An immersive reading experience is what Unspoken Words aims to provide its customers.
Unspoken Words was started by Shailynn Adrianna after having her 10-month-old daughter as a way to express her creativity.
“It kind of started as a hobby/passion project. Then it was just so well received by the community I started to see it totally different,” Adrianna said. “I felt like I saw it as a saw project and my customers saw it as so much more. That inspired me to start pursing it further and turn it into a full business.”
She describes Unspoken Words as a “literary giftshop” because the business sells blind dates with a book, bookish candles, tote bags, kindle cases, bookmarks and more. As for how she picks the books for the blind date with a book, Adrianna said she doesn’t choose anything under four stars.
“That’s my number one thing,” she said. “I just kind of keep my eye out on the pulse of what’s popular and what people are loving. Because really my biggest thing is, I just want to represent every type of reader. I feel like there’s so many different styles and so many different interests. I try to expand to where even if it’s not something I personally read, I know it’s well loved and received.”
She added that she’ll watch videos of people reviewing the books as well to get a feel for them. Some of the books are ones she had read or listened to its audiobook version.
“That’s kind of how I figure out what I like, but I don’t really discriminate. I like all types of books because I know there’s a reader for every story,” she said.
When it comes to the merch with the blind dates with a book, she exclusively features Mr. Pen for the stationary because she believes in the mission of that business.
“They’re actually a non-profit that was created by teachers to support having accessible quality supplies for both teachers and students,” she said. “So now I exclusively have their stationary in my products because I believe in their mission. In terms of the rest of the (items), I design, or small creators design, all the bookmarks, the stickers and things like that and then I produce all of them in-house. Then (I) just kind of curate them to match perfectly, so it then becomes an immersive experience rather than just a book and a bookmark.”
One local small business that she recently partnered with for a giveaway was Shelf Control Books, a local online book store. Shelf Control provided the book and one of their bookmarks to the giveaway.
As for where to buy from Unspoken Words, Adrianna said the best places are her website, any of the three Rooted Coffeehouse locations, the Augusta Market or at a popup event. To find out what popups she’s attending, check out Unspoken Words Instagram page. She’ll also have a booth at the Maker and the Merchant, a new space opening that will allow small businesses to set up a booth and sell their products. It will be located at 370 Fury’s Ferry Road, Suite 1 in Martinez.
To keep up-to-date on Unspoken Words, visit the website or Instagram page.
