Katee Smith and Olivia Pierce stated they usually joked with one another about opening up their very own bookstore targeted on romance novels.
Then, at some point in August, it all of the sudden wasn’t a joke. They couldn’t afford a brick-and-mortar retailer however what a few trailer?
“We went from 0 to 100 actual fast,” Pierce informed the Tri-Cities Space Journal of Enterprise. “The subsequent night time we utilized for our enterprise license.”
BAGG (brief for “Be A Good Woman”) Books has been formally open for a month, establishing store exterior eateries and bars throughout the Tri-Cities a few instances monthly. Pierce and Smith stated the response to their touring bookstore has been past their expectations, affirming that individuals take pleasure in escaping into a great e-book and need to help native companies as a lot as they do.
Associates to entrepreneurs
Smith is a Tri-Metropolis native and Pierce has spent most of her life right here. They turned mates 10 years in the past and one of many pursuits they bonded over was their mutual love for love novels.
“We’re mothers, we now have full-time jobs,” Smith stated. “On the finish of the day, it’s good to flee to a fantasy world.”
Each work in banking however that didn’t cease them from forging forward with opening BAGG Books. They thought-about a bus and even a retro Volkswagen van earlier than selecting a trailer beforehand used as a cellular stage to accommodate their new enterprise. The automobile has one complete aspect that may be opened.
After cleansing the trailer out, Smith’s husband and father put in lighting, skylights, bookshelves and shows. Her husband painted the purple and pink flower murals that wrap across the within the trailer whereas Stark Design wrapped the trailer in shiny pink and with BAGG Books’ emblem. The ladies painted the cabinets pink and started stocking it with dozens of books from authors akin to Sarah J. Maas, Ali Hazelwood and Keri Lake.
“Romances are greater than bodice rippers,” Pierce stated. “There are sports activities romances, paranormal romances, western romances, romances written for younger adults and by indie authors.”
Past books
The cellular bookstore carries greater than books. There are additionally book-related gadgets akin to bookmarks and e-book covers in addition to stickers, jewellery, artwork, attire and extra. The pair purpose to inventory gadgets from native and/or women-owned companies.
Wanting to verify there really can be curiosity in what they might supply, Smith and Pierce did a sequence of pop-up occasions starting in October at Goose Ridge Vineyard and elsewhere, together with a e-book launch for “Onyx Storm” by Rebecca Yarros. They have been floored on the optimistic response and held a grand opening Feb. 8 alongside Scorching Mess Burgers’ meals truck in downtown Kennewick.
“We needed to reorder after simply that occasion,” Smith stated. “We have been apprehensive we wouldn’t have sufficient inventory for the subsequent occasion we have been scheduled for.”
Enterprise collaborations
The entrepreneurs plan to arrange store 5 to 6 instances monthly, relaying their places forward of time by way of their Facebook and Instagram accounts. A few of these will likely be common month-to-month stops, akin to Scorching Mess, Moonshot Brewing’s Kennewick location and Novel Espresso and Tea in Richland. Additionally they anticipate to do some particular occasions, akin to Blackthorne Neighbourhood Pub’s current Galentines occasion.
“There are such a lot of nice companies which have been welcoming and collaborative,” Smith stated.
And whereas they hope to seek out new prospects at every pop-up, they’ve additionally come to anticipate they’ve a stable group of regulars who will monitor them down. And identical to not all romances are bodice rippers, not all romance readers are girls.
“We had a man are available to get Fourth Wing as a result of his daughter informed him to learn it and now he’s hooked,” Smith stated.
Go to: baggbooks.com.
