While most high school seniors were preparing for graduation, 18-year-old Sydney-Anne Graves was opening Monarch Books on top of keeping up with school and sports.
Graves was working at the tea house across the street when the previous bookstore closed, and her boss at the time suggested it might be a good fit for Graves’ family. While her parents weren’t interested, Graves took a tour of the space and ultimately decided to give it a shot despite the clutter.
“I was kind of nervous because I’m on the younger side, but I had some money saved,” Graves said. “I was like, you know what, if I lose all my money, it’s whatever. But I’ve had a lot of fun doing it.”
“I’ve enjoyed meeting all the new people and learning about owning a business,” Graves said. “It’s been awesome. It was a little bit of a shock at first (when it) got thrown on me.”
Graves has also been working as a model in Portland for the past year, so her mom takes over the store on those days, but most of the time she spends her days manning the desk.
Despite not advertising a lot initially, Graves said business has been busy thanks to word of mouth within the community, her sisters helping put up posters, and posts on Facebook and Instagram.
“I still have stuff I want to finish in here; I want to get a little sitting room back there and start planning for events,” Graves said, gesturing to the back of the shop. “I haven’t even got business cards yet.”
Graves said she also wants to install a coffee bar in the next year and replace older shelves, and she plans to start modeling in Los Angeles, which will likely mean hiring employees since she wants to hold on to the bookstore and hopefully keep it in the family versus selling anytime soon.
In addition to other updates, Graves plans to remodel the kids’ section of the store with shelves built to look like a castle, courtesy of her dad. While she’s still on the hunt for more furniture for the shop, Graves wants to start hosting events in the near future.
“I’ve had some different homeschooling groups come in,” said Graves, who was homeschooled herself. “(I) want to start doing events here when I get the back room seated, maybe Bible studies, or even doing a book club back there.”
In terms of interior decorating, Graves is going for a boho vibe with greens and oranges and lots of plants.
“There’s lots of natural lighting here, which I love,” Graves said. “I love the windows.”
The whole family loves reading and creativity; Graves is a big fan of fantasy, among other things, and is currently working her way through Sara J. Maas’ bibliography and other popular fantasy series.
Updates and info can be found at the Monarch Books Facebook page, and Instagram @monarchbookstore.
