Article and Photos By Laurel Decker
This column is a look at two brave souls who took a leap of faith to open their own business. What follows is a personal profile of Jeanne Blazo and Jeri Kay Thomas who are following their dreams and thriving despite the odds—and Covid.
2 Dandelions Bookshop
428 West Main Street, Brighton, MI 48116
2dandelionsbookshop.com.
(810) 522-5310
Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from Noon to 5 p.m.
As I walked into 2 Dandelions Bookshop on Main Street in Brighton, I was greeted by two women with smiles as cheerful as the color sprinkled about the store. As I noticed their outfits, I couldn’t help but mention, “I love that you both wore yellow for the photos.” Jeanne Blazo and Jeri Kay Thomas looked at each other’s outfits and laughed while simultaneously explaining that it wasn’t on purpose. They “just wear it a lot.” I knew then that these long-time friends were in sync and that I would enjoy learning about them and what they created together.
Walking among shelves and tables stocked with publications, Thomas explained that less than two years ago, when they first opened the shop door, it was like a dream come true. The two former schoolteachers were finally seeing the fruits of their labor. Each day they were building relationships with neighboring store owners, and customers were returning now that they discovered the only independent bookshop in Livingston County. They both agree that Brighton was ready for a local bookstore. Blazo adds, “Everything aligned” and they “were in the flow.”
But then, almost a year into living their dream-come-true, Blazo and Thomas started hearing of the Covid-19 virus. Before long, the state of Michigan reported unyielding spikes in cases of infection. Hoping to halt the spread of the virus, Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered all Michiganders to “Stay home and stay safe.”
Like many small business owners, Blazo and Thomas sorrowfully put a pause on selling their wares to support the safety of their families and community members. However, the pause was more of an opportunity to make some adjustments.
Ultimately, they decided not to let the nightmare of a worldwide pandemic keep them from their small-town dream. After carefully considering their options, they agreed they would simply have to pivot. And in the coming months, “pivot” became a word they would return to again and again as they adapted to an uncertain future for their budding bookshop.
The pair admit that finding the best approach to managing 2 Dandelions Bookshop during a pandemic added tension to the already-steep learning curve of running a new small business. They remind me that their background as kindergarten teachers was in education, not commerce. However, it’s clear to me that what the women lack in experience, they make up for in many other ways that keep any business thriving. Their tenacity, creativity, intelligence, and optimism are part of the reason they were able to reopen once the quarantine mandate was lifted.
The first major pivot came as a well-timed opportunity to move their store across the street. With extra time on their hands, they gathered their supportive team of family and friends and moved every book. Along for the move was Myrtle the painted turtle, who at one time was a pet in Thomas’ classroom. During my visit, Myrtle swam comfortably in her home among the children’s books in the back of the store. She has the most visitors on summer weekends during the Farmer’s Market, which takes place just behind the bookshop. Families with children now regularly time their visit to the market so they can wander over to the 2 Dandelions Bookshop courtyard for story time.
Blazo and Thomas believe that, pandemic aside, the best thing they did to help their business survive any variable was to do their diligence in the planning and preparation stages. So, rather than heading blindly into the world of retail, they joined support groups and networks related to new and local businesses as well as associations for book sellers. They also hired a consultant to guide them through the business development process. And they wrote a mission statement. “Although,” Blazo laughs when she recalled the earliest drafts of their statement, “We didn’t have this particular vision. We were more concerned with how the coffee would taste, and here we are, and we don’t even have coffee yet.”
Offering delicious coffee is still waiting on a temporary back burner. While business continues to blossom, the demand is that they focus on business strategy. Their aim is to be more efficient by creating a team of employees with diverse capabilities. They are fine tuning their efficiency based on the strengths of each individual involved in building their store.
They quickly learned that retail requires a fine balance between creativity and practicality. So, if one of their team is best at product placement, and another is gifted at processing the mounds of information involved with retail, they give their team the opportunity to contribute their best skills.
Blazo uses Thomas as an example of how they learned to play to everyone’s strengths. She explains, “We weren’t able to meet in person, so Thomas set up FaceTime appointments so people could see what was available. She rode her bike and drove to make local deliveries.” Blazo pauses to add a few more strengths Thomas has. Her compassion and connection to their customers is what led her to get on her bike recently to deliver a book to a customer who tested positive for Covid-19. Blazo adds, “People remember that.” Thomas chimes in with “Something magical happens every single day.”
It became clear as the mandate was extended, that the decision to continue selling books was not just about trying to make the shop financially survive the pandemic. The phone calls from customers placing an order started to mean something more than a sale. It was a way of staying connected to a community that was physically disconnected. They soon realized they were not the only ones finding comfort in books to ease the psychological side effects from the mandated stay-at-home orders.
In the months that unfolded throughout the mass quarantine, studies discovered the effects of isolation. A June 2020 report by QJM, an international journal of medicine, explained that “Many psychological problems and important consequences in terms of mental health including stress, anxiety, depression, frustration, and uncertainty during Covid-19 emerged progressively.” The psychological need for connection is one reason Blazo and Thomas pushed through during the darkest months of the pandemic.
Blazo admits, and Thomas nods in agreement, “It is evolving. And there are some overwhelming aspects that we just have to let go.” They know the pandemic is still looming, and that their physical and mental health are more important than the details of running a store. There are times when emails go unviewed and calls go unanswered, but Thomas adds that at the end of the day, “It is bigger than us.” They feel supported by their community and by an invisible source of serendipity. Thomas said this helps them to recognize that just as things were aligning before the pandemic, “Everything continues to align.”
The evolving vision these women have for their small business is best described in their online bio which reads, “Finally, our dream has become a wish. A wish to scatter happiness and joy through the creation of our very own bookshop.” And just as a dandelion ages and spreads its seeds abundantly, the 2 Dandelions Bookshop continues to mature and grow with our Southeast Michigan community. With each customer carrying their new books from the store or opening a package from 2 Dandelions Bookshop at home, happiness and joy extends beyond this small, but flourishing, book shop.
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