When not performing her role as book director for Buxton International Festival, Vicky Dawson is likely to be found working at one of Derbyshire’s most iconic bookshops. Here, she speaks with general manager Dave Booker as Scarthin celebrates a significant milestone
What is it that has made Scarthin Books defy the vagaries of the British high street and continue to be a destination for book lovers across five decades?
In a nutshell I would say it's down to a number of factors that combine (or align) to allow us to offer a 'compleat (sic) bookshop experience'.
By this I mean that it's more than just popping into a shop to buy something. Offering both new and second hand books plus a vegan/vegetarian cafe and having twelve (thirteen?) rooms over three floors means that visitors are able to lose themselves, often for hours on end.
Combine that with a beautiful setting overlooking Cromford's historic Mill Pond and a village with a number of thriving independent shops, galleries and cafes and then, most importantly of all, a team of the most brilliant, enthusiastic, diverse and knowledgeable group of friends, then we have a winning formula that is always going to attract the loveliest of people.
If a UFO were to land in Derbyshire and its alien occupants were to find Scarthin Books, what do you think they would be most surprised to find?
We often talk of having created our own, alternate reality here, so we may not be typical of the rest of the planet!
Or maybe they would be surprised that an out-of-town independent bookshop in the middle of Derbyshire should hold such a range of stock on every conceivable subject, from literature in translation to Aliens in Underpants.
We've had a number of taglines over the years, the original being 'a bookshop for the majority of minorities' - although I'm not sure we were considering aliens when this was drawn up - to the more recent 'a homely refuge and social hub' which sums us up nicely. And, without doubt, the Gorgeous Green soup in the cafe.
Your own association with the bookshop is of 18 years standing. What were your own expectations on joining the business?
I came out of teaching to work from home about 20 years ago, when my daughter was young. Ater a couple of years I decided to look for a Saturday job and happened upon Scarthin Books.
My early days were spent learning the trade from some of Scarthin's great characters, including the proprietor, Dave Mitchell, plus Pat, Nikki, Ivan, Wendy, Guy, Pam, Jenny, John and others; names that will be familiar with long-standing visitors to the shop.
I didn't expect the bookshop to change my life or that after a couple of years I would take over as manager when Dave took a step back to work on his writing and other projects.
Most importantly of all, I didn't expect to meet my future wife, Eve (assistant manager), who works harder than anyone I have ever met and who is responsible for the brilliant range of new books and gifts that we stock.
She knows the location of every book in the shop and probably knows how many copies have been sold in any given period!
One of the joys of an independent bookshop is the relationship with customers. One poignancy of Scarthin is that obituaries of favourite customers can be found in odd corners throughout the shop. What makes Scarthin Books such a special, nurturing space?
We have a team in the bookshop and cafe that all pull together in the same direction and work together as one big family.
Of course, one key thing that unites us all is our love of books and even those of us that are introverted by nature, or those of us that are neurodiverse, get passionate and animated when given the opportunity to discuss books. I think the same goes for our customers, which over time inevitably leads to some great friendships.
Not everyone wants to engage in conversation, or at least not every time, and the bookshop can be a safe haven and refuge, where you could remain undisturbed all day, should you wish.
We care more that you enjoy the experience of visiting the shop than how much you may or may not spend because if you've enjoyed it, you'll be back again and again.
Scarthin owner David Mitchell is such a colourful character and virtually lives ‘above the shop’. Does being one of the ‘Two Davids’ of Scarthin lead to confusion?
Although he may not appreciate the description, he is most certainly an eccentric! Dave opened the bookshop in 1974 and it originally occupied just the ground floor, with the rest of the building being the family home.
By the mid-nineties, Dave and his family were living behind the shop and all three floors were given over to books and the cafe.
On the surface, very little would appear different today than it did back then (although much has changed behind the scenes!), with Dave's character very much a part of the fabric of the shop.
First time visitors often comment that it is like stepping back in time to the seventies, or that it's like something from Harry Potter. We have no intention of losing the 'Dave' from the bookshop experience - he wouldn't let us anyway!
As for confusion, in the early days of 'Two Davids', Mr Mitchell graciously opted to become 'Dave' -Good David/Bad David was wearing thin!
What do we have planned to celebrate the semi-centenary?
We'll be hosting all sorts of events throughout August, so keep an eye out on our social media sites or look for posters throughout the shop.
We'll also have specially designed 'Semicentennial' merchandise for sale and we'll be offering £2 vouchers for every £20 spent in the shop.
Regrettably for us, Beano the cat is by far the best-loved staff member of Scarthin Books. Describe Beano’s customer service style.
Unlike the rest of the team, who have been encouraged to put the customer experience front and centre, Beano has been given free rein to just be Beano, so he is usually as rude (or indifferent) as he likes. And visitors still love him.
The shop has changed a lot in 50 years, what is your vision and how do you think it will celebrate its Centenary in 2074?
Having said we appear to have changed very little, regular visitors will have noticed a fair few changes.
We have expanded several areas of interest where individual members of the team hold a passion, and this includes art and photography; science; philosophy; literary fiction; fiction in translation; current affairs; young adult, to name just a small selection.
We also have large, specialised collections of used books which may, in previous years, have been listed online and stored off site (improv jazz; Left Book Club editions; photography monographs; 1950s pop-up books and more), but I much prefer to have all our best books in the shop for customers to browse, except very expensive or very specialised titles.
As for the future, I've no doubt the bookshop will still be going strong in 2074 but I won't be able to lift as many boxes.
Who has been the shops most famous customer? And were you there or were you on day off?
We have many writers, artists, actors, politicians and others who visit the shop but one that came on my day off that I still feel gutted to have missed, probably 15 years ago now, was David Hockney, who had tea and cake in our cafe.
The visitor that generated the most amount of excitement from a shop full of customers one Saturday lunchtime was Jarvis Cocker. He oozed rock star swagger yet was incredibly charming. I'm still waiting for David Sylvian or Joanna Newsom to pop in.
