Emma & Chris Murphynomadic books, AmblesideFor Independent Bookshop Week, we caught up with a pair of booksellers who’ve taken a truly unique path into the world of indie bookselling. In this interview, we catch up with Chris and Emma of Nomadic Books, who started out selling books from a converted van and are now putting the finishing touches on their brand new shop in Ambleside.
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JR: For those who might be discovering you for the first time, can you introduce Nomadic Books and what makes it so unique?
EM: Well, we believe that while we were operating, we were the only mobile bookshop in the UK. There used to be one in Scotland, who we actually used partly as inspiration. There were a few others in America and Australia that we looked at when we were converting the van, or actually when we first came up with the idea. But the one in Scotland - The Little Travelling Bookshop - we got in contact with her as well, just to get a bit more information.
CM: I mean, we started out with a crowdfunder, didn’t we?
EM: Oh yeah! We bought the van with savings and then converted it largely with our own funds, but wanted to use the crowdfunder to get the stock and help us get started, really.
JR: What sparked the idea at the beginning? I mean, what made you want to start travelling rather than opening in a fixed location?
CM: Yeah, that was kind of... not often you can say it was forced upon us, but it sort of was. It wasn’t a fine, clear decision. We’d looked at a number of properties in the Lakes and realised they were either way out of our price range or would need a lot of work to make them viable. Then one weekend, we were just looking online and I found a van. I think we went to see two or three that weekend.
EM: I think it was also that we were really…
CM: ...stuck in our jobs.
EM: Quite depressed in our jobs. I really liked my colleagues - I was working in a tearoom - but it was just the same thing every day. And Chris was working in a charity shop that he really didn’t like. Then, I think it was on the way to Germany to visit my parents - we were on the ferry - and we just said, “When we come back, let’s start looking for a van, because we don’t want to do this anymore. We just want to try and live our dream,” I suppose.
JR: I read somewhere that you met in an Oxfam bookshop in Guildford, is that right?
CM: Yeah, yeah.
EM: Volunteering there. I was still at uni - I studied literature - and we met in the bookshop. We just worked alongside each other casually for about nine months before we started dating, and then... yeah.
JR: The magic happened.
CM: And then that September, we moved back up to the Lake District.
JR: Were either of you from the Lakes originally? What was the connection there?
CM: That’s where I’m from - Ambleside.
EM: I’m German, so all my family still live in Germany. But we wanted to stay in England, and Guildford was quite expensive to live in by ourselves. So we sort of just decided to move to the Lakes for now - and we’re still here.
CM: It was only supposed to be for six months!
EM: Well, we believe that while we were operating, we were the only mobile bookshop in the UK. There used to be one in Scotland, who we actually used partly as inspiration. There were a few others in America and Australia that we looked at when we were converting the van, or actually when we first came up with the idea. But the one in Scotland - The Little Travelling Bookshop - we got in contact with her as well, just to get a bit more information.
CM: I mean, we started out with a crowdfunder, didn’t we?
EM: Oh yeah! We bought the van with savings and then converted it largely with our own funds, but wanted to use the crowdfunder to get the stock and help us get started, really.
JR: What sparked the idea at the beginning? I mean, what made you want to start travelling rather than opening in a fixed location?
CM: Yeah, that was kind of... not often you can say it was forced upon us, but it sort of was. It wasn’t a fine, clear decision. We’d looked at a number of properties in the Lakes and realised they were either way out of our price range or would need a lot of work to make them viable. Then one weekend, we were just looking online and I found a van. I think we went to see two or three that weekend.
EM: I think it was also that we were really…
CM: ...stuck in our jobs.
EM: Quite depressed in our jobs. I really liked my colleagues - I was working in a tearoom - but it was just the same thing every day. And Chris was working in a charity shop that he really didn’t like. Then, I think it was on the way to Germany to visit my parents - we were on the ferry - and we just said, “When we come back, let’s start looking for a van, because we don’t want to do this anymore. We just want to try and live our dream,” I suppose.
JR: I read somewhere that you met in an Oxfam bookshop in Guildford, is that right?
CM: Yeah, yeah.
EM: Volunteering there. I was still at uni - I studied literature - and we met in the bookshop. We just worked alongside each other casually for about nine months before we started dating, and then... yeah.
JR: The magic happened.
CM: And then that September, we moved back up to the Lake District.
JR: Were either of you from the Lakes originally? What was the connection there?
CM: That’s where I’m from - Ambleside.
EM: I’m German, so all my family still live in Germany. But we wanted to stay in England, and Guildford was quite expensive to live in by ourselves. So we sort of just decided to move to the Lakes for now - and we’re still here.
CM: It was only supposed to be for six months!
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JR: That’s how it happens though, right? You either get settled, or you take on more than you planned - and you kind of get stuck somewhere. But we’ll come on to you making Ambleside your home in a bit. I want to talk about the next step in the journey shortly. To begin with though - you had some experience working in the Oxfam bookshop - you had some bookselling experience. But prior to that, were either of you particularly interested in bookselling or publishing?
EM: My dreams of what I wanted to become always changed while I was growing up. I did consider going into publishing or journalism quite a few times. But then books always crept back in again - and I always had this dream of having a little cosy shop somewhere. JR: Could you walk us through those first steps - you’ve got the van, you’re renovating it, and now you’re thinking about stock. How did you go about turning it into a bookshop? CM: Obviously, with the van we were very limited on space. We only had - what was it? Seven bookcases, each with about five shelves. So maybe 35, 40 shelves in total to fill. And we were like, well, we can’t sell everything. We can’t stock probably even half the stuff we love. |
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EM: Yeah, so we focused more on what we were passionate about, what we knew more about.
CM: We did a lot of translated fiction. Our fantasy section was quite big for the van, too. The non-fiction side was probably more focused on mental health…
EM: ...mental health and gender, and then politics - just a little bit of politics that we’re interested in, and a bit of environmental non-fiction too.
JR: I think the mindset of having less space, having to be more selective, is really important. Were there any surprise choices that ended up paying off?
EM: Yeah! We actually had quite a few people ask whether we’d be selling classics. And we were always like, “Ah, well, you can find classics in secondhand shops, and everyone’s read them already.” Also, a lot of them are priced really low - like all the Jane Austens and books like that - you can buy them really cheap, even new. So at first we didn’t really consider it, but then we looked more into it and started stocking the Pushkin Press Classics range.
JR: Yeah, they’re gorgeous.
EM: They look amazing, and all of them sound so intriguing. And they actually sold really well…
CM: ...yeah, we probably should’ve ordered double what we did.
EM: Because I just couldn’t stop myself! I was like, “We need this one, and this one...” It was already so bad within a week!
CM: Great problem to have.
JR: I’ve really loved following along with the renovations online and seeing the van pop up at various locations. It’s been so exciting to watch it take shape and grow. What was the reality like, going from place to place? How did you find your spots - and which ones worked best for you?
CM: We started in November and all the Christmas markets, and they were great. And then the rest - things like pop-up markets - I don’t know, there are a few companies that run monthly ones, and those were good to do. But it was really the weekly stuff, rather than one-off events, that was difficult to organise, because we were relying on local authorities, who maybe don’t check their inboxes too often!
EM: Lancashire was a bit of a struggle. Mainly because of the size of the van. It was so big that a lot of markets wouldn’t allow us in, because we’d take up too much space. That’s why we looked into trying to get permits to just be somewhere that wasn’t part of a market - just pitch up anywhere, really - but we struggled quite a bit with that.
That said, the places where we were able to go, like the custom market on Saturdays, were amazing. And the universities were great too. We went to the UCLan campus in Preston and to Lancaster Uni - they’ve got a market sometimes on Thursdays. Those were all brilliant. But we just didn’t have enough regular weekly slots.
CM: We had the one-offs, maybe once or twice a month, but when it came to…
EM: ...yeah, if we had a bad day - like if the weather was bad in Ambleside, for example - and we only had two or three sales, we were stuck there the whole day. It was hard realising how little money we made on a really crucial day like that.
CM: And then the van just gave up halfway through the journey.
EM: No, it had already burst a tyre, and I was like, “I can’t steer!”
CM: There was smoke coming out of the passenger’s side... It was mad. It was fun.
JR: Yeah... I mean, obviously there were some highs and lows - that sounds like a particularly low moment. What about the high points? Were there any particular locations or events or moments that really confirmed you were onto something special - that the venture was really paying off?
CM: We did a lot of translated fiction. Our fantasy section was quite big for the van, too. The non-fiction side was probably more focused on mental health…
EM: ...mental health and gender, and then politics - just a little bit of politics that we’re interested in, and a bit of environmental non-fiction too.
JR: I think the mindset of having less space, having to be more selective, is really important. Were there any surprise choices that ended up paying off?
EM: Yeah! We actually had quite a few people ask whether we’d be selling classics. And we were always like, “Ah, well, you can find classics in secondhand shops, and everyone’s read them already.” Also, a lot of them are priced really low - like all the Jane Austens and books like that - you can buy them really cheap, even new. So at first we didn’t really consider it, but then we looked more into it and started stocking the Pushkin Press Classics range.
JR: Yeah, they’re gorgeous.
EM: They look amazing, and all of them sound so intriguing. And they actually sold really well…
CM: ...yeah, we probably should’ve ordered double what we did.
EM: Because I just couldn’t stop myself! I was like, “We need this one, and this one...” It was already so bad within a week!
CM: Great problem to have.
JR: I’ve really loved following along with the renovations online and seeing the van pop up at various locations. It’s been so exciting to watch it take shape and grow. What was the reality like, going from place to place? How did you find your spots - and which ones worked best for you?
CM: We started in November and all the Christmas markets, and they were great. And then the rest - things like pop-up markets - I don’t know, there are a few companies that run monthly ones, and those were good to do. But it was really the weekly stuff, rather than one-off events, that was difficult to organise, because we were relying on local authorities, who maybe don’t check their inboxes too often!
EM: Lancashire was a bit of a struggle. Mainly because of the size of the van. It was so big that a lot of markets wouldn’t allow us in, because we’d take up too much space. That’s why we looked into trying to get permits to just be somewhere that wasn’t part of a market - just pitch up anywhere, really - but we struggled quite a bit with that.
That said, the places where we were able to go, like the custom market on Saturdays, were amazing. And the universities were great too. We went to the UCLan campus in Preston and to Lancaster Uni - they’ve got a market sometimes on Thursdays. Those were all brilliant. But we just didn’t have enough regular weekly slots.
CM: We had the one-offs, maybe once or twice a month, but when it came to…
EM: ...yeah, if we had a bad day - like if the weather was bad in Ambleside, for example - and we only had two or three sales, we were stuck there the whole day. It was hard realising how little money we made on a really crucial day like that.
CM: And then the van just gave up halfway through the journey.
EM: No, it had already burst a tyre, and I was like, “I can’t steer!”
CM: There was smoke coming out of the passenger’s side... It was mad. It was fun.
JR: Yeah... I mean, obviously there were some highs and lows - that sounds like a particularly low moment. What about the high points? Were there any particular locations or events or moments that really confirmed you were onto something special - that the venture was really paying off?
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EM: Barrow, actually. Because, well, the image of Barrow isn’t the greatest, so we didn’t expect much.
CM: Yeah, it’s got a bad reputation - probably not fully deserved. EM: And when we arrived, Chris was in a really bad mood because the person who’d been emailing with us was off sick, and we couldn’t find anyone who could tell us where to go. JR: Oh no! EM: Literally no one knew anything. CM: But then everyone who came along absolutely loved it. EM: Once we got closer to Christmas, I think people started to panic-buy. You know, that realisation of, “Oh, I haven’t got something for so-and-so!” And there was an elderly man who bought a whole lot of fantasy - hardbacks and paperbacks. JR: Nice, that’s exactly what you want just before Christmas. That’s great. EM: Yeah, and recommendations too, which is always great. When people ask for recommendations and you can help them, and then, sometimes, they’d even come back a couple of weeks later. Obviously not at the Christmas markets, but at our regular spots - and say they’d liked the book. Those were really, really special moments. |
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We loved Lancaster on a Saturday, despite the early start. It was always a very early one - we’d have to be there around 8, and leave the house around, what, 6:30-ish?
CM: Yeah, but we loved it.
EM: We had a few regulars too. There was one, I think his name was Alex, he was a regular customer who came every couple of weeks and bought two or three books each time. He was really lovely. He was also from Germany, like me, and also got ‘stuck’ here because he met someone in England.
JR: It’s those kinds of relationships that build up over time - they really become your bread and butter, right? The ones you can rely on, those sales matter, of course, but it’s also about the books themselves and what you hand-sell. Giving recommendations is such a big part of it.
I want to go back to that element of curation. How do you choose what travels with you? What are your go-to titles, the ones you can recommend to almost anyone? Could you give us some examples of the books that, even at the start, you knew had to be in the van?
EM: I really love Fredrik Backman as an author, and I’d recommend him to almost anyone, really. I even recommended him to a twelve-year-old at a Christmas market who didn’t like reading children’s books! I think she ended up going for A Man Called Ove in the end, and it’s just the perfect mix of comedy and drama and bittersweetness. I feel like anyone can relate to it and enjoy it.
JR: And Chris?
CM: Probably more specific - Pachinko (Min Jin Lee). I could shout about that book forever. It’s just an incredible mix of historical elements and relationships. I think everyone should read it.
JR: That just goes to show the diversity — the breadth — that even a little bookshop van can stock.
EM: Yeah.
JR: Did you notice any differences in reading tastes or conversations in different parts of Cumbria when you were touring? Were there particular preferences in certain places, or was it more of a nice mix everywhere?
EM: I think in Ambleside there were a lot of fantasy readers, and in Lancaster too, but that might just be the city factor. In Ambleside, when there were more tourists, people tended to go for local crime novels or non-fiction, but yeah - it varied a lot.
JR: Did you always have a bricks-and-mortar premises in mind eventually? Were you using this to help find the right location?
CM: I mean, the dream with the van was that it might fund, or at least help fund, a move into a permanent space. But we hadn’t really settled on the Lake District, or anywhere specific, at that point.
CM: Yeah, but we loved it.
EM: We had a few regulars too. There was one, I think his name was Alex, he was a regular customer who came every couple of weeks and bought two or three books each time. He was really lovely. He was also from Germany, like me, and also got ‘stuck’ here because he met someone in England.
JR: It’s those kinds of relationships that build up over time - they really become your bread and butter, right? The ones you can rely on, those sales matter, of course, but it’s also about the books themselves and what you hand-sell. Giving recommendations is such a big part of it.
I want to go back to that element of curation. How do you choose what travels with you? What are your go-to titles, the ones you can recommend to almost anyone? Could you give us some examples of the books that, even at the start, you knew had to be in the van?
EM: I really love Fredrik Backman as an author, and I’d recommend him to almost anyone, really. I even recommended him to a twelve-year-old at a Christmas market who didn’t like reading children’s books! I think she ended up going for A Man Called Ove in the end, and it’s just the perfect mix of comedy and drama and bittersweetness. I feel like anyone can relate to it and enjoy it.
JR: And Chris?
CM: Probably more specific - Pachinko (Min Jin Lee). I could shout about that book forever. It’s just an incredible mix of historical elements and relationships. I think everyone should read it.
JR: That just goes to show the diversity — the breadth — that even a little bookshop van can stock.
EM: Yeah.
JR: Did you notice any differences in reading tastes or conversations in different parts of Cumbria when you were touring? Were there particular preferences in certain places, or was it more of a nice mix everywhere?
EM: I think in Ambleside there were a lot of fantasy readers, and in Lancaster too, but that might just be the city factor. In Ambleside, when there were more tourists, people tended to go for local crime novels or non-fiction, but yeah - it varied a lot.
JR: Did you always have a bricks-and-mortar premises in mind eventually? Were you using this to help find the right location?
CM: I mean, the dream with the van was that it might fund, or at least help fund, a move into a permanent space. But we hadn’t really settled on the Lake District, or anywhere specific, at that point.
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EM: Yeah, and I think when we first started renovating the van, we were still open to the idea that if it worked really well, we could have a bricks-and-mortar shop and keep the van going. That’s something we’ve since realised we can’t do - but it was the plan at first. There was a van in Canada, Daisy Chain & Co., and they started out as a van, and now they’ve got two physical shops. That was a model we looked at and thought might work for us too.
But in our case, sadly, we just didn’t have enough viable spots in the area - places where we were allowed to trade with the van. So it wasn’t feasible to keep it going long-term. There are areas in England where we think a bookshop van would work really well, but local authorities need to actually reply to emails! JR: How have people responded to the van? I mean, it looks great. I love the idea of not just having a table of stock, but a mini bookshop at your disposal. How was it received in the different places you went? EM: Children loved it, yeah! Scrambling up the steps... The most amazing part, especially for toddlers, was just the steps themselves. They’d go up and down them endlessly. There were so many people, elderly people especially, where we thought, “Oh, they might not be able to go in,” and then they just very confidently climbed in. Wobbly, but they made it! There were only a very few who didn’t feel comfortable trying it. CM: Yeah, people really took to it, and looked after it too. JR: And a van is a great way of spreading the word about yourselves as well, right? |
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It’s not just, “Oh, I saw them at a market,” but, “I saw them on the road,” or “I saw them driving through town.”
CM: Yeah, and we had a few people who actually found us after seeing us driving around. It was great when word spread naturally like that.
JR: So let’s talk about this next chapter, then. You’re now preparing to open, am I right in thinking it’s going to be called The Book Brewery?
EM: Yes.
JR: Can you tell us a bit about how the shop might differ from the van, and also where the name came from, and what that might be alluding to?
CM: We actually had the name before we had the van!
EM: Yeah, The Book Brewery was a name we mentioned early on - especially because I always wanted to have a coffee corner as well. So we wanted a name that alluded to both books and drinks.
Now, with the shop, we’re currently in the process of applying - well, waiting - for an alcohol licence, because it’s going to be a bookshop, coffee shop, and wine bar. We want to be open some evenings, especially weekends. One of the bookshops we haven’t been to yet, but would love to, is The Book Bar in London. I suppose it’s quite similar to what we’re trying to do now.
EM: Yeah, it’s so exciting to follow them!
JR: And that shop-bar model clearly works, right?
EM: Yeah, well, it does for them, and hopefully for us too. But yeah, we just love the idea, in Ambleside, there are so many pubs where people go just to drink, and there’s often loud music. But there aren’t many places for people who want a more relaxing evening, somewhere quieter, even just to sit by yourself. So just a cosy bookshop that’s open into the evening.
JR: Yeah, and I guess you’re going to get that Lake District tourist buzz as well, right?
CM: It seems to have already started.
EM: Yeah, we wanted to open this weekend but the problem is, we’re still waiting on books. I don’t know if you know, but HarperCollins and Penguin have both moved warehouses recently…
JR: Yeah.
EM: …just now - so we’re waiting on our orders.
JR: Which is a total pain when you’re opening a new shop.
EM: It really is. It makes such a difference. And we’re also still waiting for our plumber - he’s a relative of Chris’s and a bit too busy at the moment. Not the most reliable - but he’s lovely, and he’s doing it for a friend’s price! We’ve got a coffee machine and dishwasher and that sort of thing, but it all needs plumbing in.
CM: Yeah, and we had a few people who actually found us after seeing us driving around. It was great when word spread naturally like that.
JR: So let’s talk about this next chapter, then. You’re now preparing to open, am I right in thinking it’s going to be called The Book Brewery?
EM: Yes.
JR: Can you tell us a bit about how the shop might differ from the van, and also where the name came from, and what that might be alluding to?
CM: We actually had the name before we had the van!
EM: Yeah, The Book Brewery was a name we mentioned early on - especially because I always wanted to have a coffee corner as well. So we wanted a name that alluded to both books and drinks.
Now, with the shop, we’re currently in the process of applying - well, waiting - for an alcohol licence, because it’s going to be a bookshop, coffee shop, and wine bar. We want to be open some evenings, especially weekends. One of the bookshops we haven’t been to yet, but would love to, is The Book Bar in London. I suppose it’s quite similar to what we’re trying to do now.
EM: Yeah, it’s so exciting to follow them!
JR: And that shop-bar model clearly works, right?
EM: Yeah, well, it does for them, and hopefully for us too. But yeah, we just love the idea, in Ambleside, there are so many pubs where people go just to drink, and there’s often loud music. But there aren’t many places for people who want a more relaxing evening, somewhere quieter, even just to sit by yourself. So just a cosy bookshop that’s open into the evening.
JR: Yeah, and I guess you’re going to get that Lake District tourist buzz as well, right?
CM: It seems to have already started.
EM: Yeah, we wanted to open this weekend but the problem is, we’re still waiting on books. I don’t know if you know, but HarperCollins and Penguin have both moved warehouses recently…
JR: Yeah.
EM: …just now - so we’re waiting on our orders.
JR: Which is a total pain when you’re opening a new shop.
EM: It really is. It makes such a difference. And we’re also still waiting for our plumber - he’s a relative of Chris’s and a bit too busy at the moment. Not the most reliable - but he’s lovely, and he’s doing it for a friend’s price! We’ve got a coffee machine and dishwasher and that sort of thing, but it all needs plumbing in.
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JR: I guess it’s just the final nuts and bolts at this stage? Are you otherwise feeling prepared to open? Do you think you’re ready to get started now?
EM: Yeah, I think both of us are just so ready. It’s this long waiting period, we just want to be open. CM: I’m tired of holding a paintbrush! EM: We’ve got two signs we still need to put up outside, and apart from that it’s just painting a few chairs - and that’s it. JR: Finishing touches… and just that small matter of stock. EM: Yes! JR: How do you want the shop to feel? Because it’s all about the experience when you walk in, isn’t it? There’s also the transition from the van to a permanent space - they’re two very different vibes. What are you hoping it’ll feel like for your customers? EM: We’re aiming for a mix: a cosy, relaxing space, but with a slightly modern look as well. Somewhere you can read your own book, or pick one up from us and read it while enjoying your drink. We’ve got a bar table in front of the windows, where people can stand or sit. We’ve got lots of stools. CM: I don’t think you can open any shop these days and expect people to come just because it’s a bookshop. It has to offer something a bit different - coffee, wine, a full experience. EM: Exactly. I really wanted to have spaces where people can sit down. We’ve got a bench in the back, and in the kids’ area we’ve got two little elephant stools. We want to get a beanbag too - maybe in the next month or so. JR: So you’ve gone from tightly curated to a slightly larger space. |
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Have you got an idea of how many books you’ll be able to stock in the new premises?
CM: Not exactly, because we kept adding shelves! I think we underestimated the space when we first saw the property. We couldn’t really see the full footprint of the shop.
EM: Yeah, and we never got a floorplan, so we had to create one ourselves. In the van we could stock about a thousand books, which, when we made our first order, we realised we should’ve bought way more! We underestimated how much space we actually had. So we’ve got the unsold books from the van already in the shop, but it still looks very empty at the moment. We’re hoping it’ll hold maybe five times that amount. It’ll obviously depend on how many face-outs we do, and how much merchandise we stock as well.
CM: We’ve got two or three units for merchandise - stuff like prints and cards for sale.
JR: Sure, and have you been building up your stocklist for a while then?
CM: Yeah, we always knew we wanted to expand the non-fiction side, which we’re just about managing to do now. And then our fantasy section, we wanted that to grow. Also the classics range…
EM: And one thing I’d love to try - maybe not at the start, but in future - is having a good range of books for kids who are just starting to read on their own. That 5–7 or 5–8-year-old range. It’s quite hard to find books that aren’t just silly little comic books or full of toilet humour. That’s something I really want to focus on, having a wider range that still feels exciting for them. For the kids to just start reading by themselves.
JR: Yeah, selection is so important. Were you ever able, with the van, to meet up with sales reps and have conversations with publishers that way?
CM: We had a couple, a few, didn’t we, early on? And then, actually, the last few we had were pretty much when we were probably a month away from moving into the property. So it was kind of handy finding those. But then actually, we’ve been like, “We’re going to order with you, but it’s not going to be for a little while.”
EM: But now we’ve got POS that we can make it - especially the kids’ area - look nice and bright. Because we’ve got really high walls in the building, which is great for bookshelves, but a bookshelf will only go so high. You can’t, especially in the kids’ area, have shelves too high because they’re never going to reach them. It’s been great having all the kind of colourful POS just fill the space.
CM: Yeah, but we haven’t actually had a rep come visit us yet. Obviously, with the van, it was quite difficult - the rep would have to travel to wherever we were and find a day when we were actually on the road. So with the shop now, I think maybe we will have someone come by, soon.
JR: It’s exciting. And you’re now part of the bookselling ecosystem, right? Do you feel like this is the start of something special?
CM: Not exactly, because we kept adding shelves! I think we underestimated the space when we first saw the property. We couldn’t really see the full footprint of the shop.
EM: Yeah, and we never got a floorplan, so we had to create one ourselves. In the van we could stock about a thousand books, which, when we made our first order, we realised we should’ve bought way more! We underestimated how much space we actually had. So we’ve got the unsold books from the van already in the shop, but it still looks very empty at the moment. We’re hoping it’ll hold maybe five times that amount. It’ll obviously depend on how many face-outs we do, and how much merchandise we stock as well.
CM: We’ve got two or three units for merchandise - stuff like prints and cards for sale.
JR: Sure, and have you been building up your stocklist for a while then?
CM: Yeah, we always knew we wanted to expand the non-fiction side, which we’re just about managing to do now. And then our fantasy section, we wanted that to grow. Also the classics range…
EM: And one thing I’d love to try - maybe not at the start, but in future - is having a good range of books for kids who are just starting to read on their own. That 5–7 or 5–8-year-old range. It’s quite hard to find books that aren’t just silly little comic books or full of toilet humour. That’s something I really want to focus on, having a wider range that still feels exciting for them. For the kids to just start reading by themselves.
JR: Yeah, selection is so important. Were you ever able, with the van, to meet up with sales reps and have conversations with publishers that way?
CM: We had a couple, a few, didn’t we, early on? And then, actually, the last few we had were pretty much when we were probably a month away from moving into the property. So it was kind of handy finding those. But then actually, we’ve been like, “We’re going to order with you, but it’s not going to be for a little while.”
EM: But now we’ve got POS that we can make it - especially the kids’ area - look nice and bright. Because we’ve got really high walls in the building, which is great for bookshelves, but a bookshelf will only go so high. You can’t, especially in the kids’ area, have shelves too high because they’re never going to reach them. It’s been great having all the kind of colourful POS just fill the space.
CM: Yeah, but we haven’t actually had a rep come visit us yet. Obviously, with the van, it was quite difficult - the rep would have to travel to wherever we were and find a day when we were actually on the road. So with the shop now, I think maybe we will have someone come by, soon.
JR: It’s exciting. And you’re now part of the bookselling ecosystem, right? Do you feel like this is the start of something special?
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CM: Hopefully, we don’t know. We’ve tried not to put too much of a…
EM: We’re trying not to hope for something too amazing. We’re just thinking about the next year, really. I think our view is to see where we’re at by Christmas - and then hopefully by then, we’ll have the shop looking exactly how we hoped. And hopefully it’s going really well and we’ll be a set piece of Ambleside. JR: The Lakes has such an amazing range of bookshops already. Were you able to tap into that and ask some questions of the shops that were already there? CM: Yeah, I mean, obviously in Ambleside there’s Fred’s, and in Grasmere you’ve got Sam Read, and up in Pooley Bridge you’ve got Verey Books. EM: We go there so many times - we love it! CM: They do the coffee side that we’re hoping to do as well. And Fred’s, probably more so than Sam Read’s, leans into that local-traveller vibe. People come in to buy maps and hiking guides and that kind of thing. So we’re not focusing on that too much, because we don’t want to take away from what they’ve built up over - well, I think Fred’s has been open as long as I have been alive, so maybe 40 or 50 years. That’s always been their specialism. It’s not like we want to take away from the bookshops that are already here - we just want to add to it, bring something new. EM: Like when we were in the van, sometimes people asked us for maps or rock climbing guides, and we’d always send them to Fred’s. We’d be like, “We don’t have them, but Fred’s is just around the corner and they stock them.” JR: The independent bookshop community is very supportive. Ultimately, it helps everybody, right? EM: It’s a good community. |
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CM: And when you’ve got a couple - or more than a couple - of bookshops within a short driving distance, it’s amazing how different each one can be. Particularly when we go to cities like Edinburgh or Liverpool - we go to all the bookshops.
JR: You took the busman’s holiday idea literally!
EM: But we were hoping, if it had worked out better for regular days out with the van, to go to festivals in the summer. We started looking into that, but the problem was we had to pay the fees upfront - which we couldn’t really afford. Our hope at the start was to travel through England and camp along the way. That was the ideal plan. It didn’t quite work out, but oh well.
JR: But this next chapter is so exciting. I’m really looking forward to seeing the doors open, coming to visit you, exploring the stock - and seeing what the next six months to a year looks like for you both. It’s a really exciting time.
CM: It’s starting to feel more exciting now.
EM: We didn’t want to take anything down to the shop yet, not until it’s ready, because it’ll just get dusty or covered in sawdust. So our whole living room has been surrounded by bookcases and stationery. Last week we looked at it - I can’t remember what we’d just put up - and we realised, it’s actually a shop now. All the shelves are up, and if you walked in, you’d think: this is a bookshop. It’s so exciting.
JR: Amazing. Well, for those reading this, we’re recording this on the eve of Independent Bookshop Week, and I suppose this conversation really sums up the ethos of it all. It’s about people’s journeys into bookselling. It’s about supporting independent businesses - no matter what form they come in. Whether you’re a van or a bricks-and-mortar shop, all independent booksellers have a special place in their communities. I’m so glad to have caught you at the end of one stage of your bookselling career and the beginning of the next. It’s been great to talk to you, and a real insight into your last year.
JR: You took the busman’s holiday idea literally!
EM: But we were hoping, if it had worked out better for regular days out with the van, to go to festivals in the summer. We started looking into that, but the problem was we had to pay the fees upfront - which we couldn’t really afford. Our hope at the start was to travel through England and camp along the way. That was the ideal plan. It didn’t quite work out, but oh well.
JR: But this next chapter is so exciting. I’m really looking forward to seeing the doors open, coming to visit you, exploring the stock - and seeing what the next six months to a year looks like for you both. It’s a really exciting time.
CM: It’s starting to feel more exciting now.
EM: We didn’t want to take anything down to the shop yet, not until it’s ready, because it’ll just get dusty or covered in sawdust. So our whole living room has been surrounded by bookcases and stationery. Last week we looked at it - I can’t remember what we’d just put up - and we realised, it’s actually a shop now. All the shelves are up, and if you walked in, you’d think: this is a bookshop. It’s so exciting.
JR: Amazing. Well, for those reading this, we’re recording this on the eve of Independent Bookshop Week, and I suppose this conversation really sums up the ethos of it all. It’s about people’s journeys into bookselling. It’s about supporting independent businesses - no matter what form they come in. Whether you’re a van or a bricks-and-mortar shop, all independent booksellers have a special place in their communities. I’m so glad to have caught you at the end of one stage of your bookselling career and the beginning of the next. It’s been great to talk to you, and a real insight into your last year.
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A BIG THANKS TO CHRIS AND EMMA FOR SHARING THEIR STORY WITH US. BE SURE TO FOLLOW THEIR JOURNEY AS NOMADIC BOOKS TRANSFORMS INTO THE BOOK BREWERY - A COSY NEW HUB FOR BOOKS, COFFEE, AND WINE IN AMBLESIDE.
YOU CAN KEEP UP WITH ALL THEIR LATEST UPDATES ON THEIR WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA. HERE’S TO THE NEXT EXCITING CHAPTER! |
