Meet Carissa Mina & Jerilyn Patterson | Co-owners of The Wandering Jellyfish Bookshop

We had the good fortune of connecting with Carissa Mina & Jerilyn Patterson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carissa Mina, Jerilyn Patterson, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
During the pandemic, we’ve missed our writing community, and the idea of being able to bring our writing community together was a significant driving force behind our decision to open a bookstore. As writers ourselves, we were really interested and excited to bring the writing and reading communities together into one magical place. We wanted to create a space where people could gather, enjoy books and stories, and talk and learn about the creative process. We decided to open up our own bookstore (rather than working for an existing bookstore) because we had a vision of how we wanted to shape our community.

What should our readers know about your business?
We are a locally-owned, community-oriented independent bookshop powered by women, located in the historic downtown village of Niwot, Colorado. As writers with over twenty years of combined knowledge in the writing and publishing world, we bring a unique perspective to bookselling. This perspective allows us to curate a selection of high-quality and diverse books for children. Because we are so involved in our writing community, we offer a range of events that connect our community of writers and readers, from child-centered storytimes to adult and youth writing workshops. The decision to open the bookshop was easy, but of course, owning and operating a business is never easy. We consistently overcome challenges by injecting a good amount of humor into our hard work, always fueled coffee, cookies, and cake.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First, we would book rooms at the Niwot Inn and Spa, followed by a delightful dinner at 1914 house. We would close out the evening with a nightcap at The Wheel House. In the morning, we would drop by the Old Oak Coffeehouse for coffee and delicious pastries. Then we would walk around town, enjoying the many cute shops, such as Little Bird, Few of a Kind Vintage, and the charming Wise Buys antique store. For lunch, we would stop by Cimmini’s or Lefty’s Pizza, then head over to Cottonwood Square for more shopping at The Little Shops, Fly Away Home, and Inkberry Books. We would end the day with dinner at Farrow for delicious farm-to-table fare and then start the whole thing over the next day because, in Niwot, there are so many things to do and places to enjoy.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
We would love to recognize The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, specifically the Rocky Mountain Chapter, where we met as aspiring authors many years ago. We would also like to thank all of the writers and illustrators who have supported us as writers and bookstore owners. In addition, the community of Niwot has been incredibly supportive and welcoming to our shop and us. Last but not least, we want to thank our families for their support and patience as we dived headfirst into this endeavor. We couldn’t have done it without their love and encouragement.

Website: twjbookshop.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twjbookshop/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wandering-jellyfish-bookshop

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWJBookshop

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/twjbookshop

Other: https://bookshop.org/shop/twjbookshop https://shop.twjbookshop.com/ https://www.tiktok.com/@twjbookshop