- Jo
- Oct 29
- 2 min read
This is an important post, because I'm having a lot of conversations with people at Blarney about the change in management at the bookshop on the main street, Ironbird Books.
I want to make it abundantly clear that the new owner, Sarah Carter, is not only a personal friend, but is also a terrific colleague to have in the bookselling business! She's brand new at it, so do cut her some slack - BUT she's proving herself not to need much slack at all. She's got energy and enthusiasm - vigour and vim - that I might have had when I was her age! It's delightful to see! And she's such a good egg.
You may have heard it from her, but you can hear it from me too - she used to babysit our kids 500 years ago, back when they were all babies, including Sarah! So we go back to our earliest days in Port Fairy. Sarah's also a teacher at the local primary school, so she's well-connected in the town, and really knows how to engage the young ones as well.
And to make things even more delightful, Michaelie Clark, owner and manager of Collins Warrnambool, is also a good friend. Which means we three - Sarah, Michaelie, and I - form a small southwestern bookselling trio! We catch up over a glass of wine, swap stories, share tips and recommendations, and cheer each other on at our events.
And we don’t see each other as competitors. We’re friends first, colleagues second, and complementary bookshops third. If one of us doesn’t have what you’re after, there’s a very good chance one of the others will. Every day, Sarah and I recommend our visitors to the other's shop - it not only surprises and delights our visitors that we are so friendly, it also improves the visitors' experience in our little town. Going forward, the three of us will be making plans both separately and together, and will do everything we can to support each others' plans, and to not tread on another's toes. So if you happen to spot one of us in the others’ shops, please don’t whisper about “checking out the competition” or “sending in the spies.” That’s not how we roll.
Port Fairy is lucky to have multiple cafés, clothing stores, and restaurants, and it seems the more there are, the more reasons people have to visit and enjoy this beautiful town. And if you want proof that bookshops thrive together, look no further than Hay-on-Wye in Wales, a town with twenty to thirty bookshops at any given time! People travel there because of the variety.
So here’s to Sarah at Ironbird, Michaelie at Collins Warrnambool, and to all of you who keep local bookshops buzzing, one friendly visit at a time.
