Professionals Tamborine Mountain 
Despite the name, Canungra Books and Art has quite a lot to offer beyond print and paint— but by no means should it be thought that their selection of antique tomes is anything less than enchanting. Jan McGregor, owner since the store’s opening of four years, shares with us why she thinks so many happy customers find her store so magical.
by Kyle Hitchmough
How did you get started here?
I wanted to do something a little different after I retired from other work. I started with a weekend book stall behind the shoe shop and did that on weekends for a couple of years. Then we realized this could actually work. I had always had my eye on this building so I kept asking the landlord if he would lease it to me and eventually he did! So, we opened up Canungra Books and Art and it’s been fun ever since.
You sell more than just books and art. Can you tell us more about the other things you offer?
What we wanted to do was create more of an experience. We specifically called ourselves “vintage to now” to covers that whole gamut, and then we mixed it up with the LPs and the vintage clothing. We really wanted to promote local artisan products and local books. It creates an experience, a sense of comfort. My sister is an expert in vintage jewellery and art deco, so she has a small collection here, and my niece runs the vintage clothing. She buys very carefully and has really high-quality vintage clothing stock.
Are there any kinds of books that are more popular than others?
If I had to say where the trends are, it’s children’s collectibles. Snugglepot and Cuddlepie, the famous Australian authors, the books people remember growing up with. There’s a whole resurgence of the classics. Now that there’s a lot of uncertainty in people’s lives, there’s comfort in some of the older books. There’s also a real interest in the likes of Brave New World, Kurt Vonnegut, George Orwell, all those books that those of us who grew up in the 60s and 70s were reading as young adults. 1984, I can’t keep it on the shelves. A lot of the books that came out as first editions in the 50s, 60s, 70s, some of those are really highly collectible now. What people like about the shop is they can go searching and it’s like a discovery. I’ll forget that people are here, and I’ll find people in all sorts of little corners sitting there. It’s fun! Children’s classics are very big and Aboriginal Indigenous. People want to know what’s happening with Australia, the Aboriginals and the land. Environment, gardening, all the hot topics of our lifetime in this age.
You work quite closely with the community here. Can you tell us more about your participation in local events?
They invited me up to have a stall up at the Five Senses Festival and it was a chance to talk to some of our Tamborine customers, and let people up on the Mountain know we’re here. We really have a passion for promoting our local authors, trying to get their books out in front of people. We’ve got quite a lot of authors coming along to the Local Authors’ Day. We’re as active in the local scene as we can be.
One thing that comes up a lot in your reviews is the ‘charming atmosphere’. How do you create that?
I think the books do that but also the vintage and the records… when the record player is on you’ll get a little kid come by and their jaw will just drop since they’ve never seen a record player before. It’s the same with the books. You won’t walk into a modern bookshop and see a set of Shakespeare from the 1800s. People can come in here and comfortably spend half an hour, a couple of hours… It doesn’t matter if they buy a book. They can just come in and enjoy the space.
Are you a local? What’s your opinion on the area and the community?
I live up at Beechmont. I really love this area, its proximity to Binna Burra, to really high-quality nature. The Canungra community is a really interesting and diverse community now because we have a lot of young families moving in. There’s a really strong sense of community, even when there’s quite disparate views. I think what’s important in a community is to have vibrant discussion and accept everyone’s views and opinions in a positive way. I think it’s a great part of Australia, and a nice part of the world to live in.
What’s your favourite thing to do in Canungra?
Well, there’s a good bookshop right here…! And there’s some great cafes in Canungra. All of the cafes are really good, and they all have different styles. The little secret that’s no longer a secret is Little Bee & Me behind us here. She’s amazing what she’s done with that place. So passionate about the bees and the organic gardening. She’s amazing. You have a really good little network up here.
What do you think Canungra Books and Art really provides to the area?
It brings a little bit of depth because it’s not your normal retail shop, we’re not selling a whole lot of new stuff, we’re unique. We’re proud that we’ve created something that people find is different.
What’s been your most memorable moment working here?
There was a lady who walked in a few years ago and told us that her mother grew up in this building. A couple of days later, her mother came walking up the stairs and just burst into tears. Her dad had built this house when she was a little girl. She was saying virtually nothing had changed, that it was the same art deco lights, and she could see that we’d retained the building as it always was. That was a real treat, it gave us a real history to the beautiful building. Now it’s a home for the books!
We are always looking for new topics for our blog. If there’s something you like to see more of, email your suggestions to: social@professionalsserendipity.com.au, or email the writer at kyle.hitchmough@hotmail.com.
