About
Meet the Owner:
Hi! I'm Ilona! The owner of Stella's Shelves! As a lifelong reader, it has always been a dream of mine to own my own bookstore yet it always felt just out of reach. I would imagine what the shelves would look like, all the different books and authors I would sell, not to mention what other non-book items would be available. I even picked out cozy reading chairs at one point.
As life went on, and the chaos of the world overtook my thoughts, the dream of my own bookstore fell to the back burner, and I all but forgot about it. That is until I got laid off from a job I thought was going to take me out of the serving & bartending job I was desperate to leave.
While losing half my income was incredibly scary, it was the push I needed to start working toward my dream instead of working for someone else's. Within a week of getting laid off, I had registered my business name, applied for a sales tax permit, bought a domain, started new social accounts, and created branding for my new online bookstore; Stella's Shelves.
Who is Stella?
Stella is the name of the cat I had for 14 years. She was with me through all of my darkest days. Sometimes I even call her my guardian angel because I likely wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for her. She was my best friend and saying goodbye to her in January of 2024 was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.
Once I realized I was actually going to take the plunge and start my bookstore, the name was a no-brainer. It came to me almost immediately and I knew right away I was doing the right thing; taking the right steps. It felt right, to enter this next stage of my life honoring someone who was such a big part of the previous stage.