The Crafty Reader brings new bookstore to Milford

The Crafty Reader filled the main hallway of Penny Square when it opened Friday, Aug. 30. l PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR GREATER MILFORD

MILFORD — Korina “Kori” Lewandowski is living a dream with her very own crafty bookstore situated in the heart of Milford.

Local community members started filling the hallway of Penny Square half an hour before the doors of The Crafty Reader opened to the public for the very first time on Aug. 30 at 11 a.m. The shop owner, 27-year-old Lewandowski, was shocked.

Marissa King (left) owns Penny Square with her husband Zach King and now rents space to Kori Lewandowski (right), owner of The Crafty Reader. l PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR GREATER MILFORD

The shop comes in at just under 500 square feet and is one of several stores located inside Penny Square which is owned by Marissa and Zach King, owners of Milford’s own EasySpeak and Fondue. 

“To be honest, I think I kind of went a little bit numb, a little bit in shock. I did not expect a line to start at 10:30 a.m. I never could have imagined that that could have happened, but I had hoped. And then that very first day that I opened, there wasn’t a moment until the last 15 minutes of the day when I didn’t have at least one person in the store,” Lewandowski told the Delaware Business Times.

But from her own personal experience, she had a suspicion as to why a new bookstore in Milford could drum up that kind of response.

“I grew up in Bridgeville. The closest bookstore was always a 40-minute drive whether it was going down to the beach or down to Barnes and Nobles in Salisbury. As an avid reader and from a family of avid readers, those were special trips. But I would have loved to have had somewhere close. . . so I knew that I wanted some place that was a little more western and a little more central to Sussex and Kent [counties],” she said.

To make her dream come true, Lewandowski originally started looking for a store location in the Seaford area at the iconic Nylon Capital Shopping Center, but admitted the investment cost was too high for a brand new, independent bookstore.

“The cost to be here [at Penny Square] was about 10% what I needed to be there [in Seaford]. So I managed to do this with a very surprisingly small number. If I knew my opening was going to do as good as it did, I probably could have spent a little more in inventory. My shelves are looking a little sparse at the moment,” she laughed. “I was able to manage starting at about $25,000.”

Investment costs, she added, included inventory, initial rental costs, custom shelving units, business software, equipment and other needs, stating that she tried to keep costs as low as possible.

The investment money, she added, came from family who have supported her every step of the way.

Lewandowski attended Woodbridge School District prior to being homeschooled. She went on to study psychology and social work, graduating with an undergraduate degree just after the pandemic and started graduate school during the pandemic, but she quickly chose to move in a different direction after discovering it was not the right thing for her at the right time.

“I had my family members ask, you know, if you put everything else aside, if money wasn’t an issue, what would you do, what is the dream? And the answer has always been – open a bookstore,” she told DBT.

Now, with a week under her belt and a steady flow of customers who enjoy the books on her shelves as well as the homemade craft items she sells from various local artisans, she can start looking toward the future of her new store: The Crafty Reader.

“It was scary. It’s a lot to take on, but it’s something that I think I was always ready to take on and handle. I know it will take years to gain the wisdom I need. I’ve already received a lot of great advice from business owners and people that have been in a number of different areas in the community,” she said.

“It’s been a huge learning experience for all of us,” said her mother, Jill Lewandowski.  It’s been great to see how she’s grown in this. There were some minutes, some hours when it felt like this might not happen. But she got to a point where she said this is what I want and this is what I’m going to do and we’re very proud of her and what we know she can accomplish.”

The Crafty Reader filled the main hallway of Penny Square when it opened Friday, Aug. 30. l PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR GREATER MILFORD