Six weeks ago Kris Kleindienst, co-owner of Left Bank Books, stopped me to announce excitedly that the store had won a makeover contest. The prize was offered by Paz & Associates to celebrate the company's 20th anniversary as a bookselling consultant. Kris said that Left Bank Books was chosen because the store has "good bones," the project was doable, and co-owners Kris and Jarek Steele agreed to do the work themselves.
Following is how Paz & Associates announced the winner on its website:
Left Bank Books in St. Louis, Missouri is the recipient of the
Bookstore Make-Over Project sponsored by The Bookstore Training Group of
Paz & Associates to celebrate their twentieth anniversary serving
independent bookstores. Seventeen bookstores from across the U.S.
entered the contest.
"Our
goal was to select one project that would help illustrate affordable
solutions to issues that many bookstores have in common,” noted founder
Donna Paz Kaufman. “Left Bank Books provided the perfect combination of
opportunities,” she added. In the store’s application, owners Kris
Kleindienst and Jarek Steele commented, "Frankly, it’s looking really
tired at this point and the layout does not work for us at all anymore."
In addition to their design and merchandising expertise, Paz &
Associates will contribute $2,000 for upgrades and materials, with labor
provided by the store.
The design group at Paz & Associates will address display
windows, the front-of-store experience, traffic flow throughout the
space, focal point displays, signage and promotional messaging, the
"Wow" factor for creating word-of-mouth marketing, and event staging.
The project has an October 15 completion date.
As Left Bank's Jarek Steele said of the prize on his humorous blog: "True to indie bookselling form, the budget is minuscule ($2,000) and 're-purposing' will take on a whole new meaning." Which meant that Jarek painted walls using Paz designers' paint colors, Kris refinished a new banister (see above) and some furniture pulled out of storage. In a 48-hour marathon that ran from last Wednesday to Friday the staff, with help from dynamo consultant Donna Paz Kaufman, reset the store, moved boxes of books up and down the stairs, rearranged shelving and relocated entire book categories—while the store remained open.
When you walk in the door at the newly-renovated Left Bank Books you'll be amazed at the transformation. The facelift has left the store much more open and uncluttered. Someone actually said to Kris that he didn't realize there was a lower level, the area around it was so piled with merchandise. The new wall colors are soft and wonderful. Fiction and non-fiction titles still occupy the front of the store, but there is now much more room to maneuver. Bookshelves to the west of the staircase will be removed for author events, as they were years ago.
One of the biggest changes that Paz & Associates suggested and then implemented was to move the children's section from a crowded corner in front of the store to the south room next to the windows (above). While the space wasn't completely finished when I visited Monday, the new area is comfortable and inviting.
And I LOVE that there is a new cookbook section (!) next to the children's books. It was always awkward to peruse the two shelves that contained Left Bank's cookbook offerings without feeling crowded or backing into another customer. In addition, the stock appears to have been beefed up as there are more shelves and many more titles.
I asked Kris Kleindienst yesterday when Left Bank Books will have an event to show off the makeover. "Maybe in November," she said, as they still have little things to do–a new chandelier over the staircase, and tweaking of signage. In the meantime, Left Bank Books is extremely busy with author events, as you'll notice on its website, or on my blog's "what's happening" column. As Kris said, "Danielle (who books the events) just can't say no to the many authors who want to stop in St. Louis while they are on tour."
Stop in for a visit, I know you'll love the transformation. Thanks to Paz & Associates for recognizing Left Bank Book's "good bones," and for awarding the prize to this neighborhood landmark.
Left Bank Books, 393 N. Euclid, (314) 367-6731, Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Such a great new look. We are soooo lucky to have Left Bank right here in the heart of our neighborhood! And how exciting that the folks at Paz & Associates also recognized this treasure. Congratulations and Thank You.
I can’t wait to go in there and check it out. The kids’ area always seemed crowded so I felt like we should find something and get out of the way. Now I expect we’ll be spending more time (and money) perusing the shelves. Thanks for posting, Nikki!