Private Eye illustrator Greene launches £18k crowdfunder to open London bookshop

Illustrator David Ziggy Greene has launched a crowdfunding campaign to open a bookshop in Shoreditch, London, specialising in design books and graphic novels.

Greene, who is the creator of Private Eye’s Scene & Heard, the UK’s only regularly published illustrated reportage, aims to raise £18,000 by the end of this week. 

The crowdfunder currently stood at just under £10,500 on 5th July and was initially started to "cushion the blow" of how much a small business costs to start.

"I’ve been a freelance illustrator for over 12 years, a classically constant struggle and not the best way to save a lot of money, so, the crowdfunder will allow me to loan less start-up funds," he said. 

"The help from crowdfunding supporters can secure a great little shop I found in a famous graffiti street in Shoreditch — a great visual location," he added. "It also gives me a little bit of a cushion to try out things like stocking more small presses and new creators."

Greene plans to stock a selection of titles from "essential must-read literary genres", in addition to a range of graphic design, illustration and art books. He is hoping to secure premises on Rivington Street, a road that displayed some of Banksy’s earliest works. 

"This potential shop in Shoreditch is a little smaller than I planned but it has a vibe that lends to being very visual. So I may sway my idea to 40% written literature and 60% graphic novels, small press, zines and art books. My artistic experience and background could really be a good tool in creating a visually-focused shop. I’m intending that even the written books in stock will have striking designs, styles and imagination." 

Greene plans to install a "bookbank" in the shop, where customers can buy a book to donate to another reader. He also intends to showcase art prints, bespoke clothing and gifts, alongside promoting foreign language graphic novels. 

He previously worked in a comic shop and in several branches of Waterstones, and came close to opening his own store in 2009. His recent illustration works includes the artwork for Fritz and Kurtz by Jeremy Dronfield (Puffin), a retelling of the  true story The Boy Who Followed His Father Into Auschwitz (Penguin Michael Joseph) for middle-grade readers.  

"I used to wonder what it was like to own a shop," he said. "I got to grips with most aspects of running the shop. Even dealing with the strange questions you get like ’do you sell postage stamps?’."

In the long term, he hopes to grow a creative community at the store. "As the crowdfunder and project has grown, I’ve really taken to the idea of a small bookshop being a place much like an art hub. Somewhere that people can pop into and also get inspired or find advice and network," he said.