04/03/2024
Bayfield bookstore expands for third time
By Claire Duquette
Five years after Julie Buckles went looking for a collection of Tracy K. Smith’s poetry in a Bayfield bookstore and ended up leaving determined to buy not a book, but the bookstore, Honest Dog Books continues to grow, expanding this March into a third store space, informally known as “The Third Place,” at least until the naming muse strikes.
“I get more excited about the store every year,” Buckles said. “I bought the store with very little idea of the work it takes to run a store. So everything is still fresh and new and I’m still learning.”
Buckles purchased the store, which at the time sold only used books, in September of 2019, went through a slow winter, then was hit with the pandemic, forcing the physical store to close.
“I was staring at 13,000 books with no means of selling them,” she recalled. Buckles, who was still holding down a full-time job as communications director at Northland College and store manager Erin Schlager pivoted quickly to finding a way to sell books online.
Success came with the creation of a “SurpriseMe!” option – answer three questions about books you enjoy reading, send in $10, and receive a book selected just for you based on your reading preferences.
Buckles sent out the idea on social media, and soon found herself bombarded with orders.
The pair knew they were onto something, and the option to select curated books has grown into not just single SurpriseMe! Book (or box of books) orders, but a successful pick of the month club, with a variety of subscription options, some featuring new books and some used.
Buckles said the book business is like any business – there’s a lot of problem solving that can result in surprises – so far, most of them fortunate.
In 2021, Honest Dog Books partnered with Wisconsin musher and author Blair Braverman and her husband, Quince Mountain in the release of their book “Dogs on the Trail,” Buckles, a recreational musher, had befriended Braverman, and Honest Dog Books became the premier spot to pre-order the family-friendly book -- a photographic look at a year working with sled dogs. Honest Dog created special “pawtograph” trading cards featuring the dogs in the book, and all who ordered through the bookstore received a card, and an autographed copy of the book.
The orders poured in.
Which created a new problem to solve. Where would a tiny bookstore receive thousands of new books and ship them out?
The answer came around the corner in a space in the building owned by her Bayfield landlord, Matt Carrier. Buckles decided to rent a unit from Carrier featuring a garage door, perfect for loading pallets filled with books, and the large open space offered plenty of space for shipping tables. The space was so perfect for shipping, receiving and storing books that Buckles didn’t want to let it go. Using a $10,000 Main Street Bounce Back Grant, Buckles made the commitment to lease the space for a year – and The Dog House was born, opening in the summer of 2022 with shelves filled with rare books and a space for vinyl.
“A two-month commitment became so much more,” Buckles said, noting the store has made the space its own with bookish murals painted by Ashland artist April Lehman, who has also painted murals in the main store and helps curate the store’s art and children’s books collections.
In 2022 Buckles also made the big decision to retire from her Northland College career to devote herself to the store.
“It was becoming clear that I couldn’t do both, so I happily became a full-time bookseller,” she said.
As Buckles refined the “flavor” of the store – featuring highly curated nature, adventure, science and fiction sections, with a big space devoted to books about dogs. The dog-centric focus led to a second collaboration with a doggish author when she was approached by Florida author, professor, and Golden Retriever enthusiast Jen Goldbeck, who was writing “The Purest Bond,” a non-fiction book about the canine-human connection. Goldbeck was aware of Buckles’s collaboration with Braverman, and wanted to do something similar. Again, thousands of book orders poured in from dog lovers looking for something special – in this case, signed books with special bookmarks and “pawtographs” from Goldbeck’s Goldens.
“Her publisher was confused as to why an author living in the Florida Keys would want to work with a store in northern Wisconsin,” Buckles said with a laugh. “But it worked wonderfully.”
This past winter, when a third large space located off the courtyard behind the main store became available, Buckles decided it was too good to pass up, and has rented “The Third Space,” which will become a space devoted not only to books, but with a children’s reading area and a big event space for author events.
Buckles said she drew inspiration for the space from a recent family trip to Mexico City, where she was entranced by the many bookstores that featured open air spaces.
“Our relationships with authors have been wonderful,” Buckles said, noting Pam Houston, Luis Urrea, Wendy Webb, and many others have given author talks at the store.
This summer, events are already planned, including, she hopes, a live broadcast by Minnesota Public Radio’s Kerri Miller.
Buckles couldn’t be happier that she found a bookstore instead of poetry book.
“I’m an author, adventurer, journalist, communicator and I love the written word,” Buckes said. “There’s nothing better I could be doing with my life experiences.”
To celebrate the new space, Honest Dog Books is hosting a “soft opening” event on March 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. with food, drink, sales and a 7 p.m. performance by the comedy group “Lost in the Woods.”
