Otter Creek Used Books will be at this show, March 29th. And looking forward to it. Used books fit right into this philosophy.
Look for Hannah in the gym, booth #M43. She’ll have oodles of books available for sale from solar building, ecology, farming, herbs and gardening, spirituality, self-sufficiency, vegan cookbooks, to building and repairing houses. The list goes on and on.
I’ll be in the store selling what doesn’t go to the Expo.
Should be a good show. Check it out!
Check out this event! Many of your favorite Vermont used bookstores will be there. All together under one roof! So much fun and so much to see: Nancy Drew to books from
the 1600s, stock certificates from the 1800s, to postcards from the 1900s. Something for every interest and price range. Also several local historical groups and bookbinders will have displays. Admission is (still!) only $5 with children under 16 free. For more information check out the website www.VermontIsBookCountry.com
Unfortunately, I won’t be there. My husband surprised me with a little trip as he knew I (we) needed a break. Thank you, dear! I’ll be away Mar 23-26. Though I won’t be at the VABA book fair I will be at the Sustainable Living Expo 2014 that will be held March 29 in Middlebury. For information on that visit this site: acornvt.org/sle2014. I’ll also post about it when I return.
Hannah and Grey will keep the store open while I’m away but hours will be shorten to the afternoon – 1-5 pm to accommodate Grey’s nap schedule. They’ll be in when he wakes up. Ah, the life of a two-year old, huh?
So much for New Year resolutions! That’s all I’m going to say about that. The year has so far been very good to the store. I’ve been busy with SPS – sorting, pricing, shelving. That is what my time has been taken up with. No complaints here!
In between all my store busyness, I’ve also been thinking of what to write about. Have I covered all there is about owning a used bookstore? No. But I don’t want to nag about stuff. I don’t want to complain about things. I want to be positive and let go some of the weirdness. Some things are just not meant to be written about. Like what? Like how I sweep the floor every day, mop as needed – careful around the books piled on the floor. I like the vision of walking into the store and noticing a clean floor in the Big Yellow Room. The light reflecting in through the windows. It gives a cozy feel between the bookcases. To not forget to water the plants. That kind of stuff. Also rearranging shelves displaying books and nicknacks. To make it interesting to regular customers always looking for what’s new.
I’ve also given myself permission to read during open store hours. What??? Seriously that was hard to do. I always felt I had to appear busy doing something. I have no idea why. Maybe I just don’t want people to think I sit around all day. Well, I’m not sitting all the time. My in-the-store book I’m reading is George Orwell’s, Keep the Aspidistra Flying. More on the book later.
Currently I’ve been working on a literary tour of Addison County, Vermont. I did two guides while employed at the Addison County Chamber of Commerce – Mid Vermont Heritage Guide. Working on a take-off of them. It’s a lot of research and a lotta fun. Check it out. There is a link of the beginning stage at the top of the page. It is a work in progress. A lot of info is missing including links but they’ll be coming. And photos. Let me know what you think and what needs to be added. Suggestions are encouraged. Part of the process.
Thanks!
Hard to believe but here is 2014. I never do resolutions but this year I’m so into it. Thought I’d share some of what I’ve written down with the store in mind:
I think you get where I’m coming from. More! And it’s not pressure I’m putting on myself but getting totally back involved in the store. I’ve got all these ideas swirling in my head so with the new year it’s time I get those ideas out of the head and into the store. I can easily get bogged down with boxes of books so I’m trying to, I guess, have more fun and letting go. Giving myself permission to not work so hard (sorting, pricing, shelving) but enjoy what I have – an amazing used bookstore. Probably it’s more amazing that I own a used bookstore.
And I want to post interesting books that come in so you see what my inventory is like. Especially since this website is still a blog. Like this book, “Flowers: Their Origins, Shapes, Perfumes & Colours” by J. E. Taylor, Ph.D., F.L.S. Published by John Grant, Edinburgh, 1906, fourth edition:
And a quote from the book: “Numbers of hard-working men and women, wearied with brain as well as manual labour, are learning to restore their lowered energies by such country outings as the pursuit of natural science involves. Every day we are proving that “man liveth not by bread alone”; and that sunny blue skies, laughing streams, and flower-bedecked fields are full of lofty and even spiritual teachings.”
“Perhaps that is where our choice lies — in determining how we will meet the inevitable end of things, and how we will greet each new beginning,” from the book BURNING by Elana K. Arnold.
Happy New Year one and all! May 2014 equally bless us with good cheer and fortune.
Thank you for a wonderful 2013.
Barbara Harding, owner
2013 Christmas
Everywhere, everywhere, Christmas tonight!
**********
For the Christ Child who comes is the Master of all,
No palace too great and no cottage too small.
~ Phillips Brooks
Wishing you all a very, merry Christmas!
-Barbara
Wow! It is so hard to believe that it has been seven years since I purchased the store! Seven years! The time has certainly flown.
I’ve learned a lot about retail, the used book store business, books in general but most importantly about myself. I’ve always thought of myself as a strong, independent-minded woman and to be in today’s retail world that outlook comes in handy. Retail is hard work and the used bookstore business is well, one must have faith. Faith that customers will buy and faith that the business will financially succeed.
I enjoy the process I’ve gone through pulling the business up to pay for itself. My five year goal was met. Of course, I now have a three year goal for the new location. Another year towards it. I have full confidence!
So here I am seven years into the used book business. I have met some incredible mentors who are always available to answer my questions regardless of how silly they might be, amazing customers who have followed me here into the Marble Works, and very nice people who have sold, traded, or donated their books to the store.
Thank you! Thank you for reading my blog, coming into say hi or to check on me. Thank you for following me to the Marble Works. And thank you for helping me keep a used bookstore in Middlebury. And to my family for their support. Even those who live so far away.
Here’s to another seven years!
Current Marble Works Location, Middlebury, VT
American Flatbread, Marble Works, Middlebury VT
Mail drop, Marble Works, Middlebury, VT
See the green post-it notes? The other day, my daughter, Hannah, just returned to the store from checking the mail and walked from the Big Yellow Room towards the Children’s Room when she let out a squeal, “We got a post-it, too!” What? She explained to me that she had seen a post-it note on Flatbread’s outdoor menu board and just discovered one in our store. Well, that has to mean something! Recognizing “@foundhello” was a twitter thing, I went online to check it out. Apparently someone goes around and puts post-it notes on random places for people to find and enjoy. And to encourage. Positive messages. So I grabbed my cell and took photos.
The other day I went to post a letter and as I approached the mail box I noted something green fluttering and lo and behold! another post-it note! Marble Works received three! At least that’s all I found.
I really like the message left in my store. I don’t know if it is a message meant for me but I am taking it to heart. I’m not going out without a good fight! I’ll continue working hard to keep this store open. I don’t want to take my inventory home and be an online used book store. So to whoever you are, thank you! It was a nice treat to find the notes and smile.
I love stuff like this.
I started this blog way back when, to reflect on what it’s like owning a used bookstore. The good mixed in with the bad, the ins and outs, ups and downs, so the reader could learn – along with me – of what it’s like owning a used bookstore and what I’m faced with. Seriously it is 99% all good. According to me. I’m no authority. I’m just me. Just trying to make a go of owning a used bookstore and being the best used bookstore lady I can be. To myself and to my customers. And have fun!
So today I’m feeling I have to be honest – again – and share a story.
This story has been sticking with me so I feel a need to share. It will help readers to understand what we – in retail – have to deal with on a regular basis now. Because of the Internet. It is what it is. It is a factor that is part of the equation of retail in today’s market. How the general population purchases. The one thing that local retailer can do is offer THE best customer service as well as a host of others.
Anyways….
So a woman comes into the store. Very pleasant. Asks for a particular author and I show her the Fiction aisle and leave her to peruse. Shortly she comes up to the desk and explains that she will not make a purchase because she won’t pay my prices. $5 is too much for something she can buy online for $1. But, she proceeds to tell me, she wants to help my store be successful so she’s going to bring me all the books she has read so I can add to my inventory. Say WHAT? I thanked her and off she went. I was polite and respectful and I truly think she felt she was as well. Frankly lady, it isn’t the books I want or need, it is her buying the books in MY store. And I know my books aren’t overpriced. And she did offend me by saying she was going online to buy her books. From someone she’s never met, who doesn’t have a storefront, pay rent, or a business loan, or, or, or….
So I’ve been trying to turn the situation around into a positive one for me because that’s who I am. I’m stumped. I don’t want her books. If she does come back do I accept her books? I don’t want to but is that me being obstinate? Oh yea, big time, Barbara! Well, I’m not going to think about it anymore. There are too many other customers who are a joy and want to support the store and buy local. In fact, I have one gentleman who has built up a nice store credit but refuses to use it and will only pay cash for his purchases. AH! he off-sets her! It took my typing to find the positive end to the situation. Perfect. I’m stopping here. And yes, that did really just happen to me. Just now. I get it. Perfect!
Otter Creek Used Books 