Harriett’s Bookshop: Like a Literary Museum

If you ever find yourself wandering the streets of Philadelphia in the good ol’ district of Fishtown, you might just happen upon a bookshop clad in black and white. You might even feel as though you’ve walked right into the pages of your favorite novel, surveying the cross-hatched floorboards and tracing stark black furniture illustrations against pale walls. If that’s the case, you’ve reacted just as Jeannine Cook intended. Despite only opening its doors for the first time in February 2020, Harriett’s Bookshop has already gone through its first cosmetic transformation in November 2021. In anticipation of Will Smith’s launch party for his memoir Will, Cook and her family began transforming the space from Indie to avant-garde. By the time Will Smith walked through Harriett’s doors, the shop housed no colors other than the absence of color: white.

Only later on, in 2022, would the renovations be completed. As Jeannine put it in an interview on the Kelly Clarkson Show, “and now the bookshop is a whole ‘nother bookshop again. Right, so we had artists come together and when you walk in, you’re literally inside of a book. So, there’s illustrations on every wall, on the floors, yeah.” In contrast to Harriett’s original dark woods, abundant greenery, and boho furniture, the store is now more of a bold statement piece or a work of art. It’s almost as though the entire store is one big art museum.

Interestingly enough, Cook curates the store like a museum, often rotating the shelves, books on display, and other trinkets to promote the “visiting artist” of the moment or whichever cause she is advocating for at the time. Nothing in the shop is stationary, meaning everything is able to be moved around and is often utilized. Changing the layout of the store not only creates interesting displays, but keeps customers constantly flowing, wondering what Harriett’s will look like the next time they walk through those doors. Due to the constant changes, the shelving categories vary and often are not categorized based on genres or alphabetized by author last name. There is no rhyme or reason to the layout that follows the rules of “book display etiquette,” often it is to promote whatever Cook finds interesting at the time or thinks others would find interesting. Harriett’s isn’t the kind of bookshop you go to when you’re looking for a specific title though, so the lack of structure works, it is a place to find books you didn’t know you needed.

There are a few things that always remain consistent, however, such as always keeping self-care and cookbooks, featured local writers’, and founding foremothers’ sections (Cooks “Foundational Foremothers” are Toni Morrison, Zora Neale Hurston, and Octavia Butler). The children’s book area also remains consistent, although it is still rearranged, the materials stay the same.

Despite how odd rearranging a bookstore and renovating after only a year in business may sound, Cook was and is very intentional in why she does this. Cook’s whole reason for opening a bookshop in the first place is that she couldn’t see how someone could be reading and not sharing. She says:

“We bookworms look for places to hide, but the bookshop is an open space, where we respect one another and hear each other out.”

-Jeannine Cook (Gray, 2020)

Harriett’s open concept is a way to encourage these discussions. The bold and bright new look of Harriett’s Bookshop was done with the intention of making the space feel bigger and more open; two concepts that are popular for bookshops among customers these days. The concept doesn’t make customers feel exposed, although some people prefer more comfortable, dark, and compact bookshops, which is why Harriett’s presents several different atmospheres. There’s the ground floor (which is bright and open), there’s the Underground (which is dark and neon), and there’s the reading garden (which is natural). Customers can grab any book they’d like, sit out back in the reading garden surrounded by plants and fresh air, and read for as long as they’d like.

Despite all the changes, Cook believes that the shop will never stray from Harriet Tubman. In talking about her bookstores in an interview with Libro.fm Podcasts, Cook says “I think the shops kind of adapt to the personality of the person they’re named for,” in response to her mother, Celia, describing Harriett’s as “classy, soft, and attentive.” Jeannine then proceeds to say, “so Harriett’s, the furniture is nimble and everything’s always moving, and it’s just that. And Harriet was a small but mighty woman.” Aside from what is mentioned, we are able to see what Jeannine is referring to. Harriet Tubman is represented throughout the shop from knickknacks on the shelves to the shrine in the Underground.

The Underground is how Cook refers to the basement section of the bookshop. Naming it this way is a homage to Harriet Tubman helping people to freedom through the Underground Railroad, as Cook provides freedom through literature. The theme of the Underground is almost inverted from the main floor as the walls are black and the wall illustrations are drawn out in neon lights, resembling a night club. Cook wrote in a Facebook post in January 2023, “next time you visit us make sure you check out the new exhibit in our underground at the bookshop–it’s giving 80s techno vintage book rave.” These shelves are decorated with various historical/scholarly referenced items such as a globe, a moonshine jug, and other items that can be tied back to times of abolition. Aside from being an entertainment space and housing gently used books for $5 a pop, it features art from various miscellaneous artists, including Cook herself.

Floor plan layout of Harriett’s Bookshop (Left: Ground Floor) (Right: Underground) (McCann, 2023)

The upgrade in interior design reflects how independent bookstores are making changes recently. Before the renovation, Harriett’s Bookshop looked just like any other independent bookstore. If someone was walking by and peeked through the window of her old shop, they would’ve probably just kept on walking. Although people say not to judge books by their covers, the covers and titles give the first impression and the contents often come second. Jeannine Cook knows this, which has been proven by her unique innovative ways of drumming up business. She’s not alone as independent bookstores have begun changing themselves, so they are not only more recognizable, but so they stand out amongst the many other bookstores out there. What about their specific bookstore changes someone’s book shopping experience? Why go to an independent bookstore rather than just buying a book on Amazon? These are the questions independent bookstores are trying the find the answer to.

Independent bookstores aren’t the only ones effected by Amazon; Chain bookstores have also started changing their look to reflect indie bookstores. Barnes and Noble is no exception as they have been busy lately renovating their spaces, saying, “The green carpet is gone. Dark wood shelves are no longer in favor (cite NYTimes article above),” and working towards embracing lighter, brighter interiors in an effort to “act more like the indie stores it was once notorious for displacing (same NYTimes article).”

Citations:

Text

Manusos, Lyndsie. “The Science and Recent History of Bookstore Design.” BOOK RIOT, 22 Feb. 2022, bookriot.com/the-science-and-recent-history-of-bookstore-design/.

O’connor, Maureen. “Barnes & Noble Sets Itself Free.” The New York Times, 17 Oct. 2023, www.nytimes.com/2023/10/17/style/barnes-noble-redesign.html.

Image

Bookshop, Harriett’s. “Harrietts Bookshop on Instagram.” Instagram, 17 July 2022, www.instagram.com/p/CgHXHe6jlZ2/.

Gray, Kylie. “Drexel MFA Student Opens Harriett’s Bookshop in Fishtown.” College of Arts and Sciences, 3 Feb. 2020, drexel.edu/coas/news-events/news/2020/February/drexel-mfa-student-opens-harrietts-bookshop-in-fishtown/.

Floor Plan

McCann, Bedelya. “Sign Up.” ThingLink, 2023, www.thinglink.com/scene/1776303159413572452.

Website

Bookshop, Harriett’s. “Harrietts Bookshop on Instagram.” Instagram, 17 July 2022, www.instagram.com/p/CgHXHe6jlZ2/.

Bookshop, Harriett’s. “Not Trying to Alarm, y’all. Pic.Twitter.Com/cAhEGe2BG3.” Twitter, 21 Oct. 2023, twitter.com/harriettsbooks/status/1715729157508751701.

Butze, Olivia. “Libro.Fm Podcast – Episode 12: ‘Interview with the Owners of Harriett’s Bookshop.’” Libro.Fm Audiobooks, 27 Mar. 2023, blog.libro.fm/libro-fm-podcast-episode-12-interview-with-harriets-bookshop/#transcription.

Gray, Kylie. “Drexel MFA Student Opens Harriett’s Bookshop in Fishtown.” College of Arts and Sciences, 3 Feb. 2020, drexel.edu/coas/news-events/news/2020/February/drexel-mfa-student-opens-harrietts-bookshop-in-fishtown/.

The Kelly Clarkson Show. “Philadelphia Bookstore Honors Harriet Tubman’s Legacy with Deliveries on Horseback.” YouTube, 5 Apr. 2022, youtu.be/Esnh6OJyxrQ?si=Ta-5ilxUt55iHNQ0.