The Call of the Bookstore -- Brystone Children's Books

Store exterior with (l. to r.) Marianne Harper and daughter Adrienne.

Bookseller Marianne Harper might be the envy of mothers everywhere. She and her daughters, Adrienne and Dana, own and run Brystone Children's Books in Fort Worth, Texas. Since it's only the trio on staff, Marianne spends every workday in the company of her daughters.

In 1991, Marianne joined forces with Nancy Stone to open Brystone. Originally Stone had another business partner who had to back out, so Marianne "jumped at the chance" to be a bookseller in the same community where she taught and her daughters went to school. Along the way, Stone moved and opened another bookstore, and Adrienne and Dana found it impossible to ignore the call of Brystone and joined their mother in the full-time, three-lady venture.

Going into children's literature was nearly a given for Marianne, who had taught fourth grade for over a decade. She "resigned" (she was too young to retire Marianne said with a laugh) from teaching to work as a bookseller full-time. "As an elementary school teacher, I'd always loved children's books," she said. "Opening a children's bookstore was the perfect thing for me."

The 3,000-square foot, brick-faced store, which also sells professional books and educational theory texts to teachers, was ideal for Adrienne, too. She started working full-time at Brystone after working as a hairstylist. "I promised myself I'd only cut hair for seven years," said Adrienne. "But I quit after five and came back to the bookstore." Adrienne was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and was losing sight in one eye. "It was becoming more and more difficult for me to do the physical work of cutting hair, and you need to have good vision to do it, so I began working at the store. It's worked out so well. It's been perfect," she said.

A little girl completes a craft project at Brystone's Ladybug Party.

Adrienne had no idea how much she'd fall for children's books. "It turns out I love children's literature. I didn't realize how many great picture books there are out there. Adults could learn from them."

Dana started working at Brystone at its inception when she was still in high school. When she left to attend the University of North Texas, she'd help out at the store during breaks. After UNT, Dana got her Masters in Art History at Vanderbilt University and thought she might teach, but discovered that the bookstore was a "powerful force." While she was going to school in Tennessee, she was obsessed with Brystone in Texas. "I would look at BookWeb.org every day to get ideas about how to improve the bookstore. I'd call my mom to tell her what I'd come up with." Dana finished her Masters and gave in to the irresistible call of bookselling, returning to Brystone full-time.

An American Girl Club Meeting at Brystone, where there were actvities based around the Girls of Many Lands book set in Elizabethan England. Adrienne ( far right) is dressed as English dramatist Christopher Marlowe; Marianne is dressed as an apple seller; and Dana is wearing the orange shirt.

At the recent Mid-South Independent Booksellers Association Fall Trade Show, Dana said many booksellers commented on the successful 12-year run of Brystone and asked her for tips. "It was so weird," said Dana.

"Right after I talked with other booksellers about how we keep our rent and payroll low, since there are just the three of us, Avin [ABA CEO Avin Mark Domnitz] mentioned in the ABACUS session that payroll and rent are factors that are very important regarding the bottom line.

"I thought, Great! We're doing something right."

Adrienne said that her sister's study and interest in art has paid off at the bookstore and made her the ''display queen" of Brystone. Dana has moved the Book Sense Children's 76 around the store to find the premium location. "I like it best on a tall white shelf next to the counter," said Dana. "It has great visibility, and it's also a practical location because if people have questions about the 76 lists or Book Sense, we're right there to answer them."

The Harpers started using BookSense.com about a year ago. They have decided that they want to gear the site toward teachers, who make up a large percentage of their customers. "We haven't really promoted it enough," said Dana. "But we're going to start to focus on designing the site to be very teacher friendly. We want the Web site to be used as a teacher resource, with recommendations. There's a lot of potential we haven't tapped into."

Marianne talked about some of the already realized potential of Brystone and the benefits of running a family business. "It's so much fun as a mother to work with my daughters and to have an association with them as adults. Most mothers watch their kids grow up and leave. It certainly was the case with my mother. At work, I see them everyday. There is no 'boss.' We all work together to improve our store." --Karen Schechner