Hello everyone! Look at that…it’s the second last shopping weekend before Christmas! How did that happen? I hope you have all had an opportunity to visit some of our 30 days guests and show your support for local business while buying totally awesome Christmas presents.
Today’s guest is one of those places you’re likely to find one of those awesome Christmas presents as they sell all kinds of cool stuff and have a great community oriented atmosphere. I’d have to admit that before this visit to Happy Harbor the largest portion of knowledge I had on comic book stores was gleaned from watching the Big Bang Theory, so this was definitely helpful. I am a bit of a sci-fi fan…so I’m pretty sure I could get into this. I’m the kind of girl who alternates shopping trips for knee high boots and cute retro dresses with a slight Joss Whedon obsession and quality time with documentaries on the making of Star Wars films…what can I say? I’m kind of random. To say the least, my inner fangirl enjoyed this opportunity to chat with Jay, the owner of Happy Harbor, and I can see myself in his store again very soon.
Happy Harbor’s main store is located at 12226 – Jasper Ave and they have a website you can visit here! I met with the owner of the store, Jay, and this is what he had to say about his store and our city.
What is Happy Harbor Comics?
Aside from it being my home, it’s a comic book store and community oriented hobby shop. We do a lot of different events and welcome people to just come and hang out. The worst thing to happen when you have a hobby is that you can’t share it with anyone, so we’re providing people with a place to do that.
How did your business come about? What’s your story?
I’ve worked for other comic book stores since I was a teenager and it just got to the point where I had all these ideas for making the business better and I couldn’t do things the way I wanted to, so I went and did it myself. The first Happy Harbor opened in Jasper in 2000 and we were there for about 4 years, but we couldn’t grow there because the market was so small. So I moved back to Edmonton and opened up the first shop here and at that point we were able to do more events and spend time in schools, etc. We go all over the place to talk to schools now. We like to be out in the community, so we’re not just reaching the people that are already fans of what we do, but so we can reach everyone. We like to get people inspired and creative.
What would you consider the most unique part of what customers experience when they visit you?
I think it’s the personal service. We greet every person that comes in the door and we talk to people on the floor. If people have questions or need information we actually have a conversation with them to find out exactly what they’re interested in looking for. We’re grateful for everyone who shops here, because when you think about it there’s really nothing in this store that you absolutely need, so I’m grateful that people choose to buy something here.
I see that you have a little theatre setup here. What’s that used for?
We screen movies and do lectures there. For example, tonight we’re screening a local movie, entirely acted and produced by local people. It’s part of the community that we’ve created here.
Did you grow up in Edmonton, or are you a transplant? If so, what brought you here?
I’m originally from southern Ontario, but I moved to Edmonton in 1996. Had I never left Ontario I can guarantee that I wouldn’t have what I do now. I wouldn’t have met the people that I have and been able to create the business that I did.
If you could see one thing change here what would it be?
I’d like to see people complain less…it’s one thing that drives me crazy here. I would consider Edmonton in general to have one of the best standards of living in the country. It’s just unfortunate that many of the people who live here seem to be so unhappy with it. Even though most of my family and friends still live back in Ontario, I wouldn’t sacrifice the quality of life I have here to go back. There’s just a disproportionate amount of people that just seem to be looking for something to complain about even when this is a really great city.
What’s your favourite product you’re selling this holiday season?
As the boss…I would buy anything I bring in. For the holidays people often purchase the hard cover graphic novels because it’s just a little bit nicer to give to someone than a softer cover book.
Any last words?
I think that people still have the opinion that they would never go to a comic book store because they would never find anything that they like, and I can guarantee that they are 100% wrong about that. So I’d like to challenge anyone to step foot into our store and not find something that interests them.
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