A Bookshop for my Handbag:  Griffin Books

Imagine walking into a bookshop and buying the entire shop.  Three years ago, Mel Griffin bought a bookshop.  It was an honour to meet the woman who is living my dream.  Step inside Griffin Books, located in Penarth, and turn the pages of Mel’s bookshop story. Meet Elin who is the social media guru for the business.

Jessie:  Owning a bookshop has been my dream since I was a little girl.  Tell me about your story.  Why did you decide to buy a bookshop?

Mel:  As a teenager, I had a Saturday job in a bookshop and dreamed of owning one. Having worked in a global IT company for thirty years, I decided it was time for a new challenge.  I visited this bookshop regularly and it rekindled my ambition to own a bookshop.  The owners talked of retirement, so I asked if they wanted to sell.  An impromptu question changed my life. Following a two year hand over period, I received the keys in 2014.

Jessie:  It must have been exciting to receive the keys to your new life.  Wow!  This sounds like the narrative for a feel-good story. 

Mel:  I suppose it does but it is also hard work. It was great fun to rename the bookshop then build a new identity.  My daughter helped me to choose the name.  Initially, we were considering ‘Books, Books, Books’. In the end we decided to use our surname – Griffin – which then enabled us to create a great logo based on the mythical creature.

Jessie:  How has the bookshop changed?

Mel:  I’m trying to emphasise contemporary literary fiction as well as more popular fiction and the classics.  The stock is split equally between: fiction, non-fiction and children’s literature.  I aim to stock unique books: different to the supermarkets.  I’m delighted when my customers compliment me on my choices. Customers, friends of Griffin Books, are encouraged to write the reviews we display around the shop.  I select books to suit my regular customers’ taste – it is their bookshop.  For example, I bought the first in Julia Chapman’s Dales Detective Series with a customer in mind – the customer then wrote a very positive review which built up a bit of a following for Julia locally, eventually resulting in an invitation to the author.  We hosted a lovely afternoon tea with Julia where she talked about the series and her future writing plans.

Jessie:  Is it the customer focus that gives your bookshop its unique identity?

Elin:  We have a regular customer base and it’s a friendly, warm environment: the bookshop is the hub of Penarth.  Customers know we can make recommendations. But, the bookshop’s ethos involves more than selling books. We reach out to the community in lots of different ways.

Mel:  Yes, this is a bookshop for the local community. The monthly book club is so popular we have set up a second group. Story time for the under-fives is great fun.

We also like to tackle issues to support the wellbeing in our community.  Recently, we organised an event to help people reconnect with those suffering from dementia. We invited two local, self-published authors who had written about dementia.  Elizabeth Webb-Hooper’s ‘Pennies from Heaven’ is about her personal experience of caring for a father with Dementia. Jane. M. Mullins’s ‘Finding the Light in Dementia’ is written from her viewpoint as a dementia nurse. Members of the local community supported the event and it was very successful.

To celebrate World Book Day, we visited the local schools and took the free books to the pupils.  We are also happy to act as a base for ticket sales for local events.

Jessie:  I’m impressed with the way you’ve developed a significant role in the community.  I noted you narrowly missed Independent Bookshop of the Year 2018. Do you work with other independent bookshops?

The author events have also been building up over the years, because we have been working with Bookish, Crickhowell and Cover to Cover, Mumbles: we have formed the South Wales Independent Bookshop Consortium thus enabling us to attract higher profile authors. On Sunday, 3^rd June, former Chancellor and PM Gordon Brown will be featuring in an event to talk about his memoirs: My Life, Our Times. Griffin Books is also organising the Penarth Literary Festival from 6^th – 8^th July. This will have an emphasis on writing from and about Wales, including local authors.

Jessie:  What is the most popular genre?

Elin: Children’s books are the most popular genre.  I featured A Year in the Wild, by Ruth Symons and Helen Aspornsiri, on Instagram. Children like the experience of choosing a book here, as we have such a vibrant selection.  I have been coming here since I was a child. I completed my Work Experience here and now I am working here.  I love it!  It is exciting to watch the business develop.

Jessie:  Elin, your enthusiasm is evident, and your job will inspire job envy amongst the bookish community. I love your tweets about the statements your customers have made – so funny.  

Mel, do you have plans to buy more bookshops?

Mel:  No, I want to keep my arms around this shop where I am living and feel part of the community.  I’m dedicated to developing the shop as the hub of the town.

Reading Journeys

I was made to feel very welcome in Griffin Books.  Walking into the shop is like stepping into a friend’s house.  It was incredible to go behind the scenes and find out more about the life of a bookshop.  I certainly don’t think there is much time for reading.  However, I couldn’t resist finding out what inspired Mel and Erin’s reading journeys.

Mel, Elin and Rachel laughed about the impact of Enid Blyton Chalet School Series and Malory Towers Series.  Apparently, they enjoyed the midnight feasts, skiing and adventures.  Mel recalled reading Swallows and Amazons books at the age of six.  She is currently reading Midwinter Break by Bernard Maclaverty.

I recommend you visit Griffin Books if you like to talk about books. Mel, Elin, Rachel, Dawn and Annie will be delighted to welcome you and offer you a complimentary cup of coffee while you browse.  A bookshop very similar to Griffin Books was responsible for inspiring my own love affair with books.  I wish I could cram this entire bookshop in my handbag, so I could escape there at a moment’s notice.

The quirky vintage appearance of this shop symbolises the essential old-fashioned focus on the customer.  However, the website and social media pages display Mel and her team’s vision for a twenty first century bookshop that reaches out to the community.

I hope Griffin Books will celebrate Independent Bookshop of the Year 2019.

 

Please see all my adventures at Handbag Adventures and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.