We’re a Chain!*

September 9th, 2009 by Becky

Now we are two bookshops rather than one, we thought some of you might be interested in seeing the pictures of our launch party and opening day.

Vanessa and Andrew spent a goodly portion of Wednesday evening shelving and making things Look Pretty, ably assisted at various points by Vanessa Garden from Publishing Scotland, Andrew’s lovely fiancée Rose, and the equally lovely Catriona, whilst I went home and played with canapés.

By 7pm on Thursday, the food and fizz had arrived, and the shelves were looking utterly gorgeous:

The new titles shelves, built by Simon

Going by the amount of canapés and wine left by the end of the night (not very much), a good time was had by all - and it was great to see so many friends share in our delight at all the hard work coming to fruition.

No one can remember ordering The Da Vinci Code, but it turned up anyway: perhaps it’s part of twisted, age old conspiracy?

Andrew had a great idea that we should take photos of people with their favourite book, and turning them into polaroids, as you can see in the window below.

While at the party, favourite local author Viv French said she would be waiting outside on our opening morning with a deck chair and a newspaper. Although she didn’t bring a deck chair, we were impressed (and very touched) to see her at 9.45 on Saturday morning, forming our very first queue.

Our very first customer, Viv French.

Andrew had made a gorgeous window display, and had also brought in one of his paintings, which I think quite a few people admired when they walked into the back room.

Overall, I felt when I looked around that we had created something beautiful. If you come and visit us, I hope you’ll feel the same.

 

*as Dolly Parton says in Steel Magnolias, one of my favourite films… It also includes such classic quotes as: “The only thing that separates us from the animals is our ability to accessorize”.

Posted in ramblings | 16 Comments »

16 Responses to “We’re a Chain!*”

  1. on 09 Sep 2009 at 9:21 am   Marsha Moore

    Congratulations! The shop looks beautiful.

  2. on 09 Sep 2009 at 10:37 am   Catriona

    Very impressive (even without a castle shaped cake – but I think that is coming down the road isn’t it?)
    Seriously Becky, it looks great and one of these days I will visit it for real. Is Vanessa going to let you put your feet up and read a book for an hour or so?

  3. on 09 Sep 2009 at 10:49 am   Dark Puss

    Congratulations too from me. I hope to visit sometime when I’m back in Edinburgh, in the meantime I am urging my Edinburgh friends to abandon on-line book retailers and support you (and other independent bookshops up and down the UK of course).

    Good luck!

  4. on 09 Sep 2009 at 11:15 am   David Griffin

    Sincere congratulations on the opening of your bookshop. It’s always heart-warming to read of a bookshop opening. I wish you every success, now and in the future.

  5. on 09 Sep 2009 at 11:43 am   Becky

    Catriona, to be absolutely fair, Vanessa, Andrew, Malcolm and Polly did the vast bulk of the work, I just wrote the blog post.

    And I’m off on holiday tonight, so I will definitely be putting my feet up!

  6. on 09 Sep 2009 at 2:42 pm   adele geras

    That looks absolutely BEAUTIFUL, all of you! Wish I woz there….Hope to visit one day.
    Adele x

  7. on 09 Sep 2009 at 2:46 pm   hazel m peel

    If ONLY, ONLY I had that magic carpet!

    Hazel of Yate

  8. on 09 Sep 2009 at 3:56 pm   Helen

    Ah, you and all the Fidra team are an inspiration! Many congratulations on creating something so utterly delightful.

  9. on 09 Sep 2009 at 6:19 pm   Elen

    Congratulations!

    I will be visiting next time I’m in Edinburgh!

  10. on 09 Sep 2009 at 6:24 pm   Jane

    Congratulations! It all looks wonderful, and thanks for posting the pictures.

  11. on 10 Sep 2009 at 10:20 am   Cornflower

    It was lovely to see such a splendid shop, and very nice to meet Viv French. Much fun was had by all!

  12. on 11 Sep 2009 at 11:12 am   Steve Augarde

    Looks brilliant folks! Have to get up to Edinburgh again sometime, and see it for myself.

  13. on 13 Sep 2009 at 11:45 pm   Lynn Price

    Congratulations to you! The only thing missing were a few of our books sitting on your shelves. All kidding aside, your story is lovely, and I wish you all the success. With indie stores closing all around us here across the pond, it’s heartening to see one that’s growing. May your good fortune continue.

  14. on 15 Sep 2009 at 3:12 pm   Jo Wilkinson

    WOW! The shop looks amazing guys! Well done, and the very best of luck!
    xxx

  15. on 15 Sep 2009 at 11:23 pm   Mark Thornton

    Big, big congratulations guys – the shop looks wonderful. I can’t believe when I was there in March it was a just a glint in Vanessa’s eye (but what a glint!).

    Love Mark, Nicki and all at Mostly Books xxx

  16. on 17 Sep 2009 at 12:16 am   Bev Martin

    Congratulations, it all looks wonderful and the 2nd on my Places to Visit in Edinborough! Bit far
    from New Zealand unfortunately.

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