WEAVERVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — Lindsay Johnson has wanted to open a bookstore since she was five years old. With Willbloom Books, a pop-up bookstore based in Weaverville, N.C., her wish has come true.
“My whole life, I’ve loved to read. There’s pictures and videos of me as a little tiny child reading with the books,” Johnson said. “Even before I could read, I just liked holding them. I don’t know, I always was drawn to them. So, it just feels like my life’s purpose. I don’t know what else I would do if I weren’t doing this.”
Willbloom Books operates out of a small, mint green bus. The interior of the rolling bookstore is lined with shelves and local knickknacks, with string lights and a pink rug granting the space a clean, cozy vibe.
The bookstore is named after William Bloom, a character from Daniel Wallace’s 1998 novel, “”Big Fish: A Novel of Mythic Proportions,” and its 2003 film adaptation directed by Tim Burton.
“It was a movie that I watched a lot growing up. My family and I were huge film fanatics, and ‘Big Fish’ was just one that I feel like we gravitated towards a lot. So, when I was thinking up names, I wanted something unique. I wanted something memorable, and so, I was trying to think of all of the different stories that have been impactful in my life, and I was like, ‘Big Fish’ was a big one. Let’s see if there’s something in there that we could use,” Johnson said. “Also, Will Bloom, there are three L’s in it, and I’m one of three girls, and all of our names start with L. So, I just thought that was a fun little thing, too.”
Every book in the shop is brand-new and personally curated by Johnson, who wants Willbloom Books to feel representative of her entire community.
“I don’t necessarily have a specific niche. I want to be a bookstore for everybody, so if a family comes in, a kid can get a children’s book. Dad can find something. Grandma can find something,” Johnson explained. “I want everyone to be able to find themselves on my shelves in one way or another. That’s very, very important to me.”
Johnson also has a shelf specifically for local authors, featuring Hurricane Helene collections like “Stronger than the Storm,” edited by local writer Shelley McKechnie, and novels by Thomas Wolfe.
“I have a shelf for local authors. Some people have come to the bus to give me their stuff, which has been super, super fun,” Johnson said. “I’m really wanting the bus, the business, to feel like it’s supporting the community, ’cause we’re being so supported by them.”
Despite its growing population and several public schools on Main Street alone, Weaverville is a town without a bookstore. However, since arriving on the scene in October, Johnson said she has already felt an enormous demand for an independent bookshop in town.
“It really has been more than I was anticipating. I assumed people would be excited, but I just have felt so accepted,” Johnson smiled. “At the Candlelight Stroll, everyone was saying, like, ‘We need a bookstore, this is so great, I love what you’re doing, this is a space that’s missing in town.’ Yeah, it’s really been more than I could have imagined and I’m so excited.”
So far, Johnson has held around 20 pop-up events, which she lists on her website, www.willbloombooks.com, and her Instagram page, www.instagram.com/willbloombooks. The bookseller also has a regular presence from noon to 4 p.m. on Tuesdays, parked outside of The Local Collective, a creative co-working space at 52 S Main St. in Weaverville.
“Being here on Tuesdays, kind of like normal store hours, that’s kind of what I’m wanting, instead of just, ‘You can only find me one day a week!’ You know, an independent bookstore is open every day, usually, so I’m trying to be up and around and available as much as possible,” Johnson said. “When I’m not open, I tell people, ‘Hey, I will deliver your books.'”
Johnson said she will do everything she can to make her books available to her community.
“I really want to be seen as Weaverville’s bookstore,” Johnson said.