Image Credits: Jessie Hilker
It was a sunny day on Saturday, Aug. 22 when Jessie Hilker and her father, Jeffrey, opened their new bookstore, “Leaves and Lore,” located on 118 N. High St. The line was six hours long and that following day, the store had to close early because they ran clean out of books. According to VISTA Today, the store had 600 orders on their first day and an estimated 1500 people visited.
“I’m a pretty optimistic person and I knew we would do well,” Jeffrey, 64, told VISTA Today. “I just didn’t think it’d be like this.”
Jessie Hilker, 29, “Totally did not expect such a grand opening,” she tells The Quad. “I’m still in kind of in shock. The line was around the block for hours… Absolutely bonkers! Opening day was everything I could have dreamed of and it’s all because of the community who came out and showed up to support. They [were] all so sweet and loved everything about the store, which was beyond rewarding to hear.”
The renaissance inspired store has books from floor to ceiling on wooden bookshelves. Upon walking into the store, you are greeted with a chandelier decorated with vines and leaves not unlike wisteria. Ornate maroon chairs and rugs line the shelves, which are decorated with fantastical paraphernalia that truly makes you feel like home. The bookstore mainly sells books in fantasy subgenres, from high fantasy to romantasy — a romance and fantasy hybrid genre — to dark romance, but also boosts books in other genres. Other than books, the store sells coffees, sweet treats, “book bouquets” and candles with flavors including “Ancient Library” and “Egyptian Amber.” The mantra of the store on the website is: “For those who believe in magic between the pages.”
Jessie and Jeffrey travelled through the United Kingdom looking for inspiration. “We visited places like Edinburgh, Scotland and York, England,” she said, “to gain inspiration for how the shop looks. Our goal was to make it feel like you’ve stepped into a fantasy book!”
“I did not anticipate how large my orders would be and how often they are,” Jessie tells us. “Having to close early the second day of being open to inventory and [orders] threw me off a bit… My job truly never ends, but I love every second of it!”
Jessie has wanted to embark on this father-daughter adventure for a long time. “I’ve loved reading my whole life,” she recalls, “and it’s been a dream of mine to open a business with my dad, so about five years ago we decided to try opening a bookstore. Since then we had been looking and trying to find the perfect building in West Chester to set up shop.”
To Jessie, running a business with her father is, “Truly a dream come true! We always knew we would do something together, so to have it be something that others are enjoying as much as we are, makes it all so special and worth it.”
The store is in the former location of Nightingale Materials, an art store that closed earlier this year.
The store plans to have many events in the future, including a midnight release event for the new book in the popular series by Sarah J. Maas, “A Court of Thorns and Roses.” For $55, goers will receive a copy of the new book in a handcrafted book bouquet. The event is on Oct. 26 from 10:30 PM to 12:30 AM.
The store plans on hosting book clubs in the future and holding events with local authors. Jessie Hilker hopes to work with author Rachel Gillig, who writes romantasy.
The store is closed on Mondays and open from 10 AM to 5 PM Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10 AM to 6 PM on Fridays, 9 AM to 6 PM on Saturdays, and 10 AM to 4 PM on Sundays.
Emily Rutz is an English Major and Minors in Professional and Technical Writing and Creative Writing. ER1034711@wcupa.edu.