Bookseller finds a welcoming nook

By Jeanne Souldern Sopris Sun Correspondent

In her first year of business, Izzy Stringham, owner of White River Books in Carbondale, has developed a simpatico relationship with Roaring Fork Valley authors, students, businesses and book lovers.

The first anniversary of White River’s opening is March 3, and while many locals know where her store is, some are surprised when they stumble upon it. “I like it when college kids come home and pop in, and they're like, ‘Was this place always here?’” she shared.

If you have yet to visit White River, located on north Second Street near the Rio Grande Trail, the quaint storefront with its wooden walkway conveys an Old West charm.

Stringham enjoys chatting with customers and answering questions — even with the occasional odd inquiry. “Someone asked me if the Crystal River would be a good place to scatter ashes.” She paused and added, with a laugh, “I think they were asking for themselves.”

A local authors section includes the recent second edition release from Aspen author and journalist Paul Andersen of his “Moonlight Over Pearl,” a collection of short stories about Aspen’s history.

Across the shelf is “This Cursed Valley” by Roaring Fork Valley’s Larry Meredith, covering the pre-settler history of the Ute, or Nuche, peoples. Stringham shared, “I imagine I've sold almost 50 copies — that's probably my top 10 most-sold books in the store.”

Before White River Books opened last year, Carbondale had not had an independently-owned bookstore since Novel Tea, formerly located in the Dinkel Building, which closed its doors in 2010.

Stringham and Danny Stone, Crystal River Elementary School librarian and English Language Development (ESL) teacher, planned 19 field trips, over two weeks, for CRES classrooms — a total of 400 students — to visit White River and leave with a free book in their hands.

The Parent Teacher Organization raised money for the project, asking for donations from the larger school community. Stringham said that some parents donated from $25 to $50. She then bought books at a discounted rate and paperbacks to keep costs affordable.

She recalled, “We'd meet out front, and I’d say ‘hi’ to all the classes and tell them what to expect. And to come in and learn about books.” Some students were in disbelief that they could bring a book home and keep it. One little boy whose teacher told Stringham that no book “has ever clicked with him” loves the book he got at White River so much so that he asked the school librarian to order the book series to share with his schoolmates.

Last November, Stringham and was originally intended for her senior thesis project but never made it down the runway due to the pandemic — that is, until now.

“I have pulled a half-finished collection out of the dusty old bins and am shooting for my ‘full-circle moment,’” the designer explained. “I’m adding some new pieces, mixing up some looks and trying to finish up what I have, closing this New York chapter in a way.”

While fashion school often pushed the use of processed materials, Brand’s designs continue to honor the ecological element of GITNB, incorporating upcycled and recycled materials.

This year’s line mostly consists of knitted work.

Stone brainstormed ways to help kids grow their book collections. The result was a “Giving Tree” concept, with one tree set up at White River and another at the CRES library. Teachers and staff from the Roaring Fork School District’s Family Resource Center made referrals of recipients, whose names were kept anonymous with tagged ornaments that included the student’s age, grade and interests.

On the second-to-last day of the campaign, next-door business neighbor Max Filiss of Divide Creek Builders purchased books for the 14 remaining tags. A total of 250 books were purchased and distributed.

“I was gobsmacked by the generosity that you can elicit from people with a simple thing like that — it’s like generosity compounding generosity,” Stringham shared.

Roaring Fork High School ESL students, whose first language is Spanish, stopped in to get books. “Some

Brand uses a “fully finished” approach where she knits “each piece exactly to the shape it needs to be, so you don’t end up with any waste.” She added that about 50% of the yarn is reclaimed.

Brand recently launched her own online store, www. chloecoopercreative.com are up against an inordinate amount of tough things in life. They were impressive kids — super enthusiastic and funny. You can't sell these kids short at all,” commented Stringham.

“I’d like to give a big thank you to Carbondale, especially Amy [Kimberly] and Laura [Stover], for supporting me and believing in me since I was 14; and letting me do this and figure it all out with them,” Brand concluded.

"Mirror Mirror" opens Thursday, March 9 at the Carbondale Recreation Center and continues through March 11. Tickets are all sold out at this time.

One student wanted a military biography, so she directed him to a book about the 10th Mountain Division. Some girls wanted to read love stories, so she suggested middle-grade romances, like John Green's “The Fault in Our Stars.”

Looking to this summer, White River will host a book club, showcasing one title each month from May through August.

She credits the people of the Roaring Fork Valley and Carbondale, in particular, for a fantastic year one. “I'm really proud to bring this little shop to Carbondale, and I’m so grateful to Carbondale for embracing this project — the support has been huge!” she said.

To celebrate White River’s first anniversary, everything in the store will be 20% off on Friday, March 3.