Fifteen-year-old Halley Vincent has owned Seven Stories, a bookstore in downtown Shawnee, for nearly two years, but her passion for bringing books to the community began earlier.
When Vincent was 8, she founded Paws Up KC, an organization that later raises and donates money to animal shelters. She started by selling baked goods and then gave away used books in exchange for donations on her “bookmobile.”
A few years later, Vincent – a sophomore at Shawnee Mission North High School – decided she wanted to try selling books herself. Her mother was setting up an art studio at the time, and it had a little more space – 1,000 square feet, to be exact. Seven Stories was born.
The store is now in a slightly larger space, about 400 square feet, at 11109 Johnson Drive. “There was a ledge above one of the doors that happened to fit seven or eight books,” Vincent said. “And I still maintain that ‘Seven Stories’ sounds better than ‘Eight Stories.'”
Vincent co-owns the store with her mother. Because it’s small, there’s always something new: Vincent sells about a third of her stock every week and replaces it with other items.
The limited space also means she can host special, themed replenishment events. Over the next three weeks, Seven Stories will host a “book fair” showcasing exclusively Asian American, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander authors.
Vincent is planning to move her shop again soon. She recently learned that the building she was renting was for sale and major construction work was planned.
“I had planned to stay in this field for a lot longer, hopefully until I graduated from high school. Then I could get a business loan and hopefully move my projects forward,” Vincent says.
Vincent has now started a GoFundMe campaign to cover moving costs. She is currently about halfway to her goal of $26,700 to cover the cost of rent, money for more bookshelves, electricity and infrastructure improvements, as well as more inventory and new signage.
- Halley VincentOwner, Seven Stories
