Publication Date: Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Welcome to the Jungle
Welcome to the Jungle
(July 28, 2004) More than just toner offered at copy shop
by Steve Shih
A s John Henry Bradshaw's harmonica wail filled the high ceilings of the large dimly lit office space, his audience -- a mix of strangers, friends, and Xerox machines -- sat silently in the dark tapping their feet to his rhythm and blues.
"If it wasn't for this place I'd be sitting at home playing right now," Bradshaw said.
The place is a 5,938 square foot building with a post-modern looking cement and glass storefront on High Street in downtown Palo Alto. From the outside it looks like an industrial warehouse, but it's a copy store.
For the past six months, Jungle Copy has been welcoming people, like Bradshaw, on Friday nights to not make copies but to play music and check out the local art hanging on the store's brick walls.
Launched by store owners Marc Dickow and Dang! (the exclamation point is there to emphasize the correct pronunciation), Jungle's art gallery and open mic -- which is open to all -- are two recent moves the partners made giving their store an "off the beaten path" feel that is reminiscent of businesses from the dot-com era.
"We wanted an environment for people to come and do business with their friends," Dickow said.
And a community of friends is what this "not your average" copy store seems to have become. For example, as Bradshaw walks off stage after his set one night, he's rewarded with a hug of encouragement from the store's office manager, Kimberly Bower, moonlighting as the emcee for the night.
Bower, who also books the performers, might be the busiest person at the open mic, popping in and out of the store while trying to maintain order. But despite the hectic pace she enjoys the work.
"I'd say this is my all-time favorite job," Bower said.
But Bower is not the only one who enjoys working at Jungle. On Fridays most of the employees stay on after hours, and these graphic designers by day become a rag tag crew of roadies transforming the center of their office into a makeshift stage
"These people work 12-hours a day and their not complaining about it," Dickow said.
Primarily a digital print shop, Jungle does everything from color copies, to high-quality prints of art work, to high end brochures and catalogs for people like Sunset publishing giant Bill Lane.
"I just enjoy going there it's a fun place to go and they do good work," Lane said.
"We paid a little more so people who worked here would be knowledgeable," Dickow said.
His partner Dang! actually worked in another graphic design company for several years before joining him.
"He seemed, to me, to enjoy the business, customers love him, and he had an ability to generate excitement," he said.
Just watching Dang! move around the store in his roller blades can be exciting as he slides deftly between desks and printers like a winger from the National Hockey League.
"Its kind of a natural casual atmosphere, it's definitely extremely different from Kinko's," Dang! said.
At Jungle, the sterile white walls and blue office carpet were eschewed in favor of couches and magazine racks for relaxing, and an espresso bar has replaced the proverbial water cooler. Customers are greeted by a door chime playing sound bites from Monty Python and the Flintstones while Dang! usually glides over to meet them at the door.
"I love being part of this community," Dickow said.
As part of their art gallery endeavor the store will be taking part in the Pacific Art League's art walk and their thinking about branching out into all kinds of media, such as business web hosting and music production.
In fact, Dickow is currently producing an album for one of the bands that play at the store's open mic.
"To be able to provide a venue for that to me there's nothing more satisfying," he said.
Editorial Intern Steve Shih can be reached at sshih@paweekly.com
E-mail a friend a link to this story. | 
