Welcome to the very first Humford Mill Books blog - well actually its my first ever blog so please be gentle!
The dream has always been to turn my passion and interest in collecting children’s books into a business. With a lifetime spent working in the public sector with absolutely no selling experience, the whole thing has, at times, felt like a distant dream. However, two years down the line with serious hard work and bags of mistakes later, here I am a member of the PBFA with a year travelling the country, attending book fairs and about to launch my very own website.
I’ve kept a journal over those two years and over the coming weeks and months I intend to share with you the highs and lows, experiences and lessons learned during those tentative steps into the strange and unique world of second hand book selling.
I also hope to make the blog informative, featuring children’s authors and illustrators that best reflect those books that make up the vast stock of books I have for sale. I will be compiling regular newsletters highlighting new acquisitions and news, which I aim to publish monthly.
I recently had a stand at the two day PBFA York Book Fair (September 15th-16th 2017) where I had the pleasure of meeting so many wonderful people. I have to say whilst I was a little nervous - the fair is after all the largest second hand book fair in Europe, the experience was fabulous. I would especially like to thank all those who took the time to stop and chat as well as providing feedback - it really was encouraging and appreciated. Also a big thank you to all those who gave me their email addresses - it did feel a little awkward and unnatural standing there with my clipboard and pen in hand! Hopefully the regular 10% discount for receiving my newsletters will make it worthwhile for you all!
I am so thrilled finally to be able to launch the website. Its been a labour of love now for longer than I care to remember. Last night I went through my initial business plan - written over two years ago, a key component of which, was always the website. At the time it really did seem like an impossible task. So I have to be honest and say, its with a real sense of pride that the website goes live.
I don't claim to have the rarest books, although there are some real gems, but I have made a real effort to provide a broad range of children's books at competitive prices, featuring all the main authors and illustrators, particularly from the 1950's onwards. Additionally all the classic annuals such as The Beano, Dandy etc are present, as well as many titles from the fabulous Asterix and Ladybird series. Modern illustrators such as Anthony Browne, Sir Quentin Blake, Korky Paul, Tony Ross etc also feature strongly. I have a particular interest in Enid Blyton and Eagle/Dan Dare, and make no apology for the amount of books featuring both.
We've developed the website ourselves so please bear with us if there are any teething problems. Please feel free to provide any feedback regarding any aspect of the website and content, as well as any wants you have that you couldn't find on the website.
Finally, many thanks for reading this blog through to the end and I genuinely hope you get some enjoyment from the website. Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter to receive the 10% discount.
www.humfordmillbooks.com.
