Our September Literary Road Trip Box is themed to the state of Missouri and our indie bookstore partner is Skylark Bookshop. Skylark Bookshop opened in 2018 in the town of Columbia, about half way between St. Louis and Kansas City. The store was cofounded by Alex George and Carrie Koepke.
I had the pleasure of visiting Skylark Bookshop during my summer family road trip. I had already connected with Carrie regarding a potential collaboration, but when I saw that Columbia was on our route home, we made the detour. I was able to meet Carrie, who is awesome, and spend some time shopping. Skylark Bookshop is beautiful.
Here are pictures that I took during my visit.
Carrie helped me with the merch item choices for the September box, which were the Skylark Bookshop green pens. She also gave me store bookmarks and temporary tattoos to include in the boxes. Carrie then handed me her bookseller trading card. I thought this was a neat idea, instead of a business card, each seller has their very own trading card. Of course, I put the card in a "very safe place" and as of writing this post, I've hidden it very well. As soon as I can rediscover it, I will share it on social media. If I was local, I think it would be fun to collect a card from each bookseller, and as a fellow bookseller, I'm envious. I want my own trading card!
She also shared with me that the store's cofounder, Alex George, is the best-selling author of several books, including The Paris Hours and A Good American. My initial idea with the September box was to have Missouri set, A Good American, as the featured book, but it was back-ordered at the publishers and I had to select a different title. This is to say, if you are craving more regional literature, please check it out.
Skylark Bookshop has their own book subcription box service that is tailored to each customer's taste and they host events, such as in-store birthday parties. I think most of us bookworms would love to have a party at a bookstore. They also offer a "Reading Spa." This is a customized shopping experience where a bookseller curates a selection of books based on the customer's taste via a prefilled form and gives them dedicated one-on-one shopping time in the store. A gift card and other goodies are included in the Reading Spa and it make a unique gift experience.
Skylark Bookshop was recently included in Elizabeth Stamps' book, 150 Bookstores You Need to Visit Before You Die. I bought a copy of this beautiful coffee table book while visiting Skylark. The entries include bookstores from all over the world and its filled with inspiration for those who love indie bookstores.
You need to visit Skylark Bookshop's website and when you do, besides shopping and supporting them, I encourage you to take a look at their mission statement. I think it might be the best indie bookstore mission statement that I've ever seen. It's direct and so passionately expresses the reasons that we should all support indie bookstores. I just want everyone to read it and really soak in the message. Click here to visit the site.
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