Eggs Milk Butter

Eggs Milk Butter

30 March, 2012
by: Domzig

We chat the ladies behind Dalston's brand new comic shop

From what was once a fairly ropey row of shops between Hoxton’s night clubs and Stoke Newington’s general middle class-ness, Dalston’s rise as Hackney’s premier hangout spot has been nothing short of spectacular. In the past 12 months the area has got several new nightclubs, a brand new vintage clothes emporium, a new train station, some fairly decent places to get breakfast and a hair salon that looks like the Queen’s front room. However, if the area is really going to start rivalling Williamsburg, then Dalston is missing one important thing – a really good comic shop!

Spying a gap in the market, Jessica Penfold and her business partner Milo McKeand have taken over an old corner shop on the top of Southgate Road and are in the process of turning it into a really cool comic shop where you can hang out, drink good coffee and read about the Punisher feeding Mob bosses to sharks ‘til your heart’s content (or until they throw you out for not buying anything).  
 
Due to open in April, I chatted to Jess to find out how it all came about:

What possessed you to open a comic shop in Dalston?

Well, I’ve always loved comics, for a really long time. Even when I was little I used to fight with my brother over who would get the Beano or the Dandy. There was a Judge Dredd exhibition in a trainer shop I used to work at in Carnaby Street and I just thought the art work was incredible, and I really started getting back into comics from there. I got totally hooked, drew a couple of my own and decided to open a shop.

Don’t get me wrong, you’re not what I’d normally expect a comic shop owner to be like...

I’ve always hated visiting comic shops. For anyone who isn’t an expert, it’s so intimidating, you go in some of the shops and ask for an Adrian Tomine book and they look and they’re like ‘Tomine? I think you mean Tominie?’ Uh, it’s so embarrassing.

It got so bad that I started doing all of my comic shopping on Amazon, until I went to America a few years back and visited a shop in Chicago called Quimby’s, and it was the polar opposite.  The stuff was super nice, and the staff we’re like ‘Oh you like this? Then you’ll really like this...’ It wasn’t like they were all snobby and correcting your pronunciation, it was like ‘you like comics; we like comics come in and have a look’.  I also started going to a lot of conventions where I met some of the people making the comics, and I realised that there was absolutely no need for all of the snootiness – in fact it’s totally at odds to the people actually making the comics. I wanted to take the inclusive vibe that I saw at these conferences and bring it to a comic book shop, hence Eggs, Milk Butter.

What’s the comic scene like in East London?

There was no real motivation to open a comic book shop in North East London other than it was the place that I lived and I wanted to be close to work. However, now that I’ve talked about it, I realised that there’s massive creative community in East London, and I’m astonished that no one has started one before.  

Oh yeah? What’s the reception to the idea been like?

I wasn’t really expecting there to be a massive reception to the idea of opening a comic shop, and I was half expecting people to be a bit like “oh, you’re opening a comic shop?”, but when I’ve talked to people I’ve actually been taken aback by how enthusiastic everyone’s been. Dalston has obviously been crying out for a comic shop for ages!

So is Eggs Milk Butter a way to support the comic makers of East London?

The original idea was going to be more of a community thing. From trying to become a comic artist myself, I realised that I had no idea how the industry worked, from scanning, reproductions etc, etc, I mean, yeah it’s a Google search away, but it would be nice if there’s a place where people could come together, exchange ideas and help each other out.

So is Eggs Milk Butter going to be a place where you can just hang out and read comics?

I want the place to be totally relaxed, I don’t want it to be too stressful or in your face. I’ve got the boys at Berserker Magazine helping me decide what to stock. I’m really into what I like, and I’m very much in the Tomine, Thomson, Clowes sort of thing, and I didn’t want it to be just that, so they’re going to help me go through all the Marvel and DC stuff so we’ll have a wide range of stuff.

Obviously, if people started taking the piss and just sit there reading the comics without buying anything, then there might be an issue.

OK. Pop quiz – top 3 musicians in comics?

Errr, OK. 1. Hopey Glass, she’s terrible at the bass, but god how I love her. 2. Enid Coleslaw in her authentic punk ’77 look, and 3. errr I dunno? Could I get back to you about the third?

You could have Josie and the Pussycats or the Archies?

No way, they’re not good enough.

Eggs Milk Butter are throwing an opening party this Saturday at the Shacklewell with Mazes and Paws. All profits are going to MIND

http://eggsmilkbutter.wordpress.com/

Domzig