Wind + Stars Bookshop opened on July 4 in Commune + Market, joining Alan Ray’s coffee shop and taking over the spot where Handmade Studio had been.

Ashley Morgan had been visiting Union Pier, where her inlaws lived, for several years when she became a regular at Alan Ray’s coffee shop in Commune + Market. A sign in the empty space toward the front of the building read, “Your dream space awaits.”

An architect, Ashley envisioned her dream space as a bookstore, especially given the natural connection between coffee and books. But it wasn’t quite big enough. So when Handmade Studio vacated the adjacent back space in March (it moved to Sawyer), Ashley figured the time was right and she set upon opening Wind + Stars Bookshop.

“I’ve always wanted to open a bookstore. Turns out a lot of my training in architecture translated to operating a retail space.”

For example, she made sure the bookshelves were open to Alan Ray’s. “We wanted people to be comfortable going back and forth and from the coffee shop,” she says. 

Wind + Stars’ stock is focused on literary fiction, new releases in fiction and non-fiction, as well as a comprehensive children’s section. “We cover all genres,” she says, “and we hope that when you come in you might find yourself discovering something different.”

The shop also stocks some great gifts such as notepads, artsy match boxes and candles.

<Read more: A new coffee table bookstore for design lovers.>

Ashley, who moved to Chicago from San Francisco two years ago with her family and now lives in Union Pier, is a lifelong reader and would-be writer (she’s attempted a novel and children’s fiction). “I’ve tried to make sense of the world through reading,” she says. She’s hoping to start up events in fall, such as a children’s story hour, author talks, book clubs and collaborative events with small business in town. 

Sometimes, it seems, dreams do come true.

Wind + Stars Bookshop, 105 N. Elm St., Three Oaks, Mich. Summer hours are 9 am to 4 pm ET every day; winter hours will be reduced. In general, Ashley says, the bookstore’s hours will be tied to Alan Ray’s.

Looking for used books and/or a place to sell your book? Scroll down to the end of this post to find out more about Flourish Books & Plants in New Buffalo.