“You are your business.”-Crafton
Independently owned businesses share pieces of their owners, their customers, and their locations. Chain businesses have proven they are exactly alike in all locations, while privately owned businesses are so charmingly unique. When traveling, I enjoy seeing the creativity and aesthetic beauty of a town through its local bookstores. An independent bookstore is a book in itself. The shelves and walls are its pages, telling a story through books, paintings, and interior design. As time changes, a bookstore will adapt the story, making new additions or adjustments. During COVID-19, small businesses are continually adapting, not knowing how long changes will have to be in place. At Litchfield Books, the owner, Vickie Crafton, continues to work around these difficult times, while providing the customers and staff a safe place to relax and unwind.
Litchfield Books is located within the Fresh Market Commons at 11421 Ocean Highway, Pawleys Island, South Carolina. Crafton bought the existing business from her neighbors, Carolyn and Dean Berry, in 2001, when it was located at the old shopping center, Litchfield Landing. After traveling and consulting for years, Vickie Crafton retired with her late husband, Tom Warner. She continues to run the independent bookstore, using her knowledge from her business degree, from the University of Kentucky. She explained, “I planned on buying a few small businesses as opposed to just one, but once I bought the store, I realized that it’s necessary for the owner to be on the premises.” She realized how important it was to physically be there, to connect and form relationships with the customers. She has a great staff who can help direct and find what you are looking for, which allows her to get away and enjoy her retirement as well.
Crafton has continued to build on Litchfield Books with author signing events and a book club, mixed with staff and customers. Her business partner, Linda Ketron, has helped organize and schedule these signing events, called “Moveable Feast”—an event where you have a luncheon at a local restaurant with the author, following a book signing at the store. Unfortunately, like many events, due to COVID-19, “Moveable Feast” and their book club had been postponed. It’s difficult to not have a conversation without discussing COVID-19. As Crafton explains, “Business has changed since COVID-19…the way you shop…the way you buy.” As we move forward towards a state of normalcy, or “whatever normal is,” says Crafton, they will reassess what is most important for the store. Their first “Moveable Feast” since the pandemic was in March, and they continue to have more authors in the upcoming months with limited spots due to safety restrictions. No one really knows at this time what it will be like at the end of this dark, unlit road. We have to look at the now, be understanding as a community, and continue to help others be as safe as possible by doing our part.
To maintain and facilitate her business, Crafton has created an online shopping site on their website for customers who are unable to go to the store, along with offering curbside pickup. To keep customers and staff as safe as possible, they have limited inside capacity, and have an outdoor sitting area. They require staff and customers to wear masks within the store at all times. These and other safety precautions are in place to help keep this “story” turning. When you first enter Crafton’s bright store, you can see the “favorites table,” which holds new releases. The shelves are filled with “shelf-talkers,” reviews of staff favorites, to help you find your next read. It’s like having access to the Goodreads app right on the shelves. Crafton chooses and buys stationary and bookmarks based on her customers’ preferences. Some choices have been continued from the Berry’s, while others she has selected and knows will appeal to customers. Crafton says, “[You have to] focus on the business and your customers…Don’t personalize it…buy the things that you know the customers want.” You have to cater towards your customers in any business. Just because she personally enjoys nonfiction, doesn’t mean she won’t have many varieties of fiction in the store.
I believe there will always be a love for books. There’s something about flipping a page that an eBook just doesn’t do justice. A great way to escape this crazy world is by taking on the adventures inside a good book. We need a break from our homes, so take this opportunity to go to Litchfield Books. If the shelves are the pages, that makes the front door the cover of the book. So go open the cover to a bright, refreshing feel of being at the beach, and find your break from the conversation on COVID.