Montana bookstore owner encourages sharing of store displays
One thing brick-and-mortar stores can offer that can鈥檛 be found on book-buying websites: beautiful in-store displays.
Gary Robson, who owns Montana鈥檚 Red Lodge Books & Tea, is hoping to inspire other bookstore workers through his two Pinterest boards 鈥溾�� and 鈥�.鈥� In a on his website, Robson detailed how he was inspired to create the boards after attending the American Booksellers Association Winter Institute in January and appreciating its atmosphere of collaboration.
鈥淪ometimes sharing ideas is enough to create new ideas along the way, and that鈥檚 just what happened to me,鈥� he wrote, mentioning that he was inspired by such panels as those titled 鈥淐reating Compelling In-Store Displays鈥� and 鈥淚dentify and Cultivate Your Store Brand.鈥� 鈥淎t the cocktail reception the last night of Winter Institute, I ran into Sydney Jarrard from the American Booksellers Association. Always eager to create more work for other people, I suggested to her that the ABA should create a Pinterest board where bookstores could share ideas for displays and window decorating. She enthusiastically agreed, talked to the boss, and dropped it back in my lap last week. I really have to work on saying 'no' more often.鈥�
So far, the 鈥淐reative Bookstore Windows鈥� board has amassed almost 300 followers and displays with themes from the 鈥淒octor Who鈥� TV series to seasonal motifs can be seen there. Window decorations from stores from Massachusetts, Tennessee, and others have been posted.
The 鈥淓ffective Bookstore Displays鈥� also has almost 300 followers and displays themed around National Poetry Month, Banned Books Week, and more can be seen, with displays from Los Angeles, Australia, and other areas.
