Hello! Welcome to my charming fundraising campaign.
I’m Melanie—a film costume maker turned bookseller - and somehow, against all odds (and common sense), I opened a bookshop called MARGIN in an historic ex-bank/ex-bar building in the North of Ireland.
We’ve been open for a week.
That sentence deserves a medal and a nap.
Jokes! I'm loving it - the shop is a bright, beautiful, slightly feral space full of good books and big ideas. We stock fiction that sparks conversation, bookish gifts that don’t suck, and plan to serve cold drinks under the sun in a little outdoor area that currently overlooks a car park (but dream with me, will you?).
The dream is real. The shop is real. But so are the bills. The rent. The stock. The signage. The seating. The “do I really need public liability insurance?” spiral at 3am.
I’m doing this on fumes, hustle, and my own rapidly emptying pockets. There’s no big funding grant, no startup capital, no trust fund—just me, some books, and the audacity to think people might want a different kind of bookshop experience.
So now I’m asking you—friends, strangers, book sniffers, kombucha fans, and literary weirdos—to help me keep it going.
This campaign isn’t about funding a pipe dream. It’s about helping a real place stay open long enough to find its people. To become what it could be.
Where will the money go?
More books (especially small presses + indie voices)
Merch printing (funny totes + tees incoming)
Furniture for the outdoor space (plus some plants to soften the carpark-appaloosa vibe)
Event costs (maybe Prose & Punjana nights, Knit Lit Nights, readings, weird workshops)
Rent, utilities, and keeping the lights on while the shop grows its community.
MARGIN isn’t just a bookshop. It’s a space for those of us who crave something a bit different.
If you can’t donate, that’s totally fine. A share, a kind word, or even just popping in to say “Keep going” is deeply appreciated.
Let’s keep this lovely little bookshop alive, yeah?
With gratitude,
Melanie x
Founder, Overthinker, Margin-Maker