It might sound odd to most that one day we decided to purchase a used bookstore, but to us it fits in our mission here at BaseCamp to continue to inform and inspire others.
Let me digress a bit...
Beginning of 2022 we decided to pursue the notion of selling our largest realty asset (home, lodging & art studio) in Oklahoma & purchasing a property in New Mexico. As an experienced real estate broker, I knew spring would be the sweet spot in making this happen.
My initial thought was we have another smaller furnished home in town and the realty business with showroom and that would allow us to expand our interests out west while having a basecamp left here to hub out of while we found the perfect property which more than likely would be a fixer upper.
Let me fast forward...
So, March we started looking out west and went live with our listing in April. Eighty-one days later boom we had a buyer, identified a property in the Northern New Mexico area to buy and by June 26th the bulk of our stuff arrived at the new property. Just like that out with the old in with the new.
Whew that was fast...
The next 90 days we sharpened our teeth on a rebuilder hacienda on 53 acres we have now named "the Santa Fe Trail Ranch" due to the Santa Fe National Historic Trail running across the ranch. The long-range plan is to rebuild the existing hacienda, spiff up the existing office above the utility attached to the 5-car garage, build-out a gift shop in the 1 car garage in proximity to the utility and office then utilize the 4-car garage as garage with a bit of clean-up. Then create an educational and lodging for visitors to come experience the original trail known as the first ever interstate commerce from 1820-1881.
Sounds like a lot of work, right? So, why in the world would we not just sell the remainder of our Oklahoma assets and focus on this project out west?
That answer to me seems simple...
DIVERSIFICATION, EXPANSION and COMMUNITY!
After all that is what BaseCamp is all about. It is not any ONE place, but a multi-dimensional space made of places and people.
Now back to the bookstore...
The bookstore we purchased is "Stranger than Fiction" located at 8 E. Main St., Ardmore, OK. We will be the 3rd owner within the last 18 or so years. We purchased it from Irene Logue our good friend. The funny thing was after trying to sell this to several other people, one day it dawned on me that we would be the perfect owners.
I am a writer by heart and book lover. My artist husband had helped the first owner with some design features with historic brick we sold him. Jerold also re-built the storefront for Irene after she purchased it. So now it is time for us to put the finishing touches to the building and expand on the vision of both previous owners. With winter looming out west, this was perfect time to get Jerold to help out.
Also, we both have a love for the downtown and with our previous construction, ownership and living efforts among our several building projects. We also understand the dynamic and importance of community on Mainstreet.
Currently the store is a used bookstore. We offer book credit on trades and have a large selection of Fiction and Non-Fiction. So, our plan is to relocate our real estate company and showroom of art to the location and merge with the bookstore to consolidate efforts to streamline our mission of providing the most inspiring stuff and the most accurate information to the community. Our goal is to add some new book inventory, some vinyl records and community events. Of course, we thought the store deserved a little re-fresh between ownership, so we are currently doing that as well.We are really looking forward to our re-opening and hope you follow along and eventually come see us at this location.
So as we start another chapter in another location, keep in mind our BaseCamp is not just one space or place, it is...
"Anywhere you are!"