December 18th, 2021, 5pm, and the doors...close.
It's over.
It's quiet.
Yet still somehow, still full of books.
What's next? First a celebratory drink, then Christmas, then...well, let me tell you.
That was 3 months ago now. Yes the shop is closed for good at Fargo. Not dwelling too much on the reasons as I've covered them in my previous post, and this post is about the here and now, and the future. But let me run you though the past 3 months.
In January I had to dismantle the shop that I built from nothing. I painted over the red, I pulled down the bunting, I sold the tea urn. I made it a blank canvas. And you know what, the sadness I thought I was going to feel didn't arrive. I shed a little tear after my final walk around the site, but the effects of covid on the business were already realised months previous. I'd already made peace. January the 31st I met with the landlord and handed the keys back with a handshake and a 'take care mate'. February 1st, I'm FREE!!!
Except for the thousand or so books I have in my house, plus bookcases, and just...stuff. I managed to sell off a lot but decided to keep *way* more books than expected. I started to mould the website and content creation towards a more online focused world, but at the same time, took a few weeks to just process everything. And now March.
March was going to be the month where it all started again, fully online, fully focused. BUT. Working from home somehow left me with less time than working at the shop. The laundry needed doing. That bit of garden needed sorting. Remember we wanted to give the living room a lick of paint? I did manage to start to create the new eBay store, only for it to be taken down by eBay themselves for reasons unknown. Actually that's a whole other story involving 9 eBay staff, phone calls, downgrading of accounts, promises and more promises which never materialised from them *sigh* I'm getting off topic a bit. The main bit of March though was C O V I D. My daughter was ill so I had to be there for her a lot, then lo and behold I got it. AGAIN. I'm only now just becoming alright to focus on the bookshop once more, hence this long overdue blog. So let me answer that question. What's next for The Big Comfy Bookshop?
APRIL. I'm looking at creating more literary content, more blogs and videos (book reviews with my kids is returning) and generally having a good bookish time over on all the socials. in terms of the shop, I have 2 avenues. The online shop will be growing, and you'll notice a lot more things added. I'm continuing to create and design my own merch, but have also sourced some great designs for posters etc from further afield. And of course, books! Those thousand or so books I mentioned? Well they're all being (slowly) added to the online website. They're mostly 1st editions, signed and the like, but whatever I have will be added. The second avenue is, like I said, eBay. I'll be adding all these books there too. It's only *just* opened so there are a handful available there, but please visit it HERE. I also offer a seek and find service, where I go dumpster diving for that lost book you need, or more likely use my BOOKSELLING POWERS that the Book Lord gave to me when I opened The Big Comfy Bookshop many years ago, to find the book you're after. Simply email, tweet or DM me.
There's also the small matter of making this into a full time wage again. So other ways I'll be focusing on is more thought and attention in the Mystery Book Club (Which was a lifesaver over lockdown!). So come and join that HERE. And finally I have a Patreon where you can support the shop with a monthly subscription, starting at just £1 a month, with perks available. Have a look at that HERE. I currently have almost 2000 email subscribers, so if you subscribed for just £1 a month, that'd be an amazing way to help grow the shop with me.
So there you have it. The bookshop is online and will grow, and one day may return as a bricks and mortar store once more.
I haven't however totally taken my eye off the folk music scene either. Come and follow me @BurntLeavesFolk on twitter for more about that.
Thanks for reading all this ramble. It was a wonderful 7 and a half years, but I genuinely feel happy and content about it all.
I'll be back before you know it, and even sooner if you sign up to my mail list too.
Michael
