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31
Oct 2020
Little Ripon shop is a 'hidden gem' for book lovers
Jump into romance, find intrigue in mystery or escape with adventure. It is all on offer on the bustling shelves of this "hidden gem" of a book shop in Ripon.
The Little Ripon Bookshop, founded by husband and wife team Gill and Simon Edwards, is part of the independent book shops resurgence.
While the online behemoths find it easy to offer cut-price books, more and more people have been flocking to the likes of Gill and Simon's shop.
It may have been a daunting task in the beginning and during the coronavirus lockdown, but the Little Ripon Bookshop has thrived on community, friendship and loyalty.
The shop has grown in recent years and even expanded into a vacant unit next door. It has been doing so well that it's not so little anymore.
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On a rainy weekend in a gloomy year, Gill thinks there is nothing better than the prospect of curling up with a novel by the fire. She told the Stray Ferret:
Coronavirus has, of course, been difficult for the shop. It closed its doors for three months but adapted to the online world and delivery quite quickly.
Gill and Simon's customers appreciated the deliveries but the book shop was trading at about a quarter of what it normally would.
But as soon as they opened the doors again in June, customers flocked back to support the book shop and have kept coming back since.
With a few months of consistently busy trading, the shop is now in a good position to weather any coronavirus lockdown storms on the horizon.
This is part of the Stray Ferret’s ‘hidden gem’ series, highlighting small, independent businesses. They need to be tucked away but growing in popularity with an eye-catching and unique product or approach. Send us an email with your nominations.
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