Etsy

Digital versions have long been edging out ink and paper. What do we say to that? Believe in Books. Yes, the weight of a book in your hand and the smell of it can't be matched. But never forget that good stories and authors thrive in any medium.

So, we use the ink and paper books that are being replaced. Instead of letting them go quietly, we've resolved to re-use them. We rescue discarded books from landfill death, or from their dreary existence on a bookshelf. Our goal is to bring more books into your life, so when you see your booksi™ you are reminded of how wonderful a book can be. Maybe you'll be inspired to read that classic you've been meaning to.

We don't use books that have significant rare antiquarian value, as we feel those ought to be preserved. We find our vintage books in libraries, garage sales, street vendors, thrift stores, used book stores, craigslist, other people's attics, garages, closets, or even in boxes on the curb. As a Comparitive Lit. major, Brenna chooses to recycle only vintage books that haven't been appreciated elsewhere. So, obviously more than a few have mysteriously snuck their way into her own personal collection. You can be confident that your vintage book was not being loved as it should be, until now.

We also use gorgeous new editions of the classics. Although we're using them to another purpose, we also now have all of them in our home library, and we continue to support these fantastic editions. Maybe someone young will see your classic booksi™, and we'll keep the works of Austen and Dickens and Tolkien thriving for that much longer. There were amazing books before The Hunger Games, and how will they know unless we tell them?

We work in sunny southern California. We started selling our designs in February 2011, but we've been using books as much more than reading material for a long time -- home decor and coasters and shelves and paperweights and nightstands and wedding centerpieces...you get it. In fact, using books as decoration at our wedding inspired us to create Rich Neeley Designs and share them with you.

We also hope to launch a new shop in the future, which can be found at etsy.com/shop/TheEmptyShelf, solely dedicated to vintage books.