Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Briana Parker. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Briana, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

There are a few points of emphasis in our bookstore that diverge from the industry standard, and they all center around serving and reflecting our community. One is that we form relationships with and support local authors and artists, stocking them in the store and hosting events with them. People take pride in their neighborhood and like to see their community members represented in the store. It also means that you will see books and gift items in here that you will not see anywhere else, which refers to the very essence of an independent, noncorporate bookstore.

Customer service is our highest priority. We make sure everybody who walks through the door feels welcome and knows they have access to expert assistance should they want it. We encourage and train our staff to know from afar when customers require assistance or wish to be left alone to browse.

Our inventory is not shaped by the marketing agendas of major publishing corporations, but by the needs, tastes and curiosities of the communities we serve. Our special displays feature eclectic mixes of books that you wouldn’t expect to find next to each other, creating a sense of discovery and serendipity beyond your standard categorized browse. While many stores emphasize diversity in the new titles they stock, we’ve called on our 25 years of bookstore experience to curate a backlist selection that is also diverse, unexpected, and responsive to the needs of the communities we serve. We listen to and participate in conversations in the store every day, therefore our store reflects the neighborhood to a degree you won’t necessarily find in stores where inventory is shaped by an offsite buyer or somebody who’s not present on the floor.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Our dream of running our own bookstore began 15 years ago, when we met working at the iconic Corner Bookstore on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. A third-generation Brooklynite, Briana grew up in Sheepshead Bay, where she would ask her mom if a bookstore was going to open every time there was a vacant storefront. She finally started one in her bedroom to fill the gap, before going on to a career as an editor and manager in art-book publishing at the Met for a decade. Davi has been a bookseller for 25 years, the past 16 in New York, after an early start at a local Borders in Davis, California, at age 17. He most recently managed and was the buyer for an independent booktsore with two locations.

We knew that Briana’s insight into the publishing industry and editorial and management acumen combined with Davi’s extensive and varied bookselling experience would be an asset in operating a booktore, and we had a vision of a community-focused space at a time when folks were craving connection after the isolation of the pandemic.

Lofty Pigeon Books is general-interest and covers all the major genres across our selection of 5,000 books, and the inventory is constantly changing in response to customer feedback and requests. You can shop this inventory as well as over one million in-print titles on our online store. We also have a curated selection of gift items, cards, and stationery, with an emphasis on local artists and makers.

Our thoughtful and accessible store design was the result of a collaboration with a Brooklyn-based architect, and the separate kids section is something we’re especially proud of—a cozy and transportive nook for kids to spend time and engage deeply with books. With an accessible restroom, a changing table, and ample seating, we aim to meet people’s needs above and beyond selling books, and to be a space where they feel welcome to spend time—a respite from the outside world but still responsive to it.

Since opening in August 2023, we’ve hosted events for all ages featuring local authors, including book launches, storytimes, poetry readings, and even a comedy night, all of which are free and open to the public.

Can you talk to us about how your funded your business?

Our initial capital came from a few different sources. We had some money in savings, we received a loan from a family member, and Briana took a loan from her retirement plan. But by far the most effort went into our Kickstarter campaign. Our goal was $100,000, and we ended up raising just over $109,000 from 847 donors, putting us in the top 3% of funded Kickstarter campaigns. Some donations came from our personal networks—a mix of family and friends as well as other fellow school alums and former colleagues. But about 2/3 came from the community, showing the strong support that existed for a local bookstore in the area. We sent out a survey about what folks were looking for in a bookstore prior to the campaign launch, and then used that to inform our Kickstarter as well as our final inventory. The contact information we collected from the survey helped with our initial push for the campaign, as did a social media following that we cultivated through neighborhood Facebook groups and media coverage of our plans to open the store. The campaign itself acted as publicity for the store opening, and exclusive merch that was offered through the Kickstarter helped spread the word.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Because we’re such a community-focused store, we connected with the community as much as possible, even before we opened. We started with a survey, “What do you want from a bookstore?,” which we sent out through social media, flyers with QR codes, and community members who shared with their local networks. We received more than 500 responses. We also handed out flyers about our Kickstarer campaign in front of the store, at train stations, and at a local street fair, and posted them in neighborhood businesses. We hosted a literary trivia fundraising event at a local bar, and had a celebration with community members at the same bar after the Kickstarter was succesfully funded. Throughout all of these interactions, our message was that we were coming in with a lot of experience in the industry to build a world-class booktore that the neighborhood could be proud of. Our goal was to become a neighborhood institution, and showing that we were present and engaged one-on-one and bringing a significant amount of experience and thoughtfulness to the project showed our sincerity and ability to achieve that goal. (In the midst of a campaign we attended a local school fundraising event and someone stopped us and said, “Are you the booktsore people??”).

After we opened, the store, selection, and customer service really spoke for itself. People were thrilled to see themselves reflected in the selection of books at the store, that we had listened to their input and feedback, that there were local artists and authors represented, and that there were unexpected and interesting books to discover. From free gift wrap to a frequent buyer program, we actively cultivate that sense of a service-focused business, one that anticipates people’s needs, and the communities we serve have responded with overwhelming positivity.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.loftypigeonbooks.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/loftypigeonbooks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/loftypigeonbooks

Image Credits
(c) Lofty Pigeon Books