History
The Umina Beach Book nook has been around for a long time, under many different guises.
It began as a store for magazine and newspaper readers but then in 2005 two young mums (and sisters) Mandy and Tracey were looking for a business to run and decided to buy the bookshop. They transformed it into a fully stocked bookshop, the BOOK BAZAAR.
(Kate note: I remember coming in with my son the day we moved to Umina and being thrilled that we had our very own local bookshop.”)
Mandi Mcintosh told me this:
I bought the store quite impulsively while I was on maternity leave from my job as a part-time English and History teacher and there was so much to learn! I had worked customer service, but never in a bookstore and all the processes, ordering and relations with publishers were unfamiliar. Once I found my feet I loved adding new books to the store and sharing books I had loved with customers.
Author events and book club sessions helped forge great connections and I loved my time of stewardship of the store.
15 years is a long time and towards the end I realised it was time to make a change – the first Covid lockdowns, a now 16 year old and juggling teaching with the store were telling me to simplify and I was incredibly lucky that when I went to sell, a staff member loved it as much as I did and wanted to run with it.
Bookshop customers are the best!
One noteable event was in 2016, when Jimmy Barnes came to the store to sign his new book and the queues rand down the street.
After Mandi the shop was run by a former member of the staff for a short period of time.
A few snaps from the stores past.
Kate Toon (me) took over the shop in 2024. Kate is an entrepreneur, who has published five books, speaks around the world on digital marketing, presents 3 podcasts and runs regular conferences and events.
I must admit I bought the shop on a slight whim, with romantic ideas about reading books and drinking coffee! It’s been a huge amount of work since then.
Since buying the store in April 2024, I’ve
1. Rebranded the store Umina Beach Book Nook, creating signage a website and more.
2. Build a solid social following and Facebook community.
3. Created events such as Novels and Nibbles and mapped out more events such as author chats and book launches
4. Revamped the self published and local author section of the shop.
5. Completely rennovated including new lights, floors, shelving, painting and more.
6. Created a popular online store and new Cosy Book club.
7. Revamped the loyalty program to make it fairer and more accessible.
8. Found amazing new team members!
We have many more plans so please stay tooned.
