Working with us, you’ll have a unique and special sense of place – a competitive advantage when customers will say “Wow! What a great bookstore!
Each community is unique and deserves a special character for each independent bookstore design. When you work with us, you can expect a bookstore design with all of these elements carefully considered:
- Merchandise selection, including gift items
- Interior walls and configuration for office and receiving areas
- Layout of fixtures and furniture
- Specifications for manufactured and custom fixtures
- Traffic flow and focal areas
- Cash wrap configuration, technology needs
- Unique children’s area
- Fixtures for merchandise displays
- Event staging and seating areas
- Food and beverage service
- Lighting design with suggested fixtures
- Paint colors, flooring specifications, finishes for counters and casework
Donna and Liz work together with these goals: maximize the most prime selling areas in your space, configure counters that will help you spotlight customer service, and offer the kind of bookstore experience that inspires discovery and wonder.
- Re-imagine existing bookstore space
- Expand into additional space
- Move to a new space
- Create a new bookstore in an historic property
- Transform a plain ‘vanilla box’ into a bookstore with character
- Update lighting for improved ambiance and energy efficiency
- Review photos and layout to provide fresh ideas
Design fees begin at $4/sq. ft. and are based on the condition of your space and the scope of work.
Tell us about your project and we’re happy to submit a fixed-fee design proposal.
"The workshop was an incredible experience and definitely gave me the knowledge and tools to make my store more than just a dream."
- Sandy Loomis
"Many thanks again for conducting such an informative and enjoyable workshop. It was exactly what I was looking for and clearly a lot of thought and care went into it."
- Melissa Crispin
"I know we wouldn't be this far along without the Paz & Associates help, training, and Guide. This and networking with fellow Paz Graduates have been immensely worth the investment."
- Jay Jackson, Absolutely Fiction Books
"I am so very happy I found you ... without you
the store would just be a dream."
- Melissa DeMotte, The Well-Read Moose
"I simply cannot end this day without sending you a brief note of thanks for the fantastic experience that I had this week at our workshop / boot camp.
I learned so much and had a great time in the process. You provide all of us with such a wealth of information and practical tools."
- Margi Watters
"You have been 100% fabulous and are helping me make this exhilarating, exciting, and sometimes terrifying trip very doable. And I can pretend I have complete confidence in all my dealings because I can get all the answers from Paz & Associates when I don't know something :)"
- Laurie Donelson Gillman, East City Bookshop
"[the training] was a life changer ... I would not be doing this if I hadn't gone to the workshop. It really taught me what I needed to know.
It makes you understand and appreciate just how
many moving parts there are in a business like this."
- Erika VanDam, RoscoeBooks
"The Guide exceeded my expectations! The mentor from SCORE was extremely impressed with the information I am able to bring to our meetings. I am incredibly impressed with your training materials. I can only imagine what kind of valuable information I could glean from you in person."
- Lindsay Persohn, Prospective Bookseller
"Your Guide has been an invaluable resource in my planning and decision making process and quite honestly, I couldn't imagine starting down this part without it. The Guide contains a wealth of information."
- Dan Byers, Prospective Bookseller
"I honestly don't know how I would have pulled this off without your help."
- Sally Bradshaw, Midtown Reader
"Wow, the Owning a Bookstore Guide is fabulous! I'm impressed at its weight and thoroughness. My two partners and I thought we'd rotate it, but no way. I need two more!"
- Sandy Koropp, Prairie Path Books
"Once again I want to thank you guys a million times for the best training. I enjoyed myself and learned so much. I am amazed at how much I have used from just that one week from class..."
- VaLinda Miller, The Booksmith
"Whenever anyone asks me for advice about opening a bookstore, I tell them the best thing I ever did was take your class. I knew I loved books, but here the realization that I was taking on a business truly became a reality. Not only did I learn so much from your workshop, I use all of your invaluable resources to this day." - Rita Maggio, BookTowne
"The workshop was an incredible experience and definitely gave me the knowledge and tools to make my store more than just a dream."
- Sandy Loomis
"Many thanks again for conducting such an informative and enjoyable workshop. It was exactly what I was looking for and clearly a lot of thought and care went into it."
- Melissa Crispin
"I know we wouldn't be this far along without the Paz & Associates help, training, and Guide. This and networking with fellow Paz Graduates have been immensely worth the investment."
- Jay Jackson, Absolutely Fiction Books
"I am so very happy I found you ... without you
the store would just be a dream."
- Melissa DeMotte, The Well-Read Moose
"I simply cannot end this day without sending you a brief note of thanks for the fantastic experience that I had this week at our workshop / boot camp.
I learned so much and had a great time in the process. You provide all of us with such a wealth of information and practical tools."
- Margi Watters
"You have been 100% fabulous and are helping me make this exhilarating, exciting, and sometimes terrifying trip very doable. And I can pretend I have complete confidence in all my dealings because I can get all the answers from Paz & Associates when I don't know something :)"
- Laurie Donelson Gillman, East City Bookshop
"[the training] was a life changer ... I would not be doing this if I hadn't gone to the workshop. It really taught me what I needed to know.
It makes you understand and appreciate just how
many moving parts there are in a business like this."
- Erika VanDam, RoscoeBooks
"The Guide exceeded my expectations! The mentor from SCORE was extremely impressed with the information I am able to bring to our meetings. I am incredibly impressed with your training materials. I can only imagine what kind of valuable information I could glean from you in person."
- Lindsay Persohn, Prospective Bookseller
"Your Guide has been an invaluable resource in my planning and decision making process and quite honestly, I couldn't imagine starting down this part without it. The Guide contains a wealth of information."
- Dan Byers, Prospective Bookseller
"I honestly don't know how I would have pulled this off without your help."
- Sally Bradshaw, Midtown Reader
"Wow, the Owning a Bookstore Guide is fabulous! I'm impressed at its weight and thoroughness. My two partners and I thought we'd rotate it, but no way. I need two more!"
- Sandy Koropp, Prairie Path Books
"Once again I want to thank you guys a million times for the best training. I enjoyed myself and learned so much. I am amazed at how much I have used from just that one week from class..."
- VaLinda Miller, The Booksmith
"Whenever anyone asks me for advice about opening a bookstore, I tell them the best thing I ever did was take your class. I knew I loved books, but here the realization that I was taking on a business truly became a reality. Not only did I learn so much from your workshop, I use all of your invaluable resources to this day." - Rita Maggio, BookTowne