Pop-up bookstore building a community of avid readers

The Wandering Nook, a traveling, pop-up bookstore, has been representing bookworms and literary lovers across Alaska.

Started by friends Lisa Marsh and Emmerson Davidson, The Wandering Nook is building a community of avid readers, all while helping everyone to check another title off of their TBRs, no matter where they might be.

“It got started through our love of reading,” Marsh said. “We started talking about different books, and then we both started talking about how we would love to eventually own our own business, and then it evolved from there.”

Their first appearance was at a market last December. The overwhelmingly positive feedback they received helped to jumpstart their business and grow to what it is today. What started off as a focus on mainly books has developed into new offerings like handcrafted items, book totes, baked goods, hand-drawn and printed Kindle cases and a variety of library paraphernalia. It truly represents all aspects of a brick-and-mortar book store.

So far, The Wandering Nook has made its way around the Valley and Anchorage. Marsh and Davidson look forward to expanding their reach and taking their mobile-bookstore further to reach an even greater audience.

“We can pick up and go anywhere,” Marsh said. “We just bring the love of books.”

Their inventory changes at each market, bringing something different for their customers each time. Being able to engage with fellow book enthusiasts has been their favorite part so far. Seeing the same vendors at many of the events and learning and growing alongside them have all been enjoyable aspects of their journey.

“We love to be here,” Davidson said. “Seeing how people love books and love our crafts, it just makes it all worth it.”

The business allows both Marsh and Davidson to tap into their creative side. Their bedazzled books, tote designs and colorful pots all contribute to their fast-growing community of readers and book enthusiasts.

With the rising popularity of bedazzling books across social media, Marsh and Davidson quickly found themselves crafting their own and thinking about how to bring it to their community. For an affordable price, The Wandering Nook offers materials and equipment for crafters to make their very own bedazzled books at home.

“We decided let’s make it a fun thing for people to choose their book and then choose their gems and they can go home and craft away. It’s a fun crafting and book lovers task,” Davidson said.

In a land as vast as Alaska, access to new books can be difficult and achieving the satisfaction of visiting a local bookstore isn’t always the most convenient task. A traveling bookstore, as fantastical as it might sound and a storyline from the very books they offer, The Wandering Nook is exactly what every book lover in the Last Frontier needs.

Readers can stay up to date on where The Wandering Nook will appear next on their Instagram or Facebook at ak.wandering.nook. For inquiries on pop-ups or appearances at book clubs, they can be reached at ak.wandering.nook@gmail.com