I was inspired to start my shop by a good friend, who had a second hand book business and a lot of unwanted or unsaleable books. I always keep in mind that I am recycling a precious object - a book, and that people love them. My background and education had always been in art and design, and as a kid I loved to make and to draw, yet somehow, by the time I was 38 I was fully ensconced in an academi
c job that really had very little to do with hands-on making, although I did work with other designers. It wasn't what I wanted to do with my life. I made the leap in the Spring of 2009, and set up Bookity a couple of months later, on a shoestring budget, in the spare basement room of our house in Reading, UK. My partner Matt made me a work bench out of an old door, and away I went! Bookity was small at first, and I experimented with all sorts of things. Now Bookity has grown into a fully fledged micro business, supporting me completely. I'm grateful for this, and for being able to learn so much about the art and business of handmade craft, and about my customers.
