Books in Clover Year 1

Well the last year at Books in Clover has been a roller-coaster ride. Yes, I am the person who chooses to go on a ride which is just a good excuse for screaming in fright. Don’t get me wrong, I love my bookshop and I still have to pinch myself that it is real, but the everyday reality of small business is a constant intrusion on my bookish dream. Bills, the pricing and cleaning of stock, BAS returns, and the constant annoyance of calls from utility suppliers, are the flies in my ointment of joy.

The shop opening in February 2015 was a bit mad and exhausting. My helpers and I pulled books off half the shelves and moved shelving bays around to provide a more open floor plan which allowed more light to reach the back corners. Four of us worked solidly for 3 days but agreed it was well worth the aching muscles.

Those nooks for seating and lines of sight which have been created, make the shop seem much bigger than it looks from the outside. I have since pulled down and moved another section of the shop and made additional changes to accommodate even more books. Thanks to my lovely Dad, I now have proper window display shelving which not only looks great but maximises the available light and floor space. There is a lovely green feather banner outside on the curb, announcing our existence to passers by, and worth every dollar spent on it.

A bookshop for Christmas

For me 2015 will be a year of great change in almost every way.
Just before Christmas 2014 I was gifted a second hand bookshop, 'Books in Clover' (BiC).... I am excited, scared, overwhelmed, stimulated and inspired all at once. This has been an dream for at least the last 13 years, when I first began planning and talking about opening a bookshop/ cafe after a trip to the U.K. I am incredibly thankful for the generosity of Kathy who has nurtured 'Books in Clover' over many years.

Books in Clover meets some of my vision, but its very existence is a miracle fully realised. I am bringing together many of the ideas and tips I have researched over the years to hopefully build the bookshop into a thriving community bookshop. This is a small shop so I won't be able to do some of the things I have dreamed of but there is room for experiment and development. I have always had a clear vision of how the shop front would look, the set up of the shelves, the type of books and the atmosphere created partly through the background music (blues and jazz) and location. Easy chairs and reading nooks, the smell of fresh coffee and the serendipity of a book found. The shop is light and airy with simple white shelves. It adjoins a thriving cafe on one side and a pizza shop on the other. Foot traffic is limited but with local schools nearby, a large shopping centre within walking distance and a main road frontage, it has a good 'village' shop feel to it.

This will be a general bookshop, heavy on popular genre fiction with a focus on my special interests of memoir, travel and history. The existing stock is eclectic and covers all the major genres, including some new books. Run as an exchange bookshop BiC relies on a diverse stock holding. Within the limits of the shelving space I would like to introduce older, vintage books partly because this is what I enjoy in second hand books and partly as an adjunct to the type of books I plan on focusing on in my internet presence.

Would love your feedback on this blog and the bookshop. So, stay tuned for further revelations of my Books in Clover adventure, it all kicks off in February!