Artisans Books & Coffee

Interview with Judi Ramsey of Artisans Books & Coffee

When did you get started in bookselling?

My daughter and I started an ETSY business to earn money for her GSUSA trip to Europe. We started with her art goods including upcycled book journals, but soon I began selling vintage books and then started my own store on Etsy where I sold for a few years before buying a brick and mortar shop selling local merchandise. Our book section kept growing until, when we moved to a larger location, we just made part of our shop into a book and coffee shop.

What drew you to bookselling?

I have loved reading since I can't remember - my older brother would read to me. I remember Clifford the Big Red Dog and Stone Soup. I still have the Clifford book. I have an affinity for older books and children's and YA classics which I collected for my own children and then kept purchasing until it was the basis of my online shop

What are your specialties as a dealer?

Many of our books come to us through an estate sale business, so the selection is always varied and eclectic, but I am particularly drawn to Weekly Reader books, Scholastic books of the pre80s.

What's the most amazing book you've ever sold?

I was able to help a family replace a treasured book lost in a fire. It wasn't anything especially amazing except to them.

What is your favorite part of being a bookseller?

Seeing the connection made between human and the written word.

Do you have an open storefront or have you in the past?

We have a book shop right in the heart of the downtown in a 100 year old building. We have added a coffee shop and a simple bar - allowing late night shopping with a chance to sit and read,

What is your favorite bookshop (other than your own)?

For many years our local Half Price bookstore was our traditional Sunday night adventure as a family and many wonderful finds were made there,

What do you personally like to read? Collect?

When I was younger I was obsessed with collecting all of George Bell Wright and other authors of that time period. Those are still in my library and will always be. When I moved and had to reduce my belongings I sold my extensive SciFi/Fantasy collection I had built and I have been working on rebuilding that back.

What's your favorite book you personally own? Would you sell it, if the price were right?

Recently my brother gave me a book "The Country Kitchen" by Della Lutes. After seeing the price pop up for it I decided to read it first, and after doing so I don't want to sell it ever. What a treasure of yesteryear put down in words for us.

What one book would you buy if price were no object?

The Year of Janie's Diary. I read it as a pre-teen from my school's library and loved it. I have never found a copy to purchase though I have reread it on open source.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring three books, what would they be?

I would want a book on basket weaving, a Boy Scout handbook from the 50s and a blank journal