The Art of the Bookstore by Gibbs M. Smith

Author:Gibbs M. Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gibbs Smith
Published: 2009-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Garcia Street Books

Santa Fe, New Mexico

—by Edward Borins, co-owner of Garcia Street Books

My wife, Eva, and I began our bookselling careers in Toronto, in 1973, when we opened David Mivirsh Books on Art, the first art bookstore in Canada. In 1979 we opened our own bookstore, Edward’s Books and Art, which grew into one of Canada’s largest independent chains. In 1997 we closed our stores and moved to Santa Fe, where we thought we would enjoy our retirement.

But bookselling and retirement do not agree, so in May of 2000 we purchased the store across the road from where we lived and continued Garcia Street Books, which was established in 1991. We were back in the saddle again.

Some of our friends and family questioned our sanity in returning to what was perceived as a dying business, but, after almost ten years as booksellers in Santa Fe, our investment has yielded many dividends, both financial and personal.

“We are having more fun than ever with our little ‘retirement bookstore.’ Santa Fe is one of the few cities in North America where we would want to own a bookstore, and our customers are intelligent, well read, and extremely supportive. Where else could two Nobel Laureates walk in on the same day?

The art of the bookstore involves the basics that all successful booksellers know, but in these times it takes more than just the basics to thrive. We do exhibitions of rare artists’ books, made by the great masters such as Picasso and Matisse. We also average seven events a month involving local and celebrity authors, such as Jane Fonda, Maureen Dowd, Shirley MacLaine, and Valerie Plame.

In all the years of staging these events we had only one mishap when a flustered Stuart Woods arrived an hour late wearing his central time watch as we were closing our doors.

Gibbs M. Smith, Garcia Street, Santa Fe, 2009. Oil on linen, 16" × 20".

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