Spotted: at The Herbal Medicine and Then Some Fair—Temescal Alley, Oakland, CA
Occupation: Proprietor of "Builders of the New Dawn" and member of the "Sacred Well" family
What is Builders of the New Dawn?
I specialize in ephemera and counter-cultural books throughout the 20th century: craft books, herb books, body works, sexuality, beat literature and avant garde literature.
How did you start this amazing collection?
I have been a book collector since I was about seven and I have worked in the book business on and off for 15-20 years. "Builders of the New Dawn" is about a year old now.
Are all of the books yours? Where do you source them?
I bought them all, so they’re mine at this point. I source them from all over California. I’m always interested in buying collections in my areas of specialty. I love the hunt, it’s part of the fun and I love looking for unique items that are becoming more and more scarce. For me it’s all about trying to preserve the best of visionary thinking, art and counter-cultural ideas and preserving them for younger generations.
I love that! Do you have a specific area of interest that calls to you?
Oh Gosh, I love them all. I love the counter-cultural stuff—the 60’s psychedelia. I love the books that look at entheogens and psychedelics and how they have influenced various cultures throughout the world for the last millennia. I also love the hippie cookbooks (it’s a little micro-collection). And Beatnik literature.
This is a really specialized collection. Do you have a hard time selling some of them?
It’s definitely a niche audience and it’s a highly curated selection. I preserve mostly first editions—I love the text and the designs. I don’t try to be everything to everyone. It’s a very particular niche, but so far it’s going really well.
You also work at Sacred Well?
I do! I work at the Sacred Well: Where Magic Happens Everyday. We’re a metaphysical and occult crystal and jewelry shop—we’re different things to different people. I spend a lot of my time as part of that family and I love it.
I love your jewelry. Did you get it at Sacred Well?
Some came from Sacred Well, other pieces came from Niles in Fremont. I made this necklace at a renaissance festival probably 20 years ago. I have been collecting the bangles for years. He [Andrea's Partner] buys me one for every special occasion.
What about the rest of the outfit—the dress and the shawl?
This dress I just got the other day in Oakland at Mercy on Piedmont Avenue. It’s a wonderful vintage store. The shawl? Oh golly, I thrifted this on Height Street probably about 20 years ago.
20 years ago?! How long have you been in the Bay? Did you grow up here?
I grew up in San Jose and got out as soon as I could. I lived in Hollywood for about eight years, but since then I have been between San Francisco, Santa Cruz and Oakland.
Is there a place you have lived that you love the most?
They’re all special for different reasons! For physical beauty—the Santa Cruz mountains and the ocean really can’t be beat. San Francisco—especially when I lived there in the late 80s/early 90s—was a really wonderful, vibrant semi-affordable place to be. I love Oakland. It’s good here now though it’s really changed a lot. I lived here about 14 years ago and I moved back about six years ago. It’s been a lot of fun. I love to see the creativity and events that are happening here.
What is the best advice you have ever received?
At the risk of sounding completely trite (and it wasn’t in these words)—but, “be here now.” And Rabbit [my employer] is always reminding us to be in the present and not to let our fears of what might happen in the future stop us from manifesting our dreams. We always say to each other, “welcome to your new now.”
How would you describe your style in a few words?
Moody beatnik on the inside and hippy-dippy with a big dose of glitter on the outside.
