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The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

theguardian.com

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Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#91

Post by fredley »

gjm11 wrote: post #24

In Cambridge (UK), on an out-of-the-way side street, for many years there was a shop called "Roll On Blank Tape". I never understood how they could possibly do enough business to stay _in_ business, and always suspected that if you asked in just the right way they might sell you some ... not-blank tapes. Boringly, the available evidence suggests that actually it's just that the person who ran the shop was really inte…

Just thinking about Cambridge shops made me sad about the terrible loss of Brian Jordan's music shop http://www.brianjordanmusic.co.uk/closure.asp

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#92

Post by systemtest »

yourapostasy wrote: post #35
rezeroed wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Toilet brushes re-bristled" - never knew that was done, and glad that's not my job.

With enough cleaning solvents and disinfectants, any object can be made safe again. There are people who dive into literal sewage retention ponds full of human waste in full SCUBA gear every day to work (clearing obstructions). After reading about that, squeamishness was never an issue for me. As long as it isn't some kind of chemical/biological/radiological warfare agent type substance, or a compound that makes chem…

I have a European toilet (one that is not filled to the brim with water) and I clean it by putting bleach in the bowl and leaving it overnight. I then put the toilet brush inside the drain pipe submerging it in the water/bleach mixture. By doing this I can use a single brush for years with it being brand new.

Also, when you flush and wipe the skidmarks from the bowl, use the flowing water to immediately clean the brush. Don't put it away with poo in the bristles.

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#93

Post by badpun »

pbhjpbhj wrote: post #69
dvh wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coming from commie part of Europe I feel ya. I've recently saw documentary about Japanese family that makes same product for third generation, this would not be possible here as communists didn't allowed private business, people get separated from soil during collectivization and the link got broken. It will take many years to get restored, if ever...

If you have a family running a bakery, then you have a communist revolution, surely you still want the family to run the bakery? Under federal planning, for example, you just now supply them without charge and receive the needed goods; ensuring the family have what they need. It doesn't seem it's a necessity of communism, rather a specific thing that happened in this case?

Communist’s perhaps biggest point was that the means of production (a bakery in this case) should belong to „the people”, which in practice meant the state.

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#94

Post by reaperducer »

weinzierl wrote: post #56
weinzierl wrote: post #10

Several hyper-specialist shops I know in Munich: - balloon shops seem to do really well because we have several here and every major city seems to have one - foam shop for when you need to fix your upholstery - venetian blind store which only sells the vertical kind - Ketten Wild was a chain shop that only sold chains but chains in all forms and sizes - la porcelaine blanche's slogan is "only china, only white" and t…

Just thought of two more in Munich: - Der Lautenladen sells only lutes, Anatolian lutes to be precise. - Almost next to it is the "Spy Shop". I don't know if real spooks buy there but you can take the name quite literally.

New York used to have a Spy Shop in the 80's. It sold all kinds of tiny cameras and listening devices and things. I never went, but the ads made it seem interesting.

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#95

Post by pbhjpbhj »

badpun wrote: post #93
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you have a family running a bakery, then you have a communist revolution, surely you still want the family to run the bakery? Under federal planning, for example, you just now supply them without charge and receive the needed goods; ensuring the family have what they need. It doesn't seem it's a necessity of communism, rather a specific thing that happened in this case?

Communist’s perhaps biggest point was that the means of production (a bakery in this case) should belong to „the people”, which in practice meant the state.

Yes, perhaps I wasn't clear; you still need people in the bakery - or a bakery - to make the bread, assuming you want people to eat. So, the best people to do it are those with experience as bakers. There seems no reason why in short term you wouldn't use the existing means of production, and the existing skilled people. Obviously the ownership changes.

Your last clause, is the kicker, just as it is now in Western Democracies, the State is supposed to be "the people" here now too, but in both cases it instead appears to be some small cadre of an in-group instead. However, none of that seems particularly pertinent to whether you keep using a bakery and the bakers you have when you transition from private to collective ownership.

Consider an example, Woolworths - a general store in UK and elsewhere - collapsed and in some locations the workers bought it for themselves to run as a collective. The same people did the same jobs, largely, immediately after the change just that the profits [and liabilities] were shared amongst them instead of belonging only to the owners.

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#96

Post by reaperducer »

yourapostasy wrote: post #35
rezeroed wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Toilet brushes re-bristled" - never knew that was done, and glad that's not my job.

With enough cleaning solvents and disinfectants, any object can be made safe again. There are people who dive into literal sewage retention ponds full of human waste in full SCUBA gear every day to work (clearing obstructions). After reading about that, squeamishness was never an issue for me. As long as it isn't some kind of chemical/biological/radiological warfare agent type substance, or a compound that makes chem…

It irks me that when a brush is retired, a gigantic chunk of plastic heads into the landfill.

I feel this way about toothbrushes. They've gotten very expensive and seem to be designed to last only a month or two.

I picked up a couple of eco-friendly ones in the supermarket recently. They're made of bamboo. They're also crap. Now I'm back on the plastic toothbrush treadmill.

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#97

Post by fredophile »

blowski wrote: post #82
spectramax wrote: post #79

Hyper-specialization is everywhere if you ever step into any Asian country. Indians even have last names based on their hyper-specialized occupation. I was in Thailand and I saw a tiny shop whose only job was to take old torn notes and exchange it for a new one by charging a small flat fee. I had an Indian friend that told me that specializations in old cities was also geographically organized. One part of street wou…

> I had an Indian friend that told me that specializations in old cities was also geographically organized. One part of street would only sell pressure cookers while another side would sell watering cans. That’s how London used to be, which is why the area around St Paul’s has roads like “Leather Lane”, “Milk Street”, and “Poultry”.

I found Kowloon to be like this when I was visiting Hong Kong a few years ago. One that stands out in my mind was turning a corner and being on a street that seemed to sell nothing but pet turtles and fish.

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#98

Post by reaperducer »

SolaceQuantum wrote: post #32

I also find hyper-specialist shops in america wherever there is still cheap land enough for it. When I used to live in Buffalo, there were small shops- one specifically for new agey "gypsy" clothing, one for bath soap made in house, one for herbs for witchcraft, one that specialized in stones. I really enjoyed those places and miss them now how I live in NYC (although NYC has its own quirks- big gay ice cream is grea…

When I lived in Seattle there was a kilt store.

Chicago had a button store in the last ten years or so, but it is gone. It became a Barneys New York.

Roaming through the Nevada desert a few years ago (Tonopah area, I can't remember exactly where) I came across a small town with a book store that sold nothing but old 1940's-1970's cowboy paperbacks. $1 each. I bought 50.

Re: The hyper-specialist shops of Berlin

#99

Post by spectramax »

fredophile wrote: post #97
blowski wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I had an Indian friend that told me that specializations in old cities was also geographically organized. One part of street would only sell pressure cookers while another side would sell watering cans. That’s how London used to be, which is why the area around St Paul’s has roads like “Leather Lane”, “Milk Street”, and “Poultry”.

I found Kowloon to be like this when I was visiting Hong Kong a few years ago. One that stands out in my mind was turning a corner and being on a street that seemed to sell nothing but pet turtles and fish.

Wow. Did you happen to take pictures? If you do, please share as any photographic insight into Kowloon walled city is highly sought after!
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