Young entrepreneur launches dream in historic downtown
They say you can’t judge a book by its cover, but many a book lover judged Carleton County by its lack of a bookstore…until now.
Kiersten Kearney is the protagonist of her own life story, and she’s hoping for a bestseller with a happy ending, where everyone cheers for and helps the lead character succeed.
The Carleton County native combined her love of books with an NBCC Business education to make her dream of owning a bookstore a reality.
Kearney opened Flourish & Fiction in downtown Woodstock on Thursday, March 5, with little fanfare but an abundance of determination.
The store was filled with a steady stream of well-wishes bearing gifts of second-hand books, flowers, and words of encouragement during Kearney’s soft launch. Customers keep her point-of-sale machine busy.
The self-admitted Harry Potter fan said the young wizard’s story was the influence for her shop’s name.
“There’s a book store in Harry Potter called Flourish ad Blotts, so I was like, how can I do a little bit of play on that and have some alliteration. Flourish and Fiction just sort of go together,” said Kearney.
Her dream began a few years ago, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I made some friends on the internet in Kansas City, and I said, I am going to go to Kansas City and meet them. Solo trip, first time I ever traveled by myself. I got there and was like, that was so easy! I did a scary thing by myself.”
A lover of books, she decided to do another scary thing: open a store. Getting to the opening wasn’t easy.
After her trip to Kansas City, she completed the Business Fundamentals program at NBCC and then began working toward her goal.
“Getting to this point has been insanely fast, but also feels like it took forever,” said Kearney, laughing.
She said once things started “getting going,” the progress snowballed.
Kearney will host her first author reading in April and hopes to have book and writing clubs, as well as workshops at her location in the future.
She is hosting the store’s grand opening on Saturday, March 21, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
