Page & Palette has been a fixture in Fairhope, Ala., for four decades--a milestone the store is celebrating this year. "We're lucky enough to be in a place that embraces businesses like this one," said Karin Wilson, who purchased the book and art supply store from her grandmother in 1997. "People see the value it has in the community."
The exact date Page & Palette opened its doors to Fairhope residents in 1968 is unknown. "No one can remember," said Wilson. As a result, she has decided to celebrate the store's anniversary on August 5, the day she too turns 40 (as does her twin sister, who owns a frame shop next door to Page & Palette).
Wilson has created an anniversary logo with the tagline "Forty years at the heart of Fairhope," and festivities will take place throughout the year. One of those events will occur in conjunction with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) trade show in late September, which is being held in Mobile, near Fairhope. In a twist of serendipity Wilson has assumed the role of SIBA's president. "None of it was planned," commented Wilson. "It all just lined up perfectly."
The fête will be part fundraiser for SIBA, with ticket sales benefiting the organization, and part celebration for Page & Palette, which will sell books. "My goal is for publishers to send big-name authors who we know will get people to turn out," Wilson said. "They can back that up with an up-and-coming author they want to push, kind of like a concert with an opening act." Both Wilson and SIBA executive director Wanda Jewell hope the bash will become an annual fundraiser for the organization, with a different store hosting each time in conjunction with the trade show.
Also on the calendar this year is Page & Palette's "Dancing in the Streets" extravaganza, which "will be a big party for us," Wilson said. The annual event takes place the Saturday before Halloween and benefits the Page & Palette Foundation, which Wilson launched three years ago. The store hosts several fundraisers each year, and to date more than $140,000 has been donated to local educational and charitable organizations. "The foundation is nonprofit, but it's a business for fundraising and complements the store," said Wilson. "To me it's another way that bookstores can be important in the community."
Since taking ownership of Page & Palette, Wilson has grown the business to include a coffee shop called "Latte Da," a children's section, art classes, stationery and an inspirational area dubbed "The Living Room." The ground floor of the two-story building houses 5,000 square feet of retail space, and a 3,000-sq.-ft. upper level has a reading room and space for art classes. "Books are a little over half our business," Wilson noted. "We're pretty well diversified with other things."
Although Wilson began helping out at Page & Palette at age 10, she never intended to follow in her grandmother's footsteps. It wasn't until she was living in Colorado years later and expecting her first child that the longing to return to Fairhope--and the family business--took hold. "I had absolutely no desire to go into this business growing up," said Wilson, "but it all worked out."--Shannon McKenna Schmidt
Page & Palette is located at 32 South Section St., Fairhope, Ala. 36532; 251-928-5295; pageandpalette.com.