Mobile bookstore Sunburns and Slow Burns debuted Memorial Day Weekend in Hendersonville, Tenn., the Hendersonville Standard reported.
Owner Chelsi Vazquez carries mostly romance titles and set up shop at the Hendersonville Farmers & Artisans Market for the bookstore's first appearance. She will continue to appear at that market throughout the season, and Vazquez hopes to create partnerships with local coffee shops and breweries as well.
Sunburns and Slow Burns is built out of a trailer that previously belonged to another independent bookstore: Lazy Daisy in Jacksonville, N.C. It too debuted as a mobile store, and after Lazy Daisy opened a bricks-and-mortar location, the owner decided to sell the trailer as she no longer needed it.
Before moving to Hendersonville, Vazquez and her family lived in Jacksonville, where Vazquez was close friends with Lazy Daisy's owner. Though she did not work at the bookstore, she spent a lot of time there and often helped out.
"I really enjoyed being in the space and talking with customers and stuff," Vazquez told the Standard. "I didn't work there, but I was there all the time so it felt a little bit more personal. I thought if I'm ever gonna do it, this is going to be the time that I'll be able to do it."
After buying the trailer and driving it back to Hendersonville, it took Vazquez about two months to fix it up. She noted that she came up with the store's name with a friend.
"I had the idea that I wanted it to be summery and bright and colorful," Vazquez explained. "I wanted it to be primarily romance. When we narrowed down the genre and vibe I was going for, she helped me come up with the name Sunburns and Slow Burns. It kind of snowballed from there."