WILLIAMSBURG — Krista John loves a good book. One day, she looked at the stack of reads piling up in her home and wondered how to share that love with the community. As a former small business owner, John understood the difficulties in managing a space, inventory, and time, but she also saw potential.
And, the Wordsmith Mobile Bookshop was created.
“I refer to myself as multi-passionate. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up,” said John, who also has a part-time career in education. “I am just passionate about so many things that I just kind of find ways to still pursue all those things.”
Her adventurous, multi-faceted personality has guided John throughout her life. In college, John said she decided to study English, Literature and Italian — subjects she wanted to teach, as well as earning a master’s degree in Education.
After her twins were born, John stepped away from education to open a pottery studio that became her first mobile business.
“We learned from our art studio that unless you were in a perfect location with lots of foot traffic, it is hard to stay afloat with overhead,” explained John.
John and her family, who had been living in Arizona, spent time traveling the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We bought an RV and we were THAT family,” chuckles John.
The family decided to settle in Williamsburg in May 2022.
“Right away, I wanted to start getting involved in the community,” John stated, adding she joined several local organizations, but soon “Felt the pull — both my husband and I thrive on projects.”
“I realized the one thing that has been constant in my life has been my love of books. I love sharing books with people and talking about books. I just thought, ‘I already have hundreds of books I have collected and there was no used book store (at the time),” John said.
Inspired by other book shops she followed through her travels and online, John came up with a vision to open her own mobile book shop, and with the assistance of her husband, who has a background in construction, the family created a comfy, cozy space filled with custom shelving that is now the Wordsmith Mobile Bookshop.
“We really wanted a name that would tie into Williamsburg,” explained John. “A friend suggested the play on words — like blacksmith, silversmith — and so, we went with wordsmith, to pull in the element of the colonial period and the trades.”
The bookshop made its debut during the November 2nd Sundays event in Williamsburg, where customers lined up to browse and purchase the variety of books John has curated — a mix of classics and current best-sellers for all ages.
Some genres that John will be filling the shelves with will include adult and children’s fiction and literature, along with Pulitzer and Newbery award winners, classics, poetry, drama and history.
“The inventory will always change,” stated John, ” I am always finding different kinds of books. I want to make sure whatever I put in the space are the best stories of all time, authors or books that I personally have read so that I can recommend them, or books I really want to read. Really good stories.”
Those interested in selling books to John can earn credit in the shop. She asks that customers reach out via email (thewordsmithbookshop@gmail.com) to make arrangements and not bring books directly to the bookshop.
The bookshop plans to be in attendance at future 2nd Sundays and John is looking into popping up at other events and spaces around the Historic Triangle.
Follow The Wordsmith Mobile Bookshop on Instagram.
