Inklings Book Shoppe is closing one chapter and opening another. The bookstore, which specializes in used and antiquarian books, is moving to downtown Lakeland.
Owners Finley and Carmen Walker hope to move out of the store’s current location at 2120 S. Combee Road by the end of December and open the new store at 243 N. Florida Ave. on Jan. 2. A new sign is already installed at the corner near Bay Street and hand-written messages adorn the windows of the downtown storefront.
In preparation for the transition, Inklings is having a moving sale from Dec. 19-30, with everything marked at least 50% off.
“We have wanted to move the store downtown ever since purchasing it in 2020, and we are so excited that this dream is finally becoming a reality. We’re thrilled about the location being right on Florida Avenue and close to our friend and fellow bookseller at Pressed Books and Coffee. Downtown Lakeland has so much personality and warmth; we believe that every city needs an independent bookstore full of treasures at its heart,” said Carmen Walker.
“We believe that every city needs an independent bookstore full of treasures at its heart.”
While the new location will be a few blocks away from Pressed Books & Coffee — another independent bookstore — what sets Inklings apart is it specializes in used books. Both bookstores have previously participated in the Lakeland Book Crawl.
“Inklings differs in that most of our inventory is used, including antiques, out-of-print, and hard-to-find books. We offer all genres, as well as new inventory, toys, games and puzzles,” Carmen said.
The married couple call themselves book lovers and are fascinated by the antique books that come through their store.
“We love everything about books. … The antiquarian market is about posterity and the preservation of history, but it is also about the human drive for connection — a connection to our past and reaching out to our future. When our minds touch the words of an old book, the wisdom and voices of the past speak to us and bring us into the greater story of humanity. We believe, among many things, that antique books teach us that life is good and life goes on,” said Finley Walker.
Learning to sell online thanks to COVID-19
The store’s inventory is about 70% used books and 10% antiques and consignments. According to Finley, last year the store sold or traded 45,000 books. He said books in the young adult fantasy, vintage sci-fi, and classical literature genres remain in high demand.
Inklings used to be called Book Bazaar, which opened in 1975. The Walkers purchased the store from its previous owners, Bob and Sharon Daley, in 2020.
“We had been wanting to start our own business … so when we saw this opportunity where the Daleys were looking to retire, we jumped. We were optimistic it would continue to be a successful business, as long as some global catastrophe or pandemic didn’t come around. Irony! But we’ve survived,” Finley said.
At the time, Finley had just finished his doctoral degree in education and organizational leadership and found it difficult to find employment in that sector. The couple survived the pandemic by beginning to sell books online.
“After beginning our journey in January 2020, we had to quickly think outside the box when we were forced to close our store for a month due to Covid. We started selling books online, learning which books sell best online versus in-store,” Finley said.
“Being located on Combee Road has certainly had its challenges, seeing as it’s more of an industrial district. The previous owners had never advertised, so most of our customer base had been coming to the store for decades. We have especially focused on bringing in new customers and exposing our store to the younger generation,” Carmen said.
Hoping for more foot traffic
They learned through trial and error what it would take to own a bookstore, competing against online giants in the industry such as Amazon. They said the job requires a “love of books, some business sense, and a lot of creativity.”
“We have expanded our reach by participating in markets, conventions, and festivals. We’ve traveled to St. Petersburg two years in a row to participate in the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair and are looking to travel to North Carolina in 2024 for another large book fair,” Finley said.
The Walkers believe using social media to advertise has helped. The store has profiles on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok where they highlight books they believe customers will be interested in.
“Social media is a bit of a double-edged sword, but it does appear to be necessary in the 21st century for businesses. It has allowed us to expose our books to many more people, both local and not, and to connect with others who love books,” Finley said.
The couple has also added a Friday story-time hour, catering to young children.
“We have been having so much fun offering story time. We are a family with three young kids who love story times … We love promoting literacy and a love of books with kids,” Carmen said, adding that each week features a new theme with corresponding books and songs.
With a new location in the center of town, the Walkers hope more people will stumble upon their store. The new store is between Thom Downs Antiques and Trinity Presbyterian Church.
“We’re hoping that the new location will bring more foot traffic, publicity, and contribute to the overall charm of beautiful, downtown Lakeland. We still have new customers on a weekly basis that have lived in Lakeland their entire lives and never heard of us,” Carmen said.
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