Recession hit everywhere this year, and many shops went out of business. Among the usual shops to go are the specialty shops; but there is more to the above shop. Not only is it a speciality shop, it'a also a shop of the past. I remember as a kid I used to go grocery shopping with my dad, who would go from shop to shop, buying the one thing from each shop, as each shop only sold one or two things that they specialized in. As we get more and more advanced technologically and industrially, people have less time. They would rather buy everything at the one-stop mart and get everything together at one go. Gone are the days where you go from shop to shop. Farm stands, dairy/cheese shop are almost non-existent, and the butcher's shop is just another casualty. People would rather pick up the packaged meat at the frozen section along with the milk and other vegetables than go to the neighborhood butcher, take the time to pick out a choice cut and have the butcher cut it up or package it up for them...there is something less mechanical and more human about the latter experience, which we are leaving behind as time goes by - sometimes I'm not sure if this is advancement.
On another note, I was featured in the Escape Into Life webzine :) It's an art magazine, and they feature work in many other art medias. I am flattered to be a part of that group.