The Elephant Bookshop

I worked at The Elephant Bookshop from late November to early January. My responsibilities included shelving stock, merchandising displays, maintaining the shop floor, and preparing coffee and drinks. While this was a regular part-time role, it also provided valuable administrative experience that will support my future work in production.

I regularly communicated with customers by phone and email, processed customer orders, and managed my own timesheets using Excel. I also gained hands-on experience with the Gardners system for managing book stock and placing orders.

In addition, I helped set up and run a literary event for the author of When the Fireflies Dance, which involved organising a reading and Q&A session where the author discussed her work and creative inspirations.

I gained valuable sales experience by arranging merchandise to maximise visual appeal and customer engagement, alongside developing effective customer communication and negotiation skills.

Although this role was part-time and taken on to support myself financially, working for a local business that sold creative goods provided valuable insight into viewing art as a commercial practice. This experience is particularly relevant as I plan to launch an online art shop, and observing a store that successfully sold art-related products helped me better understand customer preferences and buying behaviour. As the creative industry is closely tied to business considerations, this role proved to be both practical and educational.