the gift exchange
“…whatever we have been given is supposed to be given away not kept. or, if it is kept, something of similar value should move in its stead… the gift may be given back to its original donor, but this is not essential… the only essential is this: the gift must always move.” - lewis hyde
we begin with an original set of 5 ‘gifts’ created by the shopkeepers. a person can only ‘buy’ one of these gifts by leaving something in return that they’ve made themselves.
our currency will be the gift’s story: we record each exchange - finding out about the person and the story of their gift. we take photos of the person and their gift, and if they want, they can write something about the exchange in the log book for each gift.
once the gift has left the shop, the new owner can choose to hold on to it, or continue to trade it. they will be able to record their gift’s journey online or at the shop.
the 5 gifts
