20 Storey

23/07/2024

To all our valued customers.

20 Storey will be closed on Monday 29th July to enable the staff to honour and mourn the loss of our friend and founder, Joe.

Apologies for any inconvenience, open as usual on the 30th.

13/07/2024

It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we write to inform you of the passing of Joe, the creative force behind 20 Storey, who succumbed to a mercifully short battle with cancer on 8th July peacefully with his family beside him at the Margaret Kerr Unit.

In his final days, Joe transferred the business to close friend Ana Hancox as it was his wish that his business, to which he had brought hard work, love, and passion, should continue to thrive.

Ana is an experienced businesswoman, however, she is new to bookselling, so, in this period of transition, any advice or assistance you can offer would be greatly appreciated whilst we grieve for our dear friend.

We can assure you that all at 20 Storey are committed to maintaining its success and honouring Joe’s legacy.

There is a book of condolence and a collection box within the shop, to enable customers to write their thoughts and memories of Joe, the collection is for Borders Pet Rescue, as we all know how much Joe loved Bosco and any dogs he met.

With Thanks and Best Wishes
The 20 Storey Team

21/06/2024

05/06/2024

We are OPEN as usual this morning - and most importantly, the Boss will be present - Come say 'hi', and he'll sort out any needs you may have...😊

19/05/2024

Some of you may have noticed recently some changes and disruptions to our normal opening days and hours at the shop and the absence of Joe and shop-dog Bosco, so we wanted to update all with what’s been going on.
Joe has very recently been diagnosed stage 4 lung cancer - it’s incurable and the prognosis currently short-term. He’s back home from hospital for palliative care, under the guiding paw of trusty Bosco, an amazing network of dedicated NHS staff, and family & friends all going above-and-beyond.
Joe has embraced and engaged with his status in as open, frank and honest a way as possible, and to this end is posting publicly on his personal page regarding updates and thoughts (and hopefully some pictures of Bosco looking cute). If you have any questions or messages for Joe, please don't hesitate to reach out to us at 20 Storey or contact Joe directly at [email protected]. Your support and words mean a lot to him.
In the meantime, it’s our fervent wish to maintain ‘business as usual’ as much as possible at the store. The dedicated, talented team of Ana, Mark and Francesca are all on hand to help with any queries, requests, information, etc, and provide the absolute best service we can. Hopefully any disruption to this will be minimal - we apologise for any inconvenience and encourage reaching out to us directly with any concerns at all.
We are incredibly proud of 20 Storey - started 12 years ago in Brixton, London - and particularly with its evolution over the past five years since Joe moved back home to Kelso bringing the business with him. This is thanks to the incredible support from all our patrons, suppliers and friends who have embraced 20 Storey and helped make it what it is today. We view our shop as a valuable part of a community (a view we hope many others share) - a community we’re proud to serve, and a community we hope 20 Storey can continue to have a strong relationship with.
It's our sincere hope that the business will continue for the foreseeable future and far beyond. Joe is looking into and actively exploring ways the business can be passed on to ensure it will not only remain part of the community, but to strengthen and build on those ties, developing into the future under the right guidance. We believe 20 Storey represents a fantastic opportunity for the right persons, and welcome interest, ideas, thoughts, comments and suggestions from all.
Please contact us at [email protected]. We can also be reached at the shop on 01573 228 522, or on FB or IG.
Once again, apologies for any inconvenience, and many, many thanks for all your help and support.

12/04/2024

The latest issue of Hidden Scotland magazine - in-store now.

Free print and bookmark with initial copies.

10/04/2024

Blossomise celebrates the ecstatic arrival of spring blossom just as it acknowledges, too, its melancholy disappearance. Full of energetic leaps of imagination and language, the twenty-two poems hopscotch between intense momentary haikus that honour the Japanese traditions of the blossom festival and stand-alone lyrical pieces that take in the stylistic tones of ballads, hymns, songs, prayers and nursery rhymes.

Commissioned by and published in collaboration with the National Trust as part of their annual Blossom programme and campaign.

Ltd Signed copies in store at 20 Storey now.

15/03/2024

Something for the weekend...? Get stuck into one of these - from a fantastic selection of new fiction - in-store now, at 20 Storey.