SHOPKEEPER PERMIT
You must have applied as an Elsewhere character before completing this permit.
Shop name: Völund brooms
Shop Type: A brand and repair shop for Quidditch brooms
Location: Diagon Alley
Subforum? Yes please!
Short Description (50 words max): A brand and repair shop for Quidditch brooms. Get your custom-made broom now! Or stop by and have coffee with Zak!
Long Description (200 words min):BackgroundThe idea for Völund brooms appeared in reaction to the standardisation of brooms and the norm of speed as the idealised Quidditch quality. Coming from a background as a professional Keeper, Weiland was unhappy with the branding of Keeper as a "boring" position with lackluster recruitment, blaming this in part on Quidditch ideals and broom builds that, indeed, made Keeper a harder-than-necessary position to play.
Resultingly, Weiland started requesting broom builds as customised for his player style. This included experimenting with heavier woods for increased stability, and with flexible woods that were better at handling the high risk of impact from high-speed Quaffles and Bludgers.
After a Quidditch accident that rendered Weiland immovable from the waist down, he wanted to bestow these ideas on the rest of the community and started researching how to make his vision into a business model. As such, Weiland's ambition was to build room for an increased diversity in players and their brooms.
The businessThe shop provides broom and equipment in three main categories being beginner, intermediate, and customised/professional brooms, with increasing focus on fitting the broom to position play and an individual's wishes and player style.
Beginner and intermediate brooms are divided into three categories being (a) high-impact Keeper's and Beater's builds with focus on stability and resilience, (b) Seeker's and Chaser's builds that are speedier and lighter, focusing more on avoiding getting hit than being able to
take a hit, as well as (c) combination builds typical for example for children/youth on school teams whose positions tend to shift around a lot. The shop provides advice in the case where the customer is unsure how to tackle specific game-related challenges and there should be plenty of room for variation inside the groups, in particular on the intermediate level.
Professional brooms have alternatives beyond what is offered for intermediate brooms. Most professional brooms are customised through one or two processes: (1) profiling of the player through interview and observation and (2) any special aesthetics and effects, though normally only within the rules of what is allowed for Quidditch games.
(The shop also has a borrow-option, provided that the borrower fills out a firm with a rating that helps Völund refine and develop their brooms. This option is not always available and may be reserved for certain positions and/or levels.)
The shop also imports and sells other broom brands and Quidditch eqiupment.
Völund is run by the trio of Weiland, a skilled broommaker, and a magical engineer (these positions will be up for grabs if the permit goes through). There will also be a need for 1-2 people at the counter. Depending on how the business goes, Völund might start looking for someone to take care of economy/admin stuff, with the hope of expanding the broommaker- and repair sections with larger broommaker- and repair teams (new broommakers will normally start of as trainees in the repair section and the teams otherwise tend to overlap).
All brooms from Völund are marked with the logo: One golden and one silver wing.
LayoutThe shop can roughly be divided in three sections.
In the middle is the shop area, where brooms are available on display and for try-outs (no, NOT
inside the shop!). On the left is the repairshop, together with a couple of small offices.
On the right, the shop has been furnished as a small café area containing two round tables, each surrounded by a triad of bright red chairs. The area is self-served (Weiland insists that serving should be free) and known for its horrendous coffee. While initially meant as a waiting area, and while some of the stricter staff may shoo people away who are not customers, Weiland happily welcomes anyone who just want to use the place to hang out.
The walls of the coffee area is decorated with the shirts of Weiland's legacy - first the crimson of his old Gryffindor shirt, then the black-and-white shirt from his first taste of professional Quidditch, as second Keeper to Montrose Magpies, then the bright yellow-and-black of the Wimbourne Wasps, as he was bought in as their primary Keeper. Finally, the dark navy of Scotland's national team.
What purpose will this shop serve other than selling things and being the home of your character? Why would people want to RP there just for fun?To my memory, there has never been a broom shop on the forum, although there has been plenty enthusiasm around Quidditch. As a long-term OOC fan of the IC Quidditch games, I want to help inspire creativity in writing things Quidditch related!
The purpose of the shop is manifold:
1) Inspire fun writing for all things Quidditch related
2) Inspire growing a community of Quidditch enthusiasts and professionals
3) Challenge ideas connected to the IC and OOC popularisation of some Quidditch positions over others
4) Challenge the perception of speed as the most desireable Quidditch attribute
5) Providing jobs, and hiring students to help during summer months, thus contributing to the community
6) Somewhere to drink coffee in cool surroundings
7) Help Zak's need for constant socialisation
Zak's daughter is currently going to Hogwarts. She will be helping in the shop during summer.
(The name Völund is the Old Norse variation of Weiland's name, which is usually spelled Wayland in the English language, referencing the mythological smith that was hamstrung by the king and imprisoned on an island. However, Völund/Wayland forged himself a pair of wings and flew away. This was my symbolic backdrop for making Zak's character when he was a student, and has been a leading star for his plotline.)
