Occoquan's Three Story Tellers Charm Patrons

Children are the future. One can never accurately predict the potential of what a child will grow to be, but shops like Three Story Tellers in Occoquan work hard to devote time to providing numerous events for children, ranging from toddlers to teens, to help them grow into whatever they aspire.

The Founding

The founders of the Three Story Tellers — Kendall Holbrook, Carmen Lofton and Robin Phillips — launched their business in January 2008.  The store opened on Saturday, March 8, 2008, and the grand opening took place Saturday, April 12, 2008.  They are well aware of the importance of providing books and activates for children and saw the need in the community.

Before the owners purchased the shop, it was a children’s book store and it once also sold fair trade items. When Holbrook entered the store as a patron during the Christmas shopping season, she liked the shop so much she went to purchase what would eventually be a destination for children and their parents. The trio purchased half of the previous owner’s inventory and began the work to cement and dedicate themselves in Occoquan as not just a bookstore, but an “interactive and fun experience where parents could bring their children.”

The Three Story Tellers

Three Story Tellers was created to “service children, parents and teachers in the Northern Virginia area.”  The goal of the store is to bring high-quality children’s and adolescent’s books and literary programming to the community.  Their focus is award-winning and nationally recognized books, in addition to culturally diverse books.  One of Long’s books eventually became the first book of the Three Story Tellers’ Book Club.   

Originally, the store provided only books, but it has turned into a location reminiscent of a community center where parents  bring their children to participate in everything from summer camps to birthday parties.

Along with their exceptional customer service, which is a marquee of Occoquan business, Holbrook says that within the shop “service is always personable.” The Three Story Tellers also concentrates on hand-selecting every single book within its store.

Life as an Entrepreneur

For Holbrook, the most exciting thing about being an entrepreneur is doing things “so different” from her big corporate experience.  Holbrook is full-time employed in the Information Technology industry currently doing computer development. She also has a Master's Degree in Business Administration.  Lofton is a full-time English teacher and Phillips works full-time in the Information Technology industry. 

As an entrepreneur, Holbrook enjoys the ability to dictate her own destiny saying, “When it’s your own business you can make your own rules.” But being an entrepreneur doesn’t come without its difficulties as most retail businesses experience.  Holbrook says that while “Occoquan does slow down according to the seasons," it just forces the three entrepreneurs to “be a little bit more creative” to attract customers to the shop. 

However, the founders can point to signs of growth as their creativity and persistence is paying off.  Their newsletter is continuing to grow and now has 1,200 people who have signed up in three years.  With a host of best-sellers and award winning books, it appears that the Three Story Tellers will be telling their story in Northern Virginia for years to come.