After two years without one, Cochrane has a bookstore again thanks to Kelly Joyner, owner of Tea…and other things.
Joyner recently decided to incorporate a used bookstore into her existing business. Tea…and other things sells specialty teas, tea cups, decorations, and more.
“Cochrane needs a book store. I used to get asked weekly where a bookstore was and I thought ‘OK, it’s time.’ I’m just doing something different; it’s something the town needs. It’ll be all about tea and books… Books go so well with tea,” Joyner explained.
Joyner said her business is willing to buy people’s used books but the response from the community has been more than she expected.
“People are donating their books, which is just overwhelming. We are buying books, but what overwhelms us is that most people are bringing in their books saying ‘You know what? We want this to be a donation because we want to see Cochrane have a book store.’” Joyner said.
The used bookstore has been open for nearly two weeks now and is already being put to good use by all ages. Joyner said she hasn’t had to cut back on the rest of her merchandise to make room for the bookstore and is still offering 400 different varieties of teas as well as other merchandise.
Currently, the store has around 1,200 books for sale but Joyner said her business is still willing to buy used books from people within the community. Joyner said she is trying to stick to collecting basic book genres and is staying away from textbooks and dictionaries to conserve space.
She also wants local authors to take advantage of this location and opportunity.
“We have a local author section which will be new books, that’s all we’re going to carry for new books. There are so many authors in Cochrane and we want them all down here and we want to be able to sell their books,” Joyner explained.
Prices of the books available depend on the condition the books. To see what the used bookstore has to offer, visit Tea… and other things at 110 2 Ave West during regular business hours.
