Give and Get

Hello all, for those of you just joining me, let me catch you up. Alabaska, THE state of mind, is meant to be a congregation of creativity. I apologize if the overuse of alliteration is too apparent, but when it fits, it's gonna happen. Anyway, There's another part of the mindset that makes the glorious 51st state of the union so great. The best way to explain it would be non-monetary exchange. We want to encourage people to help our fellow human kin out. Not just the ones you're related to either. What I mean is, money isn't the only thing that can repay somebody for a job well done. Whether it's as simple as the words "thank you" or a good-old fashioned bartering session, non-monetary retribution for help or other positivity can be an outstanding tool for creating new friends, business networking, and everything else in between. Let me show you a few examples of how this works for anyone that doesn't quite see how not having money doesn't mean you can't get the most out of any situation.
 
A great example that comes out of this mindset for me would have to be between Milton Glaser, the creator of the iconic "I love NY" logo (yea, that shirt with the red heart every tourist gets when they visit NYC ) and the founders of Brooklyn Brewery. The Brooklyn founders had little money banked to create a lasting image for their company to be recognizable among the hundreds of other competitors on the shelves, but they pestered the artist for months, getting themselves a 15 minute appointment with Glaser. After begging him to reduce his cost with no luck they offered him the only thing they had... beer. Glaser negotiated that he receive free beer from the company for the rest of his life in exchange for creating their logo. To this day, they are all friends and yes, Milton still gets his beer and Brooklyn Brewery has kept the iconic script "B" with its green background.

 

I'd have the same expression if someone said they'd give me free beer for life

Maybe you're thinking, "That's just one lucky and talented guy that made out like a bandit from this money-free exchange, something like that will never happen to me." Well let me point you towards a city that exists with this mindset as the only way in which any exchange of goods can be made. The city  exists for just one week at the end of august near Reno, Nevada every year, in which the same city disappears as quickly as it was created. Maybe you've heard of this place, it's the Burning Man Festival of course! I have never been to it myself, but have felt it calling out to me throughout the last few years, well, maybe it's the handful of friends I have who've made the sojourn to Nevada the last five years running, but you know what I mean. This amazing creation has been going strong since 1986, the festival has no limits on self expression and only allows "gifting" as a way for transactions between participants, or "burners" as they're referred to. Whats beautiful about this idea is that your gift could be nothing more than a silly dance in exchange for a cup of water or maybe you'll stop by someone and they'll write you a poem on the spot in exchange for a lift on your bicycle (no cars are found within in the city by the way, except for safety patrol cars and mutant hybrid art cars) Did I mention that this "city" has a population of more than 50,000 people? With that all said, anyone can find a way to not only survive without money, but thrive.

Aerial view of the city

Your typical building within the city

Some "burners" hanging out

Just your usual mutant car

Maybe you're still a negative Nancy and all you can do is nay say the idea of living without holding money in such high regard. Well here is another example that  doesn't require you be an iconic artist or schlep all the way out to the desert for a mere week, but a business that already exists in Brooklyn and offers their services not for money, but for the best barter once a month! What am I talking about? It's White Rabbit Tattoo, located at 121 Essex St. The talented artists offer up a free tattoo of your choosing in exchange for the best item or offer (non-sexual of course) of anything you can think of. just this week the winner traded a flying-V bass guitar, while others offered piano lessons, antiques, homemade clothing and more.

At Alabaska, we will try to keep this going as well, in correlation with the idea from the talented minds at White Rabbit, we will advertise "Fresh ink gets a drink" throughout our hours of operation.  This promotion will mean that if you visit us with a new tattoo (meaning done that day folks) your first round is on us! So come for a free drink, and stay for the great experience, just remember to keep passing it along when you leave and keep that creativity flowing.