Meet our talented Curious Crew member Alan Cowie who works in our Broughton shop and has a great gift for putting things together and taking them apart. We asked Alan to share some thoughts on living in Edinburgh, his freelance work and his favourite products.
1. What do you enjoy most during Autumn in Edinburgh?
I love the way the lower angle of the sun at this time of year lights the city in such a dramatic fashion. However I don't love that this comes alongside the super short days. Someone needs to invent a safe form of human hibernation.
2. What’s your favourite song?
Song of the moment - Steve Mason - Like A Ripple
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtpov6wQ4dI
3. Three products from our shelves that you love.
Negroni print by Dick Vincent
I love Negroni's, and also love Dick Vincent's work.
The Green Roasting Tin cookbook
Cooked a lot of the recipes out of this book - tasty and easy!
Dimple mugs by Bloomingville
Because who doesn't love a cleverly-placed thumb dimple in their mug on a chilly autumn day?
4 Can you recommend any local businesses?
Tattie Shaws on Leith Walk - Great wee local greengrocers and a local institution. They've managed to survive and, I hope, thrive despite the recent proliferation of soulless chain stores all around them. They move with the times and food trends, so you'll almost certainly get the arcane and unpronounceable vegetable your latest cookbook demands.
Leith Cycle Co - Dependable, honest advice and always excellent service. I'm pretty bike savvy, and usually do my own repairs. When I can't, don't have time (or can't be bothered), or if I need a spare, I rarely go elsewhere.
Typewronger Books - Calling this place a book shop just doesn't do it justice. More an immersive and life-affirming journey towards literary enlightenment, with tea, origami, jelly babies, regular events and typewriters.
5. Tell us about your freelance work?
So I do a weird mix of things at the moment, but looking to head in a specific direction. Best way to describe the main thrust of it is projects that combine the physical making or re-purposing of things (often involving woodworking) with designing and building the electronics and software that makes the thing work.
Early days, but so far so good. I'm generally pretty handy, have terrible trouble saying no to things, so often also end up doing random bits of joinery, repairs and bike - related fixes and builds.