Cork woman: Opening independent book store was dream come true

LEAF and Bower, the new independent bookstore in Ballincollig, is a reader’s paradise.

Owner Fiona Farrell is your typical bibliophile, bubbling with enthusiasm for the written word and, you know – life in general.

The reach of the small shop, more like a warm embrace, is wide. It’s a great spot for children and young readers, with a good section of the shop devoted to budding book lovers. But there is something else about the space that feels special – something intangible.

Before I announce myself to Fiona, I take a browse around, and I observe. I’m all tucked in straight away, as snug as a little reading bug.

There’s a little bit of everything: a smattering of classics; new fiction from Ireland and abroad; local literary journals; eclectic non-fiction.

I take a seat at a small but inviting seating area in the corner and listen as Fiona advises a man looking for something for his two children. He’s navigating his son’s over-indulgence in Dog Man.

“It’s great he’s enjoying them,” says Fiona, “but they go through them so quickly which is why it’s good to encourage them to read something else as well.

Big print is good because it isn’t off-putting so this might work.

Fiona offers him an option as they both joke about their preference for big print too.

Her pure joy and enthusiasm is catching.

Alongside books, her shop sells little gift options, all aligning with a certain philosophy. There are local crafts; funny socks; beautiful notebooks and trinkets.

Posters of local community events adorn the walls. For a small space, you could easily spend a morning here. If I were living nearby, this would be my spot, my happy place.

I’m waiting for longer than I expect to catch Fiona’s attention to ask her a few questions. There’s a steady flow through the door. It’s a Wednesday. The brightness of the shop contrasts the grey outside.

Every conversation is as genuine, humorous, and heartfelt as the last.

The next shopper is looking for Italian writing. Fiona flits between classic Italian poetry and modern Italian fiction.

“You can almost feel the sun on your face reading this one,” she tells her customer, in reference to Call Me By My Name, by Luca Guadagnino.

“Any architecture or design?”

“I’m checking for what’s in demand first,” she answers, “as people are asking for things, I will get more of that in. I have a few art books, but more modern. This one is about buildings that were never made.”

The customer is impressed, and they chat a bit about the niceness of having some good coffee table books. Fiona shares her love of Caravaggio. I sit wondering how she finds the time to know so much.

“I’ve been working in bookselling for 18 years,” she explains when we catch a minute.

“I started in college part time. Eventually, I decided to take a career break and around the same time, I got diagnosed with breast cancer. Once I had recovered the experience gave me that push to do it for myself.”

Fiona is open since the end of September last year and is overwhelmed by the kindness of the Ballincollig public.

“I know most of my customers by name. They will pop in for a chat, to see how I’m getting on. People worry that I don’t get a break, so they often drop in a coffee or a cake. Honestly, I have made so many friends. People are delighted to have an independent bookshop to support.”

People want something different; she explains. They have had enough of big shops and sites like Amazon. They are responding to Fiona’s love of community.

I opened this shop to give something back. 

“I hold author events and want to support local literature. I love people just coming in to browse and for a chat. Ballincollig is a massive village really. I want Leaf and Bower to be a cultural and social hub. That is my vision for it, my dream.”

Fiona is living in nearby Dripsey, so Ballincollig is where she socialises herself.

“I think every town should have an independent bookshop, so I’m thrilled to do that here. It’s so lovely. I regularly have people in, and I will recommend a book to one person, and then somebody at the other side of the shop will say they loved it too. In no time we are chatting away across the shop.

I’m not sure you get that in other places; people who have never met before connecting like that.

Fiona recognises that places like hers can be a lifeline for some.

“I get mums with babies coming in. I hear them swapping childcare tips, meeting, and making friends. Seventy per cent of my clientele is female, I’d say. I get a lot of teenagers too. They come in to spend their money on books. I had a group of about eight teenagers come in the other day. Within five minutes they were on the floor passing around these beautifully covered classics I stock. They were gorgeous.”

Fiona says she spent a lot of the opening weeks in tears.

“It was very emotional for me, and it still is. The people that come in that I know quite well are very invested in the shop. It’s wonderful because it is about building community. I believe in that – the human connection. You can’t get that in Amazon, or a big chain.”

Indeed, Fiona handpicks leftovers from the bigger chains to stock her hand-crafted shelves.

“There is a contact I have in the UK, and I go over twice a year to get remainder books and returns. They are in perfect condition, but I save them from being pulped.”

With nearly 20 years experience, she has little difficulty finding the titles she wants.

Fiona is thrilled with her new shop and her decision to strike out on her own, having managed bookshops and gained experience in every aspect of the industry.

“Someday never comes a lot of the time. I didn’t want to talk about this when I was 90. Lots of people have told me that this is their dream too, to open a bookshop if they win the lotto. Well, I didn’t win the lotto but here I am. 

What’s the worst that can happen? I might lose my pride…

She is also excited that Cork is such a literary hub.

“There is so much happening. Claire and Rebecca, from podcast Another Chapter, are just one example. They deserve to be better known. I wanted the bookshop to be running a lot of events, but I wasn’t expecting so many people on the literary scene to be so lovely and so open to it. Maybe I expected a little bit of snobbery. There is none of it, none of it at all.”

There is nothing but support and goodwill, it seems.

“Somebody coming to order a book from me is a vote of confidence. That they make that effort, it’s lovely and it means a lot. The vibe here is exactly what I dreamed. Other small business owners have made me feel so welcome too. Joanne from the chipper is incredible. She is a huge reader but also so emotionally supportive.”