Small Volume Books is Cellar Stories’ Second Act
Two former employees of a former Providence literary icon strike out on their own, keeping their bookshop roots in mind.
Victoria Forsberg-Lary, left, and Justine Johnson inside Small Volume. Photography by Wolf Matthewson.
When Cellar Stories closed in January 2023 after four decades in business, hundreds of bookish souls visited the shop to say farewell and perhaps buy just one last book. Now, former employees Victoria Forsberg-Lary and Justine Johnson have opened a store of their own — the aptly named Small Volume — with a good chunk of Cellar Stories’ inventory just across the highway on Westminster Street.
When longtime owner Mike Chandley’s family decided to close Cellar Stories “we were OK with that,” says Forsberg-Lary. “We had been thinking about what we wanted to do and thought it might be fun to keep selling books.”
Photography by Wolf Matthewson.
The two met at Chandley’s funeral in 2018. Johnson, who had worked at the store in the early 2000s, offered to help out Forsberg-Lary. The pair culled through two entire floors of books, sold some things — like an original Star Wars poster — online and brought the rest to Small Volume.
They stock an eclectic mix of titles, with a focus on female authors, books about women and underrepresented authors — anything from “Star Trek” fan fiction written by women to tomes on Rhode Island botany and pint-size titles that fit in an old cassette holder (yes, also brought over from Cellar Stories).
In fact, most of the shelves are from Cellar Stories, as well, along with an old Providence Phoenix (RIP) rack stuffed with old copies of the tabloid and its predecessor, the NewPaper.
The booksellers opened the store in the fall. Right now, they’re mostly selling online, but hope to welcome browsers soon by appointment. They think Chandley would be proud of their venture, but maybe a little wistful about their selective book-buying measures.
Photography by Wolf Matthewson.
“He was always, always getting more and more stock no matter what,” says Johnson, who estimates the pair sifted through 200,000 books when Cellar Stories closed. “After he passed away, we didn’t buy any new stock. Ever.”
But some things, as always, stay the same. The pair learned so much from Chandley as a boss and mentor. He loved books, he loved his customers and he loved his employees, many of whom stayed on for decades. (Forsberg-Lary started in 2014 and worked straight through to the store’s closing.) He allowed Johnson to bring her young daughter to work on countless occasions, something she was always grateful for. And now, two decades later, she has another little girl, one whom she brings to another book-filled wonderland — this time her own — located just up a short staircase in the capital city.
Shop For: Wonderfully titled books like the circa-1838 The American Frugal Housewife, Dedicated to Those Who Are Not Ashamed of Economy.
Don’t Miss: The colorful selection of pulp fiction paperbacks, with gems like Tainted Wife and Back-Country Wench. 741 Westminster St., smallvolumebooks.com
Photography by Wolf Matthewson.
