Wednesbury's Blue Sheep Books to celebrate first anniversary on Bookshop Day

Bookshop Day, which was launched in 2016 by the Booksellers Association, will take place on Saturday, October 8.

And for the owners of Blue Sheep Books in Wednesbury, the occasion will extra special as it will also mark their shop's first anniversary.

Run by Sorina Marinescu and her partner John, it grew out of a successful online business which was started during lockdown and over time they started seeing the potential for a physical shop.

"It started with one box of books from eBay and we waited for them to sell. We continued to be busy selling and buying bigger job lots of books. When everything started opening up after the lockdowns, we began to sell at Wednesbury Market and at Bescot Market.

"It showed there was an interest for books in the area and if we were to open a shop, people would hopefully visit it to buy their books," says Sorina.

The couple decided to take a leap of faith and rent premises in Upper High Street which they fitted out with shelves to turn the space into their dream bookshop.

Blue Sheep Books opened its doors to customers for the first time on October 1 2021, which was also last year's Bookshop Day.

Opening day was a great success and over time the shop has continued to flourish and stock more and more titles.

"For the first few months, every single person who walked through the door said: "I didn't know there was a bookshop in Wednesbury", Sorina recalls.

They have taken their time to grow the business slowly to ensure it continues to be sustainable going forward.

"On a really tight budget, we have to be careful about what book orders we put through with suppliers so we can cover our rent and bills and be careful about where we spent our money.

"We can't employ any full-time staff but we have given some young girls their first job. We've been approached by many people who want to work in a book shop but can't get a job in the bigger shops. We're really proud to have helped young people," she explains.

The shop hosts book signings, supports local authors and is an independent stockist for Games Workshop.

There is no such thing as a typical day when it comes to running a book shop, says 27-year-old Sorina.

"It's very diverse. One day I can have no sales and it can be very quiet and the next day I can have a flurry of sales and by midday I've made our target for the day. We have people who come in to order books, people who come in who are looking for things that are out of print and we can source these for them.

"When we first opened we didn't know what to expect, we were like 'let's give it a go and at least we've tried', rather than keep wondering what it would be like.

"At the beginning people didn't know we were here and we didn't get much footfall but word got round. More and more we get asked: "I'm looking for this book, can you help me?". People ask for recommendations and we are able to do that," she tells Weekend.

One of the best parts of running a bookshop is being able to make a customer's day by tracking down the book they've set their hopes on reading.

"When someone comes in looking for a title that is rare, out of print or a bit obscure, I really enjoy hunting down the book and getting it for them. It makes them so happy," says Sorina.

"I enjoy seeing children who are so excited about books, picking their own books and being so happy they can't wait to get home to read to them. This is something that always makes me smile.

"I really enjoy receiving the new releases. Sometimes independent bookshops get their own special editions that have different covers.

"When we get a new delivery, it's like Christmas. I enjoy unboxing them and putting them on the shelves.

"It's a very nice space to spend six hours of the day and my customers are very nice," she tells Weekend.

On Bookshop Day, there will be a number of special offers for customers and activities for children at Blue Sheep Books.

"We going to have an offer on paperbacks and hardbacks. People can buy a new paperback and get a second one (the cheapest one) for £1 and there will be 40 per cent off hardbacks. We will have free cupcakes and party bags for children and a face-painter," Sorina tells Weekend.

"We want to see any many people on our first birthday to celebrate with us. If any schools would like to support us by ordering school books for their library or classroom from us, they can get in touch and we can offer them a good deal as we go straight to the publisher," she added.

Blue Sheep Books is open from 10am until 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday. For more information see bluesheepbooks.com or follow @bluesheepbooks on Facebook. To find out more about Bookshop Day 2022, visit booksaremybag.com/BookshopDay/About