"We're opening regardless, but it's been amazing," said Holland Saltsman, who recently launched an indiegogo campaign to raise $20,000 for her new bookstore, the Novel Neighbor, which will open in Webster Groves, Mo., near St. Louis, in early September. So far, the campaign has raised more than $8,600. "People want a bookstore; they're invested in local," she said. "The support they've given me is unbelievable."
Saltsman's plan is to open a 2,600-square-foot general bookstore that includes a community meeting space, work from local artists and a studio belonging to an "artist-in-residence." The artwork for sale will be organized around sections and book genres, with things like handmade tea towels and cutting boards displayed alongside cookbooks. The artist-in-residence will work in the studio nearly full time and teach a variety of art classes, for both kids and adults, in store.
"I went to a lot of festivals in St. Louis and the surrounding areas and I was really impressed by local artists," explained Saltsman. "But I could only find them on Etsy or Facebook. A lot of them lived locally, but there was no storefront."
At around the same time, and spurred in part by reports of a growing indie resurgence, Saltsman began to consider opening a bookstore. The idea of partnering with local artists helped define and focus her developing business plan, and after an artist friend mentioned that she was looking for studio space and wanted to teach art classes, Saltsman had the idea of an artist-in-residence.
"I thought about what my dream store would be," Saltsman said. Her dream store, it turned out, would be a bookstore, full of local art, with a community space for art classes, birthday parties and other events. "It seemed a much more solid business plan than just opening a bookstore, if we could have people coming in for different reasons."
As she continued to formulate a business plan, Saltsman assumed that finding a retail space would be the easiest part of the process; it turned out to be the most difficult part. After one space didn't work out, Saltsman found a perfect spot "at the last hour," and is now "knee-deep" in minor construction.
"I think we'll have a soft opening by September 13," said Saltsman. She has a lot of the merchandise ready to go and is currently talking to publishers to build up the inventory. The ribbon cutting, Saltsman expects, will be a little later in the fall. She also has the store's initial events lined up: one of the first art classes will be a workshop on how to make a lamp out of an old book, and the first birthday party will be a Day the Crayons Quit-themed party for an eight-year-old girl. Saltsman is also considering hosting a "A Night with Heather Brewer" event in October, which would be aimed at getting St. Louis area librarians and teachers in contact with YA author Heather Brewer.
"We're so fortunate to have some incredible local authors," Saltsman said. "I'm really excited about it; we can do so much with them."
Saltsman has a master's degree in education and a diverse background that includes work in higher education, as a children's librarian, and as an independent bookseller. From 2010 until 2012, she worked at the now-closed Pudd'nhead Books; her primary role there was coordinating and planning author events. Her favorite book is Mary Doria Russell's novel The Sparrow and she is passionate about children's and young adult literature.
Saltsman will be one of three staff members when the store opens and expects to be in the store nearly 24/7 in the early months. "Without going crazy, you want to there all the time," she said. "As the owner, you want to be the first person people meet, the first time they walk through the door. For the Novel Neighbor to really be a community store, there has to be that sense of hospitality." --Alex Mutter
