Welcome to Fourbears Books! My name is Alex and Fourbears Books is my shop.

 

When I was told in 2017 I was at risk of redundancy from my office job I had no idea whether I was happy or sad. I knew I didn’t wake up punching the air with excitement each day, but after working for the same company for 15 years I wasn’t sure I was ready to do anything different. One Saturday morning I was contemplating what I would like to do if I won the lottery and still had to work, and the first and only answer was owning a bookshop…..and that’s when the idea of Fourbears Books was first born. It turns out I didn’t need to win the lottery and although I didn’t leave my job until May 2020 I was delighted to open the Fourbears Books doors in December later that year.

 

The name of the shop was an easy decision. My surname is Forbes and what most my friends call me. The main exception is my friend’s five children who have called me Fourbears for years, so when I was thinking about a name for the shop, that seemed perfect. I’m very grateful to that family for their continued support and motivation in the Fourbears journey.

 

Although I am the owner of the shop, I couldn’t do it without my family. There is Claire, my partner, Jacob, who is aged 11, and Claire and I have a baby girl Eliza, born in 2022. We also can’t forget shop dog Perdy who sometimes pops down, but has been on baby duty recently. My mum can also be seen behind the till from time to time, and finally Jo is in charge of the shop when I am enjoying some family time. 

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