What I've been up to (or, Over the Moon Bookstore & Artisan Gallery opens soon in Crozet, VA)

Last week I flew to D.C., where my friend Anne DeVault picked me up and drove me back to her hometown of Charlottesville.  I'd met Anne and her sister Laura at Paz & Associates workshop retreat this past September ("How to Open a Bookstore:  The Business Essentials"), and we'd really hit it off.  Many emails and bookselling events later, here I was on their doorstep hoping to help them in any way they'd let me.  Sure, I sound very kind and good here--but consider what they were giving me.  The hands-on experience of preparing to open a bookstore is very different from reading about the same experience.  This week was invaluable, and I'm very grateful that these friends took me into their homes and bookstore.

The proprietors of Over the Moon Bookstore & Artisan Gallery (opening next month in Crozet, Virginia) are these wonderfully smart, funny, clever women who are really going to do well.  They've been kind enough to let me look at their business plan, their bookstore layout plans, and more--I've been impressed with how well they already know their target market and how many connections they're making to the book and art worlds of their region.  On my end, I was pretty pleased to become more familiar with a bookstore point of sale (POS) system, the long spreadsheets of recommended opening store inventory, how many choices must be made before bookshelves and fixtures can be built, and more.  Living the professional lives of these enterprising sisters for just a week was really enlightening (and lots and lots of fun). 

On the Saturday I arrived, May 15th, Laura & Anne invited some folks over to their freshly-painted-but-bookshelfless space in Crozet, a beautiful and hilly town about twenty miles from Charlottesville.  Over and over I heard people expressing their excitement about the store, their happiness that someone had the guts to do this, and their belief that this place is going to be a hit.

Congratulations to my friends! Can't wait to visit the store once its doors are open. 

Photo show & informal Avid fundraiser this Monday, Feb. 1st

Throughout February, some of my photographs will be on display at the Flicker Theatre & Bar. This photo show opening night get-together will also serve as a casual fundraiser for Avid Bookshop, as all proceeds from photo sales will go directly to our online bookstore funds.

DONATIONS* will be gratefully accepted whether or not you choose to buy a photograph. I'm currently saving up some money so that I may open an online store that will allow customers worldwide to have access to over 1.1 million titles. It is my hope that money I make from this photo show will allow me to establish the full-service Avid website sooner than later. (We'll keep our already-established book inventory through Biblio.com as well.)




On Facebook?  RSVP here!

Thank you, and please spread the word if you feel so inclined!




*Avid Bookshop is not a certified 501(c)3 nonprofit, so donations made to the bookstore cannot be used as tax write-offs. All donations will be given and gratefully accepted in good faith to support this community-focused center.