Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Albright.
Hi Amy, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
About 7 years ago, I moved to our small town of Pendleton, South Carolina. I dreamed of opening a bookstore here. I talked to people about my dream, got to know my community and watched real estate. I self-studied the book industry and what it would take to open my own business. I planned our household finances, and I set a goal on the calendar. One day, I heard about available space in a historic building on a corner of our town square. Someone remembered my dream from a conversation at a local garden club meeting. She thought a bookshop would be a good fit for this building. It was in the middle of COVID, but I wanted to take on the challenge as an adventure with my (then one-year-old) daughter!
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Yes and no! I have been helped, uplifted, and encouraged in ways that I hadn’t imagined, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed with books, business and parenting a small child.
Processing and organizing books, creating workable systems and thinking creatively take energy and discipline. I think about cash flow a lot. I didn’t want to borrow money, which I think has been a good decision for me, but it requires hard decisions on a weekly basis (at least!). I’m also still figuring out how to enjoy my “weekends” with my family and friends when I work on Saturdays. I’m really enjoying the self-reliance that is often required (even with great help!), but I am learning by experience how much hard work, mental and physical, is necessary. Thankfully that tiredness is tempered with a lot of joy! I am grateful, grateful, grateful to be doing this work!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The Pendleton Bookshop opened in November 2021 (immediately after the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony on our town square, because I didn’t want to miss it!). This bookshop is aimed at being a literary resource for our community, young and old, new and established, left and right, constant readers and occasional readers. It’s a place to celebrate and enjoy good writing and good reading, and a place to celebrate and encourage authors and illustrators. When I filled out a “design brief” for the bookshop logo design, I requested a design for a shop that will be around for 50 years. I’m very happy with the logo design, and I want to be one of the people working here 50 years from now. People are my focus, and books are my other focus. A community of books and people — that’s my goal. I buy and sell used and new books, and I enjoy all of these “lanes” — buying and selling, new books and old books!
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
Meeting people. Relationships with customers. Finding new books for the shop. Looking through secondhand books. Children enjoying story time. My daughter in the shop’s window. It really goes back to people, books, and the community!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pendletonbookshop.com
- Instagram: @thependletonbookshop
- Twitter: @bookspendleton
Image Credits
Photos by Hope Maier (@onlyhopephotos)
