Imagine living in a town with no place where your kids can see, smell, feel, and pick out books, no place that supports that process of falling in love with reading. I started imagining that town over ten years ago when our Borders closed its doors, and it wasn’t somewhere I wanted to raise my kids.
Santa Fe, where I live,  is very fortunate to have many amazing independent book stores. But I was imagining not having an extensive space just for kids, a place that they could walk into and know: “This is just for me.” Initially, it felt like the disappearance of Borders left a hole, but it soon became clear it was the perfect time to create that space for the kids and families of my town. There was a rippling of disenchantment with Amazon and a resurgence of love and support for small, independent book stores. I talked to consultants and people in the industry, and there was a consensus that yes, it could be done. When the lovely little house on Montezuma Street, with big trees, a white picket fence, and a supportive landlord, became available and all else seemed to fall into place, there was no denying that Bee Hive was meant to be.
More and more I’ve felt the urge to chronicle this crazy journey of running an independent book store in the middle of the wild west, while raising two awesome kids, and dealing with everything else that is part of being entrenched in the human condition.
And so, here it is…the beautiful, the challenging, the ridiculous, and everything in between. Maybe something here will resonate with you. I hope so.
xox,
christian