From left, Olivia Pierce and Katee Smith, owners of BAGG Books, stand inside the trailer that houses the portable bookshop specializing in romance fiction.
Katee Smith and Olivia Pierce said they often joked with each other about opening up their own bookstore focused on romance novels.
Then, one day in August, it suddenly wasn’t a joke. They couldn’t afford a brick-and-mortar store but what about a trailer?
“We went from 0 to 100 real quick,” Pierce told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business. “The next night we applied for our business license.”
BAGG (short for “Be A Good Girl”) Books has been officially open for a month, setting up shop outside eateries and bars across the Tri-Cities a couple of times per month. Pierce and Smith said the response to their traveling bookstore has been beyond their expectations, affirming that people enjoy escaping into a good book and want to support local businesses as much as they do.
Smith is a Tri-City native and Pierce has spent most of her life here. They became friends 10 years ago and one of the interests they bonded over was their mutual love for romance novels.
“We are moms, we have full-time jobs,” Smith said. “At the end of the day, it’s nice to escape to a fantasy world.”
Both work in banking but that didn’t stop them from forging ahead with opening BAGG Books. They considered a bus and even a retro Volkswagen van before settling on a trailer previously used as a mobile stage to house their new venture. The vehicle has one whole side that can be opened.
After cleaning the trailer out, Smith’s husband and father installed lighting, skylights, bookshelves and displays. Her husband painted the purple and pink flower murals that wrap around the inside of the trailer while Stark Design wrapped the trailer in bright pink and with BAGG Books’ logo. The women painted the shelves pink and began stocking it with dozens of books from authors such as Sarah J. Maas, Ali Hazelwood and Keri Lake.
“Romances are more than bodice rippers,” Pierce said. “There are sports romances, paranormal romances, western romances, romances written for young adults and by indie authors.”
The mobile bookstore carries more than books. There are also book-related items such as bookmarks and book covers as well as stickers, jewelry, art, apparel and more. The pair aim to stock items from local and/or women-owned businesses.
Wanting to make sure there actually would be interest in what they would offer, Smith and Pierce did a series of pop-up events beginning in October at Goose Ridge Winery and elsewhere, including a book release for “Onyx Storm” by Rebecca Yarros. They were floored at the positive response and held a grand opening Feb. 8 alongside Hot Mess Burgers’ food truck in downtown Kennewick.
“We had to reorder after just that event,” Smith said. “We were worried we wouldn’t have enough stock for the next event we were scheduled for.”
The entrepreneurs plan to set up shop five to six times per month, relaying their locations ahead of time via their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Some of those will be regular monthly stops, such as Hot Mess, Moonshot Brewing’s Kennewick location and Novel Coffee and Tea in Richland. They also expect to do some special events, such as Blackthorne Neighbourhood Pub’s recent Galentines event.
“There are so many great businesses that have been welcoming and collaborative,” Smith said.
And while they hope to find new customers at each pop-up, they’ve also come to expect they have a solid group of regulars who will track them down. And just like not all romances are bodice rippers, not all romance readers are women.
“We had a guy come in to get Fourth Wing because his daughter told him to read it and now he’s hooked,” Smith said.
Go to: baggbooks.com.
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