Episode 10 | Can a bookshop replace the pub? Vicki Shenkin Kerr, Bàrd Books (London)
· 1 h 02 min
Episode Episode 10 | Can a bookshop replace the pub? Vicki Shenkin Kerr, Bàrd Books (London)
When Vicki Shenkin Kerr opened Bàrd Books on Roman Road in East London, she wanted to create more than somewhere to buy books. Drawing on 20 years working in hospitality, she imagined a neighbourhood space where people could browse, drink coffee, stay for a glass of wine, meet friends, hear poetry, play chess or simply spend some time.
Two years later, Bàrd has become exactly that – and Vicki has discovered just how deeply a bookshop can become part of people’s social lives.
In this episode of Bookshop Stories, Vicki talks about swapping hospitality for bookselling, funding the shop with a personal loan after the banks said no, building much of Bàrd with friends and family, and creating a team that has helped shape the shop in its own image.
We also talk about the economics of making an independent bookshop work in London, why Bàrd stays open into the evening, the unexpected return of books and reading as something genuinely cool, and what happens when the community begins to feel that your bookshop belongs to them too.
Plus, Vicki shares the books she loves, the title she has sold more copies of than any other, and the book she would give away with every purchase if she were a millionaire.
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Bookshop Stories goes behind the shelves of independent bookshops to meet the people who run them and explore the realities of bookselling, running a small business and keeping independent bookshops alive.
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