"We've had such a crazy summer," said Marlene England, who opened Curious Iguana, a new bookstore and benefit corporation in Frederick, Md., on September 7, with her husband, Tom. She laughed, adding: "We didn't really announce the opening too publicly. We wanted to make sure everything was working correctly first. We didn't really tell anybody until one or two days before."
Although Marlene and Tom England have no prior experience bookselling, they do have ample experience as retailers: the couple own another store in Frederick's historic downtown, a toy store called Dancing Bear Toys and Gifts, which they founded in 2000. Before deciding to open a bookstore, the Englands had considered opening another toy store in a different town. They realized, though, that they were attached to Frederick, and chose instead to move Dancing Bear to a bigger location around the corner. In the former Dancing Bear space, they opened Curious Iguana.
"We just loved the downtown," Marlene said. "And the community had been asking for a bookstore. It's a natural fit. People are coming in and saying 'thank you for doing this.'"
Curious Iguana's status as a benefit corporation sets it apart from most independent bookstores; the store shares proceeds with international nonprofits such as Kiva, which specializes in micro-loans and lending to alleviate poverty. To coincide with that mission, the Englands have given the store's inventory a "global focus" by making an effort to stock lesser known titles from around the world as well as the major releases. In particular, they've emphasized multicultural books. Curious Iguana also features a large world map behind the counter and a huge, transparent globe hanging in the front window. Curious Iguana has funded 18 Kiva loans.
"The idea is to open some eyes and minds to what's going on in the world around us," clarified England. "We have lots of books people have never seen before. They can come in, hear different stories."
Curious Iguana is less than 1,000 square feet and carries about 2,500 titles. The store's inventory is very carefully selected. Everyone on staff, which includes two former children's librarians, has a hand in selecting inventory and picking books that they love.
"I know enough about retail to know that you can't know everything," England stressed. "You have to surround yourself with smart people. We have a wonderful team. Between us we all brought our favorite booklists to the table. IndieBound and Ingram were also huge helps. We started with their lists, adding and deleting from there."
The Englands have just begun to plan events. They hope to host food events with local restaurants, author dinners and readings, as well as book clubs. Curious Iguana also features a large TV screen mounted in store, enabling Marlene and Tom to do Skype sessions with people from all over the world. On the docket is a public Skype chat with several customers who are currently doing a service project in Belize.
"We were just thankful to open the doors," said England. "There's a lot in the works, there's a lot of interest in the community, but we have to pace ourselves. We don't want to do it half-assed. If we're going to do it, we're going to do it right." --Alex Mutter
