Faking Sanity

I spoke, a few posts ago, about a Tea Shop/Used Book Shop I discovered whilst I was up north working at a coal mine. I didn’t think to scan the bookmark I picked up there, but I thought maybe I’d post that.

The shop was called “Faking Sanity”, located in Dawson Creek. Unfortunately, I was only able to visit it once, since I wasn’t living in Dawson, and didn’t own a vehicle (nor do I have my license, for that matter); it was found when me and some coworkers made a road trip there, since the groceries are about 1/3 the price (our town had one grocery store, and thus complete control over the perishable food market in the area). We’d passed the store while driving through the area, and I’d noted the name, “Faking Sanity” (I believe I figured it for some sort of Collectibles shop, perhaps). After watching Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon in a tiny theatre, I re-expressed my interest in finding a good book shop. Dave (a coworker) pulled out his phone and did a search of the area. There wasn’t much–just two, in fact, if I remember correctly. He said “Faking Sanity”, and I said that I remembered seeing that shop.

We went there for the books (“gently used”), but managed to get there ten minutes to closing. Just my luck. I asked if they had For All The Tea In China, which I had still been looking for at the time. The lady did a quick check of her database and returned with a no. She asked if there were any other books I was looking for, and just as she said this, over her shoulder, I saw the spine of The Map That Changed the World. I remember saying, “oh, well–this, actually”, and pulling it out. She left at this point, so we could browse some more (saying “no hurry” despite closing soon). It was then that I turned around and saw that the shop was actually divided–books, and a cafe, with a wall of tea (they also sell coffee, but that doesn’t really garner a wall display). I had a moment of excited panic where I smacked Fahmi on the shoulder until he and Dave turned around to look.

I asked if you could also buy tins of tea to go, as well as sit down. She said yes. Sadly, it was getting late–and they were closing–and I did not wish to bother them further by standing in front of the teas and scrutinizing them for half an hour.

So I paid for my book and left, with the intention that I would return at least once before my work contract expired. Unfortunately, that did not happen.

But! If you are ever in the Dawson Creek area (I’d say “or anywhere near by” but that’s at least an hour’s drive), they tuck a bookmark in every book you purchase.

bookmarks-image-only

Replacing broken images; this one taken from their site.

They do have a website/blog. I honestly wish there were more tea shop / used book stores out there. Is there a more perfect combination?

Otherwise, I haven’t any Tea Updates in my life to note. I noticed @liberteas of the SororiTea Sisters gave one of my favourite Tealicious Teas a review, which was a happy thing to sea this lovely, early afternoon.

Haven’t drawn anything strongly tea-related these past months. Sipping Domo Matcha’s Caramel Chai Tea blend. Oh–but I am in a community on Tegakie where I occasionally draw this guy drinking tea:

Removed some swear-words there, heh. No context needed, shhh.

4 Comments

  1. Interesting combo: used books and teas.

  2. Thanks @supermoon10 for an interesting post. I can’t see myself heading up to northern Canada anytime soon, but the little shop sounds like an interesting place. A wall of tea and walls of books, lovely! I can see how you’d need more than 10 minutes to browse. Sipping a cup of tea, while checking out a new (old) book is a wonderful pastime.
    Anyway, hope you get ahold of a copy of “For all the tea in China.” Much worth it. Maybe your library has it too?
    As for the map book, hmm..can you tell us more about it?
    Oh, and one last thing, if anyone does live or visits the area, here’s the link to their store, with some very cool pics. They have music nights too! Wish we had a place like that near us.
    http://www.faking-sanity.net/
    They also have a f/b page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Faking-Sanity/107642119298141
    http://www.faking-sanity.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/P1030561.jpg

    • Don’t worry, I picked up For All The Tea In China when I returned home.

      The Map That Changed The World is about William Smith, considered one of the forefathers (if not the) of modern geology; he’s credited with the creation of the first geological map (although he was plagiarized, and wasn’t truly credited for it until quite a bit later).

      I hope I’ll be able to visit Faking Sanity more the next time I’m up north (hopefully this coming summer again).

  3. I really like this idea. Used books and tea.

    The only problem is I might never be able to leave.

Leave a Reply