The March Literary Roadtrip Box was themed to the state of North Dakota and created in collaboration with Ferguson Books & More. Ferguson Books & More has two location, one in West Fargo, and their newest location, in Bismarck. The March box includes two of their employee designed bookmarks, one for each location.
Ferguson Books & More was started by Dane and Elizabeth Ferguson. The married couple saw a lack of bookstores in their area and were motivated to open their own store. The "more" in the store name refers to toys and other forms of media, which they also sell. Bob Sutton is also one of the owners. He was originally a customer, who became an employee, and is now a partner. As with many indie bookstores, Ferguson Books & More is owned by people who truly love books and want to ensure that the creative arts have a place in their community.
The store offers a brand ambassador advisory board that gives a voice to customers. The concept is to gather a diverse group of customers ( different ages/reading tastes) and get feedback regarding the books that they reading, what they'd like to see on the shelves, and generally to share ideas that will help shape the store. Ambassadors participate monthly online and also attend a quarterly in-person meeting at the store. Indie bookstore are so much more than a retail business, they are important community spaces. The brand ambassador concept fosters a connection between the community and the store, allowing customers to share what they need from their local Indie bookstore.
Ferguson Books & More sells both used and new books. They support local authors, host in-store signings, and offer events, such as story time for children. One of their recent events was "British Day" where they celebrated authors from across the pond and ate Windsor waffles.
As a way to move along their overstock of used books, Ferguson Books & More started having bag sales. This concept involves customers buying a twenty-dollar bag and filling it with books from selection of their used book inventory. Bag sales have been a very popular event, so popular that the store has hosted pop-up bag sales in other communities that are further away from their store locations, including areas in Minnesota, Montana, and South Dakota.
If you're nearby, please visit Ferguson Books & More. You can also support this fabulous indie bookstore by shopping with them online or supporting them on social media.
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