Help find the Snug Bookshop a New Home

Aim

The Snug Bookshop needs your help to find a new home after storm damage took the roof off the old building and rain destroyed the interior.

The Snug is an independent bookshop and cafe offering a wide and diverse range of books and locally sourced cake and nibbles. We began our bookshop journey in December 2018, with a strong vision of not just being a bookshop, but a drop in hub for the local community. We offer storytime sessions, craft activities, live and virtual author events and so much more. 

I’m Sam, the founder and owner of The Snug, and The last 2 years have been bumpy, to say the least, but we made it – albeit 10 years older, greyer, but with an increased enthusiasm to save the high street. Opening the bookshop was my lifelong dream, after being a librarian for many years, and it was everything I'd hoped it would be. Over the last 4 years, we have welcomed 14 students on Work experience placements, played host to community groups such as an Italian conversation group, seniors group, games night, secondary school book club, and various charity groups to name a few. 

 In 2020, We established an ecommerce website and welcomed a wonderful collective of new and old customers supporting us online and buying books for themselves, attending our virtual events and supporting our Fill a Bookshelf Scheme for children. 

As tough as the pandemic was however, losing the roof during storm Arwen and the rain that came with storm Brendan was just too much. We lost stock, electricity and I had to make the toughest decision to relinquish the lease and leave the building. This outcome came with extensive costs, including the loss of our deposit – but it was the right thing to do to protect remaining stock and my own wellbeing. 

For the whole of 2021, I ran The Snug all by myself, serving coffee, selling books and hosting events. Lockdowns and worry about the coronavirus meant that my volunteers and family were restricting their social mixing - but it also meant that footfall was lower than in previous years. It was hard work, but I wouldn’t change a thing. Now that restrictions are lifting and public confidence is growing, I would like to resume our work experience placements, take on an apprentice and offer 2 part time employed positions. There is just one problem… we currently have no physical bookshop.   

The money raised from this appeal will be used to start again and take on a new premises and will cover costs such as legal, deposit and refurbishment. I am currently exploring opportunities that would enable us to buy a building so that the future of the The Snug would be even more secure. The more money that we can raise during this appeal, the less money we would ultimately need to borrow – but in all honesty I would sell everything I own (except the dog) to make this a reality.

I’ve been told that my passion for books and reading is infectious and that the bookshop wasn’t just a place to buy books, but it had a warm and welcoming feel. The shop was accessible, on one level and with accessible toilet facilities. This is something that is important to us, and it is something we would be looking for in a future building. Customers would visit and ask me for recommendations on what to read next or what book to buy for a 6 year old who has a reading ability higher than their age, or even has no interest in reading at all! Grandparents have found books to read over zoom for grandchildren they may not have seen through the pandemic. 

Bookish knowledge is an unrecognised qualification, a talent, a passion – and we have it in abundance. By working with local schools we pass on that enthusiasm for reading and ensure the next generations start off life with a passion for books.

My local community needs an independent bookshop - A physical shop that can offer real life experiences and events. Bridgwater has sadly one of the lowest literacy levels in the UK, and the last 2 years has only made this worse. 

I am working very hard behind the scenes to ensure we will be back. It has been very hard not going into the bookshop everyday, and I have received many messages from customers to let me know that they feel the same. Opening the doors to a new venue, I hope to hold more Author events, support our local Schools even more, to employ and train a future bookseller, and one day hold a Town wide literary festival. I will of course endeavour to still have a café area for the community to come in and enjoy.

Our literacy project – Fill a Bookshelf has gone from strength to strength and to date over 400 books have made their way to local Primary Schools, the food bank and children in need. Working with schools is incredibly important to me – and the day to day running of the shop enabled me to fund author events and book signings, storytellings and donate prizes for school events. We can also supply books and organise World Book Day events and activities.

I’m not embarrassed to say that I am lost without the bookshop. It took me years to make it a safe and welcoming space. The books were carefully curated to include a diverse, inclusive and a unique selection of offerings that would only be found in an independent bookshop. Barely a book on the shelves was a title that neither my family had not read personally ( We read a lot…) The Snug wasn’t just my home, but a retreat for the whole community. When I talk about the bookshop, I sometimes say ‘I’ but often I’ll say ‘we’. It's currently just me that runs The Snug Bookshop. I served the customers in the café, I organise all of the events, I answer the phone, I post the orders…. But this bookshop is very much a community lead bookshop. I have fabulous friends and family who help, so really, I can’t take all of the credit. I help the community, and the community helps me.

This project successfully funded on 31st March 2022