The Merchant Company

Heart bandit strikes again. Happy Valentine’s Day everybody!!

Been wanting that expensive record? Now’s the time!! All record sales during the week will be donated to and

Our little neighborhood (West End/Arts District) is full of amazing people scrapping it out and living life on their own terms. This past week we lost one of the all time greats. Derek O'Brien has been a fixture in this neighborhood since the early 2010s, shortly after an accident rendered him a quadriplegic. He lived a fiercely independent life. You might've see him just about anywhere around these parts: Out on the streets talking with neighbors and strangers alike — Working out at the Reiche School playground or the Forest Avenue Y— out running errands on his iBOT in snow or shine with his superman cape flapping behind him —taking street, landscape and nature photographs (one of his great passions) —  getting desert (another passion) at one of his favorite haunts like Zephyr Ice or Hi-Fi Donuts — spending time with Kiwi, his beloved cat — or watching the sunset on the Western Prom.  Derek understood the finer things. We’re goin' to miss him something fierce.
                #207              forever

Happy Pride y’all