Saturday, June 05, 2004
BEA Friday, June 4
The show floor opened on Friday. Here are a few notes and highlights from the day:
INDIANA BOOKED
Met with Peter Bobeck and his crew from Mitchell Books, the new independent bookstore opening this July in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The store is a huge location with books, DVDs, CDs, a travel agent in the travel section, a loft and "Sherwood Forest" in the kids area, a screening room to show movies and hold author events, a demo kitchen in the cookbook area, and a cafe called "Spoons." Peter is part of the owner-manager team for the shopping complex. They're looking to build a shopping destination for the town, that happens to draw more traffic to all the stores in the center. If this location works, they are hoping to expand into a couple locations in the west.
This model, which is very similar to Third Place Books north of Seattle, is what I think could be a chain-killer. You'll have a nimble, independent bookseller with a bit of financial backing who can create a more inviting, usable space for a community that becomes much more than a retail outlet. Bookstores can be valuable community resources that give people a comfortable place to hang out for a few hours, have some coffee, read (and buy) a book, and meet with others.
Speaking of new bookstores in Indiana...at the end of the day I met with two new booksellers opening BIG HAT BOOKS in Indianapolis, Indiana. Indianapolis has a severe drought of general independent bookstores. Elizabeth and her brother James are stepping in to fill the void. The bookstore will be in the popular Broad Ripple neighborhood slightly north of the downtown. I was in their area in May seeing accounts and agree that this is a great location for a store. Big Hat Books will carry the full range of titles, with an emphasis in quality art and design books for the growing creative community in Indy.
PUBLISHING LEGENDS
Last night at the Prairie Avenue Bookshop party, I met the store owners Marilyn and Bill Hasbrouck. Bill is publishing a book on the Chicago Architectural Club at the end of the year. He's been working on the book for eight years ("quite a long time to be married to an author" according to his wife). The book will have extensive pictures to document the changing and emerging styles of Chicago architecture from the mid-1800's to 1940.
I also met David R. Godine, the publisher of David R. Godine Books. Important information from their website: "David R. Godine, Inc., is a small publishing house located in Boston, Massachusetts, producing between twenty and thirty titles per year and maintaining an active reprint program. The company is independent (a rarity these days) and its list tends to reflect the individual tastes and interests of its president and founder, David Godine." and I love this tagline: "Books That Matter for People Who Care."
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INDIANA BOOKED
Met with Peter Bobeck and his crew from Mitchell Books, the new independent bookstore opening this July in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The store is a huge location with books, DVDs, CDs, a travel agent in the travel section, a loft and "Sherwood Forest" in the kids area, a screening room to show movies and hold author events, a demo kitchen in the cookbook area, and a cafe called "Spoons." Peter is part of the owner-manager team for the shopping complex. They're looking to build a shopping destination for the town, that happens to draw more traffic to all the stores in the center. If this location works, they are hoping to expand into a couple locations in the west.
This model, which is very similar to Third Place Books north of Seattle, is what I think could be a chain-killer. You'll have a nimble, independent bookseller with a bit of financial backing who can create a more inviting, usable space for a community that becomes much more than a retail outlet. Bookstores can be valuable community resources that give people a comfortable place to hang out for a few hours, have some coffee, read (and buy) a book, and meet with others.
Speaking of new bookstores in Indiana...at the end of the day I met with two new booksellers opening BIG HAT BOOKS in Indianapolis, Indiana. Indianapolis has a severe drought of general independent bookstores. Elizabeth and her brother James are stepping in to fill the void. The bookstore will be in the popular Broad Ripple neighborhood slightly north of the downtown. I was in their area in May seeing accounts and agree that this is a great location for a store. Big Hat Books will carry the full range of titles, with an emphasis in quality art and design books for the growing creative community in Indy.
PUBLISHING LEGENDS
Last night at the Prairie Avenue Bookshop party, I met the store owners Marilyn and Bill Hasbrouck. Bill is publishing a book on the Chicago Architectural Club at the end of the year. He's been working on the book for eight years ("quite a long time to be married to an author" according to his wife). The book will have extensive pictures to document the changing and emerging styles of Chicago architecture from the mid-1800's to 1940.
I also met David R. Godine, the publisher of David R. Godine Books. Important information from their website: "David R. Godine, Inc., is a small publishing house located in Boston, Massachusetts, producing between twenty and thirty titles per year and maintaining an active reprint program. The company is independent (a rarity these days) and its list tends to reflect the individual tastes and interests of its president and founder, David Godine." and I love this tagline: "Books That Matter for People Who Care."
