Blue Sheep Books was founded in 2021 to provide Wednesbury with an independently run bookshop.
Our Dream
With the rise of online marketplaces in the 21st century, and the ability for anyone to have any book at their fingertips within seconds, or a brand new title delivered the very next day; the demise of many independently run booksellers was sadly inevitable. Competing with the titans of the industry was rarely an option and community bookstores started to represent a bygone era, pulling down their shutters for good. Wednesbury was no exception to this, and there are no longer any brick & mortar booksellers in the town. Our dream is to change that.
The prediction of ‘the death of the bookstore’ has been circulating for some time, a contrived last chance to see. But in the eleventh-hour, there has been a cultural shift. In recent years there have been significant pushes for people to shop locally, and support independently run small businesses. In a sudden plot twist, indie booksellers worldwide have started growing each year, sales are up and indie’s are accounting for an increased percentage of all books sold.
Whilst Coronavirus will have undoubtedly had a devastating impact on all businesses including booksellers, we are cautiously optimistic for the future. As a fledgling business, we have a long way to go, but our dream is to bring back an independent book shop café to the Lower Wednesbury High Street. The scent of fresh coffee and ink creates a wonderful space to spend an afternoon. With your support we can make that happen for the Black Country!
