Inkberry Books - Sometimes, great things come from a collection in a basement

Inkberry Books, founded by Gene Hayworth and Keith Waters in 2018, holds a collection of over 6,000 books on its shelves. Rows of hardback books are neatly placed on large bookshelves, often featuring Colorado based writers and first edition fiction novels. Hayworth retired from the University of Colorado at Boulder as an Associate Professor Emeritus with the University Libraries in 2021.

“I've been collecting and selling books for about 30 years,” Hayworth said. “I started selling books online. Over the years, my collection grew and I filled up my basement with books so I wanted to have an actual bookstore.

“We started this store in 2018. We rented the space in January, and then we had to paint because the walls here were Pepto Bismol pink. It had been a jewelry store. So we wanted to make sure we were ready for Wine About Winter in February of that month. So we opened in February. We were here for Wine About Winter and had a fabulous time.”

Hayworth’s love for literature and passion for collecting began long before his bookstore was founded. Setting up a physical shop to display the world of literature seemed like the perfect next move.

When he started, his own collection of books were the first to fill the shelves, but it didn’t take long for new authors and published work to join the original books.

“Many of the books that I started selling were my personal collection,” Hayworth said. “I was an English major and a writing student, both as an undergraduate and a graduate. So a lot of the fiction that I collected is my own personal collection. And that's really the specialty of the bookstore. About 50% of the books are hardback first edition fiction. But I continued to collect books, and I just collect books from yard sales and thrift stores and estate sales. The past few years, because of Covid, a lot of people have been donating books to the bookstore, which has been very generous and very helpful to me.”

Inkberry’s business stretches beyond the four walls of the cozy shop and is a large supporter of the Niwot community as a whole. Hayworth sponsors the First Friday Art Walk, music concerts, children's events, author readings, as well as sponsoring other town events. Hayworth serves on the board of directors of the Niwot Cultural Arts Association, and he and his partner Keith Waters organized Oktoberfest in Niwot on behalf of the NCAA this year for the community. They also worked through the NCAA to bring the Niwot Jazz Festival to town in 2021 and 2022.

Most notably, Inkberry hosts a book club which is known for bringing the Niwot community together. Linda Bevard, a familiar face within the store, is grateful for the camaraderie the group brings to the table.

Bevard says she has made many friends through the bookstore. She explained, “I found the bookshop right away, of course because that's just the way I roll. And then I found out there was a book club. So I joined the book club, and I really enjoy it a lot. We choose one book a month and different people choose it each month. Most of the people in the club are just interesting and kindred spirits and I’ve gotten to know them socially outside of bookclub. It’s made it really easy for me to feel part of the community.”

Hayworth intentionally chose to set up shop in Niwot because of the culture and the unwavering support of the other local businesses in town. The education level and the families present in the area made Niwot the perfect place for him to settle down.

Inkberry Books recently held a contest aimed at the younger members of the community to encourage picking up a book and exploring the work inside of it.

“We like to have events to support kids,” Hayworth said. “So we had a bookmark competition and we awarded for our second and third place prizes gift certificates to the store for their bookmark designs. We had a “Name Our Mascot” contest for the kids, and our winner was “Maverick" and the kid who named the dog, his name was Maverick. We also do things like the spelling bee outside. We have a spelling bee during the Honey Bee Harvest Festival, and the winners get gift certificates.”

Though the positives of owning a small business greatly outweigh the negatives, there are trials and tribulations associated with running a local bookstore, but not ones commonly expected.

“I think the thing that has surprised me the most is that we've been here for five years now but at least three times a week a person will come in and say ‘Oh, I didn't know you were here,’” he said. “There are many people that live here in town that still don't see us. And I'm not quite sure why. So just getting the word out about the bookstore and making sure people are aware we're here is a challenge sometimes.”

With love and support from the Niwot community, Inkberry Books has established a home within the heart of town.

If Hayworth has learned anything, it is the power of a collection beginning in a basement.