A much-loved secondhand book stall in Tavistock Pannier Market has closed – but not forever.
Lee and Madeleine Furneaux, who run Lee Furneaux Books, have decided to take a break after 36 years in the market (on and off) and decades of selling and working as teachers previously.
In continuing to sell books in person, they have defied the seemingly unstoppable trend towards selling online. Having previously ran their market stall during the day and sold online from home in the evening, they took the decision to stop online and concentrate on the market - also giving them more time to bring up their three sons.
Although giving up online sales was hard economically, they admit the decision was partly an emotional one. Their passion for books and vinyl records leads to a preference for meeting and talking to customers face-to-face – sharing this passion.
This might not have resulted in larger volumes of books and music CDs sold, but has built an increasing loyalty with holidaymakers and other visitors returning annually to see what new stock of rare or out-of-print books the two bookworms offer.
The pair delayed their closure to say farewell their summer visitor customers and while they tried (and failed) to find a replacement bookseller to take over on the stall. Their final day was marked with the presentation of a flowers and a specially-made cake by another stallholder in the shape of three books with tributes to Lee’s favourite writer Dylan Thomas and singer songwriter Bob Dylan iced on them.
Lee said: “It’s been a difficult decision to shut down, but we have both been working many years, including 36 associated with the pannier market. We have not fully retired yet and after a rest we will be back, probably a Saturday a month seems most likely perhaps in the pannier market or on Bedford Square. This will be us going full circle after all these years, going back to part-time.
“We need more time to spend with family and enjoy walking our dog. We’ll inevitably collect more books as we sell less, so we have to somehow reduce our collection. “
The couple have had some special guests – authors with West Devon links who have signed copies of their books on the stall, including Edward Marston, Michael Jecks, Lillian Harry (Tavistock novelist), Johnny Main (a commentator the horror genre and on literature) and Yan Martell (Life of Pi).
“Tavistock Pannier Market is a special place because of the quality of the products being sold and the passion the traders have for their crafts and skills. It’s a passion we have for our books and that’s part of the reason we gave up online selling years ago. It might not have been the most economically sensible decision, but we love meeting fellow book lovers and talking about books and help them find out-of-print books.”
Joker Lee had a musical trick to warn persistent customers he was due to close – he played a CD of yodeller Mary Schneider, which tended to get the message across.
