Halifax’s beloved women-friendly bookshop The Jade W (5233 Prince) celebrated its first year in business on July 17. Owned and operated by Sydney Hansen, this lovely gem of a shop features new and gently used books boasting an extensive women’s studies selection, an entire room of children’s and young adult books, a small yet resourceful gender studies/queer friendly section, various books on sexuality, a massive assortment of fiction by women writers and men too.
“The first year of any business is hard,” says Hansen. “You think you have a good idea of what people are looking, but there are always special interest groups that come into the store. For example, doulas and midwives come looking for books on the history of midwifery, breastfeeding, home births and so forth.”
Hansen believes in books, prior to her move downtown she operated The Good Words Bookshop in Amherst for four years. “The Jade W’s always been a dream of mine. Green’s my favourite colour,” she says of the store’s name. “But the W is more mysterious; often people associate it with women. It could be writing, whimsy, wild, wild goose chase, anything.”
She lights up at the mention of an author, subject, words that begin with W or anything related to the bound and printed. Some customers are mere browsers, while others, such as the midwives, are on a quest for a particular book or subject. Hansen goes above and beyond the call of duty to help you find what you’re looking for. For further information check out www.thejadew.com or call 423-JADE (5233)
