Stuart Kane

From HR Consultant to Indie business owner, Stuart is originally from Hamilton and moved to Perth when his husband relocated for work. After spending 14 years in an International HR role for a large company, Stuart was offered redundancy just before the big move and took a year to plan Big Dog Books and put the wheels in motion for opening the shop.

Big Dog Books is an independent comic book, games, and pop culture shop. It's all about celebrating who you are, your individuality and understanding that the things that make us unique are the very things that can bring us together.  We absolutely love this ethos, and are sure you'll love the man at the helm of it all after reading his workdays interview - expect superhero levels of awesome! 

1. Tell us the weirdest / funniest thing that has ever happened to you at work?

A LOT of people come in thinking it’s a pet store or sells books about dogs… maybe should have thought more about the name!!

There's wisdom to be found from taking the time to pay attention to what came before us.

2. What signals the start of your days off?

Usually my day off is a Monday so it starts with me getting up early anyway along with my partner. After that I catch up on my own reading for the week (Batman, The Flash, Titans, Superman, etc) and then I usually go for lunch. I love the number of great cafes we have in Perth so I’m often found in hinterland, Brew & Chew, and Blend catching up with people I know there.

Then it’s food shopping for the week and I’ll cook something nice for dinner since I have more time than usual.

3. What might people be surprised to know about you?

I was in both Scottish Ballet and Scottish Opera productions when I was really young.

4. What is at the top of your bucket list?

I’m pretty simple really so I don’t have a huge list of amazing things I’d like to do; I’m fairly sure dolphins aren’t going to miss not swimming with me lol! Given the opportunity I would love to be able to go and study in Europe; to be able to take the time to really dive into art and culture in quiet surroundings would be amazing.

5.  What is the worst job you’ve ever had?

Cleaning toilets in a Glasgow nightclub…

6. Who or what inspires you?

I’m a classicist at heart, I find inspiration in reading philosophy and poetry from past masters. Many of the problems that the world faces today, it has faced in similar forms in the past, and there's wisdom to be found from taking the time to pay attention to what came before us.

7. What’s the best part about your job?

Watching people who don’t know each other become friends because of the community events we run. Things like the Book Club, Dungeons and Dragons nights, and Board Game nights are great ways for people to meet each other and it’s a good feeling knowing that we’ve built a safe and positive environment for people.

8. Complete this sentence; the best things in life are….

The simplest.

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I caught up with Stuart the day before her opened Bog Dog Books in 2016.  You can read the full story here >>>