Wildwood Bookery, offering romance and fantasy books along with items made by local artists, and Wildwood Flower Tattoo have opened at 400 Ann St. in Frankfort, Ky. The State Journal reported that the bookstore is owned by sisters-in-law Delphia Lamb, who handles the books side of the business, and Andrea Wiseman, who focuses on the tattoo side and also has locations in Richmond and Lexington.
"I have loved tattoos since I was very, very young," said Wiseman. "I've been tattooing since 2012.... She's (Delphia) the expert on books. I don't know anything about it, so it's not something I would have ever done by myself."
Lamb said this is a new experience for her: "I've always been an avid reader for my entire life. I prefer romance and fantasy. I had thoughts that it'd be so great to have my own shop. Once I bounced the idea around with Andrea, it happened pretty quickly."
Noting that she enjoys giving readers book recommendations, Lamb said, "I've had wonderful conversations with people, and they've given me recommendations to put on my own to-be-read lists. I don't want people to just buy the books. I enjoy being able to connect."
The co-owners aim to maintain strong local partnerships and want to make themselves known to the community. "We work with a lot of different local authors, and we plan on announcing an author signing soon in July," said Lamb. "I love that because even for myself I'm connecting with new authors I don't even know. I enjoy trying to support them and get their books on our shelves."
Wiseman added: "We're really interested in doing different author events, but also a lot of Frankfort events as well. We want to involve ourselves with things that are happening downtown."