer pages not yellow, but green from time, and reveals it to be a history of Lonon from the 1800s.
On a separate occasion, I asked John and the Fossick team if there were any bucket list items they would love to get in the store. In response, John got very passionate about his desire for a slot car setup in store. He shared the story of owning a cheap slot car when he was young, and using local slot car tracks. This pivoted the conversation to the thing that bonds all of Fossick’s inhabitants, nostalgia and a passion for vintage.
While there’s certainly work that goes into keeping his stockpiles of books, CDs and records fresh at Fossick, John only works three days a week in the store. In the grand scheme of things, that’s really quite a luxurious deal.
“I’ve worked for other people, I’ve done the 40 hours and annual leave thing. I like being my own boss. We all need money, we’ve all got to eat and live, but time is more important.”
