A Forres couple have upgraded their ‘dream’ book shop after only a year in business.
When John and Dorte McPhun met at Aberdeen University several years ago, they bonded over a shared dream of starting a book shop.
It was when they settled down and moved to Forres that the pair decided it was the perfect place to open their shop.
They opened their first shop on 86 High Street in January last year and Under The Leaves has been a popular addition to the town ever since.
So popular in fact that just a year later they’ve moved to a new unit at 30 High Street, where unit their floor space has doubled.
John met Dorte – who came to Scotland from Germany – when the pair were both studying at Aberdeen University in 2010.
When the pair met, it was clear they both shared very similar dreams.
Bookworm duo’s first conversation was about ‘dream book shop’
John said: “One of the first conservations we had was “wouldn’t it be nice to open up a book shop?”.
“We were studying English Literature so we were ‘booky’ and all the rest of it.”
Forres proved the perfect spot to realise that dream.
“We really liked the area and realised there was no book shop,” John said..
“Neither of us were particularly happy in the jobs we were doing.
“So we thought “let’s just do a book shop and see what happens”.
Under The Leaves opened on January 2, 2024.
Mr McPhun has praised the support they’ve received since opening, especially since it had been ‘a while’ since a book shop was in Forres.
“People are so positive about a book shop being back on the High Street.
“There’s been a while since the last one, so people are really enthusiastic about it.
“Many people still want to come into a shop to buy books.”
The move to ‘spacious’ High Street unit
The pair made the decision to move into a larger unit at the end of last year.
John said that although the original unit was “a great place to start”, the lack of space meant it was difficult for customers to move around.
That’s why now, in their new unit, they have double the floor space.
John added: “Moving has similar echoes of last year.
“It’s sort of terrible timing that we were only in the old one for a year.
“It’s just about being able to get more people in here. Also, potentially having events and things like that was the motivation for moving.”
After the first few weeks in their new unit, the couple are optimistic for the future.
“We’ve only been open a couple of weeks here so it’s really early doors,” John continued.
“But there’s lots of people coming in to have a look around and see where we’ve moved to. It’s been wonderful.
“Other shops on the High Street have been great – it feels like a nice community with shop keepers and cafes.
“Everybody looks out for each other.
“We all have the same motivation to keep the High Street interesting and varied.
“And we’re all encouraging people back to the High Street.”
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