Imagine a Better Bookshop!

We need your help to Imagine a Better Bookshop!

As we approach half a decade since Imagined Things first opened its doors, as Harrogate's Independent Bookshop, we have a VERY exciting new opportunity to move the bookshop to a beautiful new location on Montpellier Parade, overlooking part of The Stray! It will mean much more visibility and passing trade, and a more secure future for our beloved bookshop.

Why we're moving... 

Being in an arcade has always been a challenge - we've no window on the street, we're not accessible and we have to explain (and make videos!) for people to find us! It was a tough start for the bookshop due to our lack of visibility, leading to us posting a tweet that went viral after we'd had a day where we only took £12.34: Our Viral Tweet . Thankfully since then many wonderful, amazing customers have found us and Imagined Things has grown immensley. Despite this the arcade still has many challenges: steps on both sides mean wheelchair users can't visit, and access for prams (and baby booksellers!) is difficult; not having a window on the street; having virtually no passing trade; having no staffroom or drink making facilities and having very limited storage space. So whilst we'll always love our first home in Harrogate's last Victorian Arcade, we feel we've reached the limit of what we can do (and how much we can fit) into our current home, and with the lease on it up for renewal we decided it was time to take another leap and move Imagined Things to an amazing new location! 

The New Shop

The new shop is on Montpellier Parade, number 21 to be exact! Just down the hill from Betty's Tearooms, in the popular Montpellier Quarter. 

Why we're Crowdfunding... 

Having a shop on the highstreet is a expensive business, and our lovely new location comes at a much increased cost. Crowdfunding will help enormously to allow us to make the most of this opportunity, by making the the new shop a really amazing space and mean we can spend more time on the wonderful bookish side of things. 

As well as increased rent, we'll no longer be sheltered by business rates relief so will need to pay that too. We also need to pay all kinds of ongoing bills - from getting the bins collected to a licence to play music, and of course wages for our wonderful booksellers too. Plus we need to pay for fitting the new shop out. Everything from bookcases and joiners, to shop counters and bookstands. From carpet in the children's area, to paint for the mural and film on the window to stop the sun bleaching all the books! There's also painting the outside, signage on the shop front and Debbie's much longed for kettle (see rewards!). And we need funds to fill all of those extra shelves with plenty of wonderful new books too! We won't bore you with all of the details, but basically it isn't a cheap thing to do, and the more money we raise will mean the more we can do to really utilise the new shop and make it an amazing new home, full of all of the things that already make Imagined Things so special! The more we raise, the more stability we'll have going forward, and every donation will be spent on making our bookshop even better. So if you fancy any of the very cool (even if we do say so ourselves - sweatshirt anyone??!) rewards, or are able to make a donation to our crowdfunder that would be amazing. 

Rewards

See the long list of rewards to your right to choose from! Some are limited, or one-offs, and many mean you'll be the very first to own things too. Some of the highlights and extra information can be found below: 

Imagined Things Merchandise: Be the first to own some very fancy new Imagined Things merchandise. Choose from tote bags, mugs or our very own shade of fountain pen ink: Imagined Ink! Or our personal favourite, our FIRST EVER Imagined Things sweatshirts in our brand new I can't ever IMAGINE having enough BOOKS design, in a choice of Sky Blue or Storm Grey.  (Sizes XS-XXL). 

Bookshop Memberships:  This is something we've been wanting to do for a long time. As an extension of our loyalty scheme, you can become a member of the bookshop! Anyone can join*, and you'll get a very fancy metal membership card in silver or gold. There's three levels of membership to choose from: 

Silvertongues’ Membership - 1 year - 10% off - plus a foil bookmark, a tote bag and a  mug. Plus an exclusive silver metal card for your use only  - £65 for one year. (After the year you can choose to renew, or just default back to a standard loyalty card and just collect points. You get to keep your card though!)

Lantern Bearers’ Membership - 3 years - 15% off - plus a foil bookmark, a tote bag, a mug and a limited edition print. Plus your very own exclusive gold metal card - £250. (After the 3 years is up please speak to us if you'd like to renew to see what options are available!). 

Lifetime Lantern Bearers’ Membership - LIFETIME - 20% off - plus a foil bookmark, a tote bag, a mug and a limited edition print. Plus your very own exclusive gold metal card - £700.

All bookshop members will have their names on our Wall of Thanks, written in silver or gold!

Wall of Thanks - Anyone donating or pledging £50 or over will get their name on our wall of thanks in the new bookshop - to say a BIG thank you for your generosity & support! And the first thirty people to donate over this amount will be invited to preview the new shop prior to opening! (Building works permitting!)

Please note rewards will not be immediatley available - we need to move into the new shop first, and will then send out rewards after - most will be with you by July/August, but please see each reward for estimated delivery. 

When will it all happen?

We are getting the keys in April! Though the shopfit will take a while, along with moving out of the old shop. We're aiming to stay open in the current location in the Westminster Arcade throughout May (we have to be out of that unit by the 7th of June). At the very end of May/the start of June, we may need to be closed at both locations whilst we move all of the IT system over to the new shop, move the books and stocktake, and shelve all of them ahead of opening. Once everything is done the new shop will open, we estimate in the first week of June. We'll keep this page and our social media populated with updates of how we're getting on, including when we have a more concrete opening day for the new shop! 

Photo of Georgia our owner, the baby bookseller Ruby-Alice and our manager Debbie - inside the new shop - the sun is a bit bright for the baby! (& Georgia's mum Maria, chief Imagined Things cheerleader and baby bookseller wrangler, in the reflection!) 

And finally... 

Thank you. For reading this, for buying books with us, for donating, for spreading the word, for sharing in the excitment and being part of the new chapter of our story! For everything. We literally wouldn't exist without the support of our truly AMAZING customers - you've made my dream a reality. It was once a small, imagined thing in the head of a radiographer who wished she could spend her days surrounded by books... and now she can! And she has booksellers and customers and a baby bookseller to share it all with, and it is truly a dream come true. And it's time to make that dream, that now very real bookshop, even better! 

From Georgia, Debbie, Hayley & Meg (And our baby bookseller! And bookshop dragon!) - thank you, and we can't wait to show you the new shop! 

Additional Rewards Information: 

Memberships - *Discount applies to standard titles ordered in for you. Membership cards can only be used in person, not on our website. You can order by phone/email for postage though!Discounts don't include postage which is charged at cost. We can only post books in the UK. Also please note discount excludes sale items, book subscription purchases & event tickets. Special orders such as for specialist academic titles/print on demand titles or other non-standard orders are also excluded. Other rare exclusions may apply, such as limited special edition or signed books. Membership is for one person only and may not be shared or transferred.

Events-  Events on the dates stated, or by arrangement during timescale stated - if not stated, must be arranged with us within 1 year of the end of this crowdfunder.

Windows- final say on window decoration remains with us, and will suit the needs of the bookshop whilst showing your sponsorship prominently. We may reject and refund companies or organisations that are not inkeeping with our company ethics and ethos.

Bookseller for the Day - on mutually convenient day to be arranged between us. Not including the busy Christmas period.