The quiet days after the holidays are a gift. They give us a chance to step back, notice what worked during peak shopping, and make thoughtful adjustments before the year truly begins.

At Plenty Bookshop, the team used the week between Christmas and New Year’s to do just that—refreshing windows, shifting displays, and making small layout changes based on real bookseller observations. Those tweaks promise easier service, better flow, and stronger sales heading into 2026.

The holidays give us powerful insights—if we pause long enough to notice them. Join Lisa for a quick reflection on small layout changes that can make your shop work better for everyone.

🎧 Listen now.

Hello Quiet Carpenter,

I want to thank you.

While reflecting on your work, I wrote you a poem. It’s from the future – 2036 – and it’s about the way you helped turn the world around, not with noise or spectacle, but with steady care.

In this short reflection, I’m thinking about the people who stay. The ones who tend places, keep company, notice what needs attention, and quietly make room for others. I imagine a bookshop, a familiar rhythm, and the kind of work that doesn’t always make headlines, but makes a life and a community possible.

This is a small thank-you to anyone doing that kind of work. The kind that builds continuity, offers hope, and shapes the future one thoughtful, persistent act at a time.

🎧 Click to listen now.

Join Lisa Uhrik as she shares three simple ways to start the year well—grounded in joy, bold instincts, and small meaningful wins. From feeding the laughter to trusting your gut and fixing the tiny things that get in the way, this quick episode delivers three ideas you can act on today.

🎧 Click to listen now and start the year with joy, clarity, and momentum. It only takes two minutes!

During the busy holiday season, small stresses and short tempers can lead to harsh words with coworkers or customers. Lisa offers a quick reminder to pause, breathe, and notice when you’re running on empty.

Simple micro-tactics—short breaks, a quick laugh, saying no to one extra task, or building margin between commitments—help you protect relationships and be kinder to yourself and others during the holidays.

While you're here, take a quick pause to recharge and listen to the latest episode of Two Minute Tweaks.

For this special 111th episode, Lisa shares a personal story—Dave Uhrik’s 90-foot fall that became a life-changing lesson in perspective. What began as a terrifying tumble turned into a philosophy for living and working with meaning, ease, and intention.

Drawing on Greg McKeown’s book Effortless, Lisa connects this dramatic moment to the power of simplifying, releasing perfectionism, and creating sustainable rhythms that make the most important things feel lighter.

As the holidays approach and the pace quickens, we ask this important question: What if it's easy?

Words can do more than describe. They can stir memory, awaken the senses, and invite people closer. In this episode, Lisa Uhrik follows writer Jack Pawlik into the art of language that delights—the kind that turns a simple cappuccino into a velvety espresso topped with microfoam, crafted from organic whole milk.

Lisa explores how vivid, sensory-rich writing can transform ordinary menus, signs, and shelf talkers into experiences that linger. A few well-chosen words can make a cup of coffee taste richer, a tea feel storied, or a bookstore moment feel like a scene worth savoring.

This week, let your inner writer lead. Choose words that evoke warmth, curiosity, and connection, and watch how language itself can help your space come alive. 

🎧 Click the link to listen and get inspired!

Interested in more? Listen to the referenced Life of Plenty podcast with Marissa Fike here.

Join Lisa Uhrik as she explores three scientific truths that can help you connect better and boost sales—through the menus and signs at your bookshop’s cash wrap. Discover when customers really read your signage, and how the Golden Triangle and Serial Rule can help you highlight what matters most and sell up to 20% more.

This week Lisa shares an idea from friend Cal Crosby at The King's English Bookshop in Utah. She explores a simple solution that brings quiet, purposeful messaging while also facilitating face outs in a stable front and center position on the shelves.

When the world is heavy – we look for light loads and small, helpful things.

We encourage you to try it and share your thoughts or other simple display tricks with us.

According to expert Erik Thompson, about half of what we see is what we hear. Things like entrainment (a new term for us!) lead to strategic considerations for your music experience in the bookshop – which in turn lead to connection and sales. That interesting fact, along with the advent of AI in detecting "personal" vs. "retail" use of things like Spotify and Pandora, suggest that thinking about both music content and sourcing are important. 

After listening, we encourage you to experiment with your space’s music by choosing slower, less lyrical tracks, consider developing a brand sound, and be sure to give yourself a daily dose of birdsong. ♫

Are book returns quietly draining your resources? In this eye-opening episode, Lisa reveals how routine book returns can consume the equivalent of eight full weeks of work for one person.

Use this episode to spring forward and begin your own analysis on how to transform this challenge into an opportunity to improve efficiency and profitability.

Listen to previous episodes to learn or recall practical strategies to minimize returns and maximize sales through thoughtful displays and customer engagement. Tune in now to revolutionize your approach to book returns and drive your business forward!