@prairiepinner and I have been tossing around this idea for some time now, and I think it's time for us to share it with our fellow steemians! Currently, we operate a little kiosk bookstore at a weekly market, but the dream is to eventually own and operate our own independent bookstore and cafe. Many people are familiar with the big bookstores, but we want to offer a slightly more curated and upscale (though still inexpensive) experience for book lovers.
So, here's our request for all of you: Could you please tell us what would bring you into an independent bookstore and cafe (even if it's not to buy books)? We don't want to be everything to everybody, but we want to know what would bring you in, even just for a coffee! What types of books would you be looking for? What other products should we offer?
Everything we earn off of this post will go towards making our dream a reality, and we will publicly share how we use the money from all of our posts about Flip Our Pages (our current name).
Thank you, and happy reading!
Pictures are courtesy of Pixabay
I think spending some extra money on the interior and make it look really cozy would be good. In the end these days shopping has changed, it's now more about having an experience, otherwise you might as well buy it online. Having said this I think it's important to work on all the senses. Smell, taste, sight
We haven't fully settled on design yet (let's be honest, it's a few years in the future), but we really like the feeling of exposed wood and the edison-style lights (with the exposed filament). We want it to be warm and welcoming, as if you were coming home to your favourite room in your house. I think the smell would be challenging because books and other paper items would absorb odours, so we have to be careful. It would be great to have a wood-fired oven for pizzas and to be able to do fresh sandwiches as well as coffee, but that's not up to me!
@mwoodall Well, keep in mind that we have played with the idea of a multi-level as well. Opening up a second floor or a roof top patio with plants and so forth, which would offer an oasis of smells without confining them to the book area :)
I would want a selection of vintage books, surrounded by vintage decor. Old farm implement pieces, old records on the wall, old records playing in the background.
And fresh baked bread smell.
A good selection of music is a must, maybe even a live music space! We haven't decided on vintage and/or used books yet, but it would definitely be something to consider!
When I think about smell, fresh bread and fresh chocolate chip cookies are two things I would want to smell regularly!
Ohh, does that mean I can start our bread baking or sourdoughs there then? Nothing says 'home' like the smell of baking
Right on!
@originalworks
The @OriginalWorks bot has determined this post by @mwoodall to be original material and upvoted it!
To call @OriginalWorks, simply reply to any post with @originalworks or !originalworks in your message!
To enter this post into the daily RESTEEM contest, upvote this comment! The user with the most upvotes on their @OriginalWorks comment will win!
For more information, Click Here!
Special thanks to @reggaemuffin for being a supporter! Vote him as a witness to help make Steemit a better place!
A cosy chair, an ottoman and a side table would be nice. I'm not really a regular coffee drinker but a hot chocolate or cappuccino would also be my drinks of choice. I resteemed your post.
Thank you for the resteem! Hot chocolate and cappuccinos are definitely on the list! We are trying to think of ways to give people some privacy while reading without breaking the space up too much. We want it to be a place where people are just as comfortable holding a small business meeting as they are curling up in a chair with a new book.