{"id":3488,"date":"2019-02-15T09:23:03","date_gmt":"2019-02-15T17:23:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.tavbooks.com\/?p=3488"},"modified":"2019-02-15T09:23:03","modified_gmt":"2019-02-15T17:23:03","slug":"a-qa-with-abaa-president-vic-zoschak-and-tavistock-books-samm-fricke-on-the-recent-california-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.tavbooks.com\/?p=3488","title":{"rendered":"A Q&A with ABAA President Vic Zoschak and Tavistock Books’ Samm Fricke on the Recent California Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tav6\"<\/p>\n

What were you most excited about for the Oakland ABAA fair?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Samm: Having everyone in town on our \u201cturf\u201d to invite to the shop and seeing all the international dealers!<\/span><\/p>\n

Vic: The ending\u2026?\u00a0 <\/span>Seriously, it had been a long 10 days for us, what with the Pasadena fair the weekend prior, and boy, by the end of Sunday, my dogs were barkin\u2019, let me tell you!<\/span><\/p>\n

What was the theme of this year’s California ABAA fair and how did it present itself at the fair?<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Samm: The theme of this years fair was OZ. There was a large collection of rare Oz items in the room.\u00a0<\/span>A lot of dealers also brought some things from their Oz collections that were dispersed around peoples booths…\u00a0t<\/span>here was a touch of Oz or Baum almost everywhere if you looked hard enough!<\/span><\/p>\n

Vic: The OZ theme was very well presented, though we’re sorry to say the OZ things we brought, we also brought back to the shop!\u00a0<\/span>But nevertheless, it was an exciting theme, and I saw some wonderful material in the genre throughout the room.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"tav4\"<\/p>\n

Were there any special events you two attended that you’d like to make note of for us?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Samm: We did not make the poker benefit as we were exhausted.\u00a0 <\/span>I personally did not make the talk put on by the Womens Initiative as I was finally taking time to browse the booths.\u00a0 <\/span>I snuck in for a brief minute to see Vic’s talk and take some photos.\u00a0 <\/span>He had a large turn out and looked super comfortable up on stage.\u00a0 <\/span>Some people who attended his seminar even came and browsed the booth and told him that they very much enjoyed his talk.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vic: One that perhaps deserved more press I\u2019d like to mention here: the Northern California Chapter\u2019s \u201cYoung Book Collector\u2019s Prize.\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>The award was won by a nice young man from La Jolla, Matthew Wills.\u00a0 <\/span>His collection, \u201cAnti-Confucian Propaganda in Mao\u2019s China\u201d, was on display in the room.\u00a0 <\/span>This award, and the many young people who submitted entries, indicates to me that book collecting is alive & well\u00a0 <\/span>with the next generation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vic, did you speak at this year’s fair?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Samm: He did!\u00a0 <\/span>\u201cWhats a Book Worth?\u201d and \u201cBook Collecting 101\u201d were his two seminars.<\/span><\/p>\n

Vic: Samm’s right, I did, though it was my \u2019Swan\u2019 song so to speak, as Laurelle Swan, Swan\u2019s Fine Books, will take over for me come 2021.\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, pun intended!\u00a0 <\/span>\ud83d\ude42<\/span><\/p>\n

\"tav2\"<\/p>\n

How was the attendance at the Oakland fair?\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Samm: The turn out was the best on Saturday I think.\u00a0 <\/span>The rain was a bit lighter.\u00a0 <\/span>Friday was a dreary day, but people still came out.\u00a0 <\/span>Overall, a good turn out I thought, but I don\u2019t have another ABAA fair to compare too!<\/span><\/p>\n

Vic: Both were of modest proportions for us in Oakland, though I thought the promoter did well getting people through the door.\u00a0 <\/span>But we had few sales to the general public, so, for whatever reason, the material we brought failed to resonate with them.\u00a0 <\/span>You win some, you lose some.<\/span><\/p>\n

Which fair was better overall for Tavistock Books – the Oakland fair or Pasadena fair – in terms of buying, selling and fun? \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Samm: In terms of buying I would say Pasadena.\u00a0<\/span>In terms of selling and<\/em> fun I would say Oakland.\u00a0 <\/span>The fun and selling go hand in hand I think as we had our \u201cShin-dig\u201d which was\u00a0great and we sold some items at that too!<\/span><\/p>\n

Vic: This a tough call\u2026 \u00a0our energy levels were higher in Pasadena, and I didn\u2019t have ABAA responsibilities while in Pasadena [in Oakland, I had a Board of Governors meeting, as well as the Association\u2019s Annual meeting]. \u00a0That said, it\u2019s always a pleasure to see colleagues, and perhaps share a meal. \u00a0While in Oakland, groups of us did get out to both Wood Tavern & Chez Panisse, two of the top East Bay restaurants. \u00a0And yes, Samm is correct, we bought way more in Pasadena [for details, watch our forthcoming Wednesday morning lists!].<\/p>\n

\"tav1\"<\/p>\n

Is the Oakland fair still as much of a draw as it has been since the year they moved it from San Francisco? \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Vic: Here in California, to be honest, our biggest attendance detriment is the proximity of the New York book fair [early March].\u00a0 <\/span>The ABAA leadership is acutely aware of this situation, and hopes, in future years, to introduce more of a calendar separation between the two events.<\/span><\/p>\n

How did your pre-fair Tavistock Books shindig go? \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Vic: Given it’s last minute nature, we think it went well!\u00a0 We did have<\/span>\u00a0a number of colleagues say they\u2019d already had commitments, and therefore weren\u2019t able to make it.\u00a0<\/span>Samm & I agreed to do it again in 2021, and \u2018get the word out\u2019 much earlier that year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Samm: It was fun!\u00a0 We h<\/span>ad a good turn out – maybe 15 people or so filtering in and out!\u00a0<\/span>Sold some items!\u00a0<\/span>People drank our drinks and ate snacks and talked books!\u00a0 What could be better?<\/span><\/p>\n

What did you both learn at this year’s fair that you might not have known before it? \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Samm: I suppose I learned that you can never truly know what will sell.\u00a0<\/span>You don\u2019t know what booksellers will want,\u00a0which collectors will be there etc.\u00a0<\/span>It can be a guessing game.\u00a0<\/span>But having a website to shop and storefront helps.\u00a0<\/span>So you\u00a0may not make a sale\u00a0at the fair itself but you can offer those other options to make a sale at a later date!<\/span><\/p>\n

Vic: I\u2019ve done enough of these fairs over the last 30 years that the one thing I\u2019ve learned is that no one fair is like any other!\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>It\u2019s like rolling dice, you just hope a 7 comes up.<\/span><\/p>\n

And last but not least… Vic, what is different about being president of the ABAA at an ABAA fair?<\/span><\/em> \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Vic: Interesting question Ms P, for this is the first ABAA fair at which I\u2019ve exhibited since becoming the Association\u2019s President.\u00a0 <\/span>What I found is that knowing I\u2019m the President, ABAA colleagues came over to chat about diver Association matters, which is a good thing.\u00a0 <\/span>To properly do my job as President, I need to know how members stand on different issues.\u00a0 <\/span>For those that took the time to do so, I thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"And

And that’s a wrap, ladies and gentlemen!<\/p><\/div>\n

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