Thanks for clarifying what a renaissance fair is! Yes I live in Western Europe and I have seen reenactment events with retailers like Larry on site. Though I understand the working class definition the collective focuses on, what is unclear to me is, does a renaissance fair make Larry a specific example of a working class person that you want to highlight, or was this just an incidental pretty backdrop? (Mall vs. fair retailer) Is Larry much like any working class entrepreneur in retail? If not, what is Larry's experience adding to our knowledge of the category? Of course, I might just be asking questions where these are not relevant to this piece or your objective in showcasing profiles.
These are really great questions especially for us to think about as we develop more of these. Thanks so much for your engagement and keep pushing us with these questions.
Great job on creating the year in the life of Larry. It gives us a picture of what an itinerant seller looks like in the age of digital e-commerce. My feedback is: 1: I am missing what is the Renaissance Fair all about and what makes it important or a good choice to showcase the working class person. Does the history reconstruction fair differ than let's say a grocer in a farmer's market? Why is this a working class example? 2: I am missing some historical and big picture context on the relationship of fairs and the working man. Are we romanticising the itinerant fair seller vs. a commodity seller? The photo used in the thumbnail is intriguing. What was that about?
This is a really good comment. Did I see that you were from Europe? This may be a cultural divide. I think “Renaissance Fairs” are a uniquely American thing. They are basically medieval reenactments. People come to watch and participate in swordfighting, jousting, and living in tents. In terms of working class jobs, we are interested in jobs that do not require college degrees. So, we are not just interested in the traditional "trades” like carpentry, auto repair, plumbing, etc., Though given the fact that Brandon is a mechanic\, these types of jobs will be commonly discussed. For the issue you raise, we debated having this be the first Profile as it is not clear what we’d think of when we think of “working class” America but probably 1/10 people who have no college degree work in retail. So, it’ s a common “working class” job.
Thanks for clarifying what a renaissance fair is! Yes I live in Western Europe and I have seen reenactment events with retailers like Larry on site. Though I understand the working class definition the collective focuses on, what is unclear to me is, does a renaissance fair make Larry a specific example of a working class person that you want to highlight, or was this just an incidental pretty backdrop? (Mall vs. fair retailer) Is Larry much like any working class entrepreneur in retail? If not, what is Larry's experience adding to our knowledge of the category? Of course, I might just be asking questions where these are not relevant to this piece or your objective in showcasing profiles.
These are really great questions especially for us to think about as we develop more of these. Thanks so much for your engagement and keep pushing us with these questions.
Great job on creating the year in the life of Larry. It gives us a picture of what an itinerant seller looks like in the age of digital e-commerce. My feedback is: 1: I am missing what is the Renaissance Fair all about and what makes it important or a good choice to showcase the working class person. Does the history reconstruction fair differ than let's say a grocer in a farmer's market? Why is this a working class example? 2: I am missing some historical and big picture context on the relationship of fairs and the working man. Are we romanticising the itinerant fair seller vs. a commodity seller? The photo used in the thumbnail is intriguing. What was that about?
This is a really good comment. Did I see that you were from Europe? This may be a cultural divide. I think “Renaissance Fairs” are a uniquely American thing. They are basically medieval reenactments. People come to watch and participate in swordfighting, jousting, and living in tents. In terms of working class jobs, we are interested in jobs that do not require college degrees. So, we are not just interested in the traditional "trades” like carpentry, auto repair, plumbing, etc., Though given the fact that Brandon is a mechanic\, these types of jobs will be commonly discussed. For the issue you raise, we debated having this be the first Profile as it is not clear what we’d think of when we think of “working class” America but probably 1/10 people who have no college degree work in retail. So, it’ s a common “working class” job.