Radical goods from the Crescent City

Welcome to the Indie Solidarity Project! Part of Microcosm’s special sauce is our network of amazing retailers around the world—some of whom are traditional bookstores, but many more who aren’t book-focused—we peddle “books for stores who don’t sell books!” as our sales team puts it. Much like our Bookstore Solidarity Project, this series highlights our partners who run all kinds of small and independent businesses, blazing their own trails, supporting their communities, and growing our small world.

For our series debut, we’re stoked to feature Sisters in Christ of New Orleans (the city with the most Microcosm authors, FYI!). Dive in to learn more about their infoshop roots, favorite comix artists, and beyond:

Your name, pronouns, and role at the store?
Bryan Funck, he/him, owner

Tell us a little bit about the store and your community
We’re a small record and book store that grew out of the Iron Rail Infoshop, specializing mainly in punk/indie/underground, radical literature, small press comics and zines. We’ve been at the current location for about nine years; we were in a smaller spot for a year or two before that; and we handled the records at Iron Rail for about six years. No cats currently, but we love the cat down at our friends’ shop Blue Cypress Books!

How was the store’s name chosen?
We wanted something that reflected New Orleans culture without being fleur de lis and the saints, Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street, alligators and 504, etc. We also wanted to stay away from a generic record shop name to create some mystique.

How did you get into your area of business?
Distro’ing records at punk and hardcore shows in the late 90s then running the record rack at the anarchist bookstore.

What’s something about your store that you think will surprise people?
We’re not religious.

What are some of you favorite ways your community supports your store?
Someone got an enormous tattoo of our shop logo on their abdomen.

What are some of your favorite way to support your community?
Buying and selling local records, tapes, books, and zines! Disseminating relevant information to our radical allies! Using local artists to print and screen flyers and shirts, using the local pressing plant NORP to make records, using local video techs for creating shorts.

What are three things (books or not books!) you’re stocking right now that you want everyone to know about?
Any and all comics by Linnea Sterte or Matt Emmons. Any issues of Sean Tejaratchi‘s Craphound. Any of the Silver Godling records or tapes.

How can non-local customers shop with you?
We do mailorder from our website and respond to Instagram messages at @christly_sisters.

Editor’s note: Please observe that SIC have maybe the best tote bags we’ve ever seen.

Keep up with Sisters in Christ on their Instagram! Peep this great, oldish Creative Independent interview with Bryan while you’re at it.