Imagined Things
This month we head to North Yorkshire to visit Imagined Things, owned by Georgia, an ex-radiographer turned bookseller, with a real passion for books. We talk to her about the best (and worst) part of being a bookseller, running an independent in Harrogate and what’s to come in the future. Read on to find out more!
1. What made you want to become a bookseller?
I have always loved imagined things and the books that contain them. Books have such incredible power to connect us with each other and to gain essential knowledge. I have always loved science too so trained initially as a radiographer, working in X-ray and CT, before realising it wasn’t for me. I read widely, I love talking about books and found my perfect fit in bookselling. I find joy in everything from the spreadsheets, to tidying the shelves and having a great chat with customers.
2. What is your favourite, and least favourite, part of a normal working day?
I love recommending books, especially when the customer leaves with a pile of books you’ve personally suggested. It’s an incredible feeling. Plus, it’s wonderful when you have the exact book someone was looking for. I adore that side of bookselling. My least favourite part is probably the boring practical bits of running the shop like the cleaning and long admin, like the accounts. Every day is so different and varied, so even if there are parts I’m not a big fan of the great things make up for it!
3. What’s it like running a bookshop in Harrogate?
It’s incredible. Harrogate is such a special place, with many people, myself included gravitating towards it rather than having grown up here. There’s so much community here, and we have so many incredible loyal customers. We can see the trees and the beautiful Stray (a protected grassland) from the window of our shop and attract many tourists from around the country. I have such a wonderful team of booksellers. Em and Alex are in for all of the week between them and they are an enormous part of the shop. Em does amazing work with displays, signage and five-star service. Alex is our go to for all things literary, and he does excellent work with the ordering and a fab job of our newsletter. We also have two newer members of the team, Sophie who’s our resident horror fan and IT expert and Michelle who runs our daytime book club and helps with marketing.
4. Tell us more about your book subscriptions – how do you pick the books you send out?
My wonderful colleague Em is our dedicated subscription bookseller, picking most of them singlehandedly. We think she might have a superpowers, or a clone hidden away somewhere! As new books come into the shop, and when I order them, we’ll often identify them as being good for subscribers. We tailor every subscription to each individual person, so we don’t just send out the same book. For the occasional subscriber that’s read lots or has more niche tastes other members of the team will get involved and we’ll put our bookseller heads together to find the best book that’s out there.
5. And finally, do you have any exciting plans for the shop in the coming months you’d like to share with us?
We have exciting Christmas plans to make it our best Christmas yet as we continue to go from strength to strength. We’re encouraging people to recommend friends or buy an extra book with us for a chance of winning a £100 voucher and other prizes. We’re also going to be encouraging people to think independent for Christmas, both in shopping with us, and in thinking about gifting books from independent publishers too!