Welcome back to our Bookseller Spotlight feature! We now meet Bethany Haswell, who tells us all about Stomping Grounds, a great book store in Geneva, New York. Biblio loves to support independent booksellers…it’s what we are all about!
Stomping Grounds is a unique shop near the Finger Lakes, in Geneva, NY. They offer a fun blend of modern and vintage art, books and gifts, as well as custom printing, matting and framing services. Their collection of antique books includes first editions, decorative bindings, finely illustrated books, and affordable classics, and their new books are devoted to New York state authors and themes.
The Stomping Grounds Storefront
What makes your bookshop special?
Like most quality used bookstores, Stomping Grounds offers scholarly, unusual, rare, and finely bound antiquarian books. A special distinction of Stomping Grounds is that we also offer giclee printing, matting and framing services. This allows us to source interesting old graphics from our book and paper archive to create high quality reproductions.
How did you get started selling books?
A chance conversation with the owner of an antiquarian bookstore led to a job offer. That was in 1995.
What do you find most rewarding about your job?
Helping rescue rare books and documents that might otherwise end up in a landfill, and finding homes for these items with people who will cherish them.
What is most challenging?
Convincing the world that books, even old ones, remain relevant and important in a modern world.
Stomping Grounds, Geneva, NY
What is your clientele like?
Because, in addition to used and rare books, we also offer art, printing services, matting and framing services, and gifts, our clientele is quite diverse.
Have you had any celebrities visit your store?
No movie-stars have wandered in, but we’ve had some phone orders from famous tv personalities and best-selling authors.
What do you think of e-books?
We don’t.
Do you have a piece of book repair/preservation advice?
If you are considering duct tape, reconsider. Please.
Do you have a bookstore cat, or other mascot?
Our three year old daughter, Lillian, “works” here. She even has her own office.
What is your biggest challenge as an indie bookseller?
We’ve had many challenges over the years – leaks, fires, bad economies, changes in the bookselling marketplace – to name a few. That being said, no challenge is too great to keep us away from buying and selling beautiful old books.
Stacks at Stomping Ground
Do you attend any book shows?
Not currently, though we would recommend the Rochester, NY Antiquarian Book Fair and the Cooperstown, NY Book Fair as quality annual shows in our region.
Any upcoming in-store/online events/sales/etc?
Stomping Grounds hosts quarterly open houses for authors, artists and craftspeople of New York’s Finger Lakes Region. Our next open house is June 25th.
Stomping Grounds Official Website: http://www.stompinggrounds.com/
Stomping Grounds on Biblio: https://www.biblio.com/bookstore/kavanagh-books-geneva
Telephone: (315) 220-0922
Stomping Grounds – Art , Books, Gifts
492 Exchange Street
Geneva, NY 14456
Hours: 10 am – 6 pm Monday through Saturday
Public want cheap access to books. Your stance is old fashioned probably like the owner.Want to go out of business then you will for sure even allowing for this FREE advertising which i guess you intended to benefit from anyway?!
I have been selling books for 30 yrs. and enjoy it very much . It is very rough business today I had a book store and sold paper backs and vintage books and i also do franing and redo old photos and pictures it is a very interesting business
I very much enjoyed reading about your wonderful independent bookstore, it sounds delightful.
I am planning a trip to NY later this year or early next, (my first to NY) and look forward to visiting your shop. I am interested in finding out more more about your collection of treasures.
There is no comparison between holding and reading a beautiful old book and feeling the history therein, or in holding a hard e-tablet and being blinded by the glare of it’s harsh cold light.
Old books every time ~ quality not quantity.
Warm wishes for your continuing success.
Hanna Rosenthal
warmest regards~ Hanna Rosenthal
My problem is that there’s never been an Indie near me. There used to be a Walden’s in one of our malls, that cleosd. There’s a Barnes and Noble at our other mall and near the first mall. That’s all I have.I would LOVE to be able to order more books online, especially considering how poorly stocked the YA section is at my chain bookstores. But I’m 15, I don’t have a credit card, and I can’t bug my mom EVERY time I want a book. I do what I can to buy online, but I can never find Visa GCs to but at indies online.In a way, you could say I’m already suffering from the lack of an indie. But I can’t even tell because I’ve only ever had brief visits in them.