JP CENTER—An independent bookstore created by a Jamaica Plain resident with a background in book publishing is slated to open next month at 5 Green St.
Papercuts, JP owned by Kate Layte, a former associate production editor at Little, Brown/Hachette Book Group.
The store will carry “a carefully curated selection of new and nearly new books, alongside hand-bound notebooks, tote bags, ephemera and curiosities,” Layte told the Gazette.
Layte said she “woke up with the idea” two years ago and has spent the time since doing “a ton of research, work[ing] closely with business mentors, and [taking] free online classes in accounting and marketing.”
Papercuts will occupy a storefront next to Blue Frog Bakery that was recently vacated by the store Hatched.
Layte is raising supplementary funds for Papercuts through a crowd-funding campaign at Indiegogo.com.
She said the store will open regardless of how much she raises. She’s just raising the funds this way “instead of taking out huge loans at high rates [or] going into debt.”
Earlier this week, over $6,000 had been pledged of Layte’s $30,000 goal. The fundraiser campaign is at igg.me/at/papercutsjp/x. Papercuts, JP’s, Facebook page—already up to over 1,300 likes after only three weeks—is at facebook.com/papercutsjp.