Lost In Books is a multilingual bookshop for children in Fairfield, which aims to ease some of the challenges facing new migrant and refugee families.
The store stocks books in 15 languages, and hopes to encourage children to use and appreciate their native tongue.
“Lost In Books has been a really beautiful dream of ours, it’s a haven, a public space for women and children to come and hang out and access books in their own languages and in English,” founder Jane Stratton said.
The store has books in more than 12 languages. (Supplied) Source: SBS Small Business Secrets (Supplied)
Fairfield is one of Australia’s most ethnically diverse communities, with more than 120 languages spoken in the suburb, and more than 70 per cent of locals speaking a language other than English at home.
In the past two years, Fairfield has absorbed more than 7000 refugees, equating to around 20 per cent of Australia’s total refugee intake.
“The reality of life for people when they newly arrive in Australia as a migrant or refugee is very, very hard,” Ms Stratton said.
The corporate professional turned bookstore owner hopes her venture will help ease the burden of new migrant families – and the store is proving popular with parents and children alike.
Lost in Books founder Jane Stratton. (Supplied) Source: SBS Small Business Secrets (Supplied)
“To have a whole bookstore dedicated to the purpose of developing the kids’ love for their own language, their own mother tongue, is great,” parent Nga Le said.
“It’s become sort of our second home. My kids and I love coming here.”
While many bookstores around Australia have closed in recent years, Ms Stratton believes there will always be a demand for spaces where children and parents can read together, even if the medium changes.
“We obviously believe that the object of a book is not going to die and is not going out of fashion,” Ms Stratton said.
“Books have been around for a long, long time and we think they’ll be around for a lot longer.”
Ms Stratton hopes her business can have a social purpose beyond the normal realm of a bookstore – Lost In Books is now home to a women’s café, with bilingual workers offering support and crisis intervention for women experiencing domestic violence.
Lost in Books also offers craft workshops for children. (Supplied) Source: SBS Small Business Secrets (Supplied)
According to data from the Bureau of Crime, Fairfield has the 10th highest rate of domestic violence incidents in metropolitan Sydney.
“We made the decision to set up coffee and snacks to increase revenue but also because we want people to linger and stay amongst the books,” Ms Stratton said.
“We want children to feel that they can play here and we want women to stick around and connect with one another, and feel less isolated.”
Lost In Books is one of several projects that have been the result of Ms Stratton’s charitable trust – the Think+DO Tank Foundation.
The Lost In Books cafe. (Supplied) Source: SBS Small Business Secrets (Supplied)
“We’re a social enterprise, which means that all of the money generated is ploughed back into our operations,” Ms Stratton said.
The bookstore also relies on government funding and support from Australian book publishers, but Ms Stratton hopes their recent successful crowdfunding undertaking can help take the business to the next level.
“If you really believe in your vision, and know why you’re doing it, don’t listen to people that say no, work with the people who say yes, and persist,” Ms Stratton said.
