Do you like perusing the tables at art festivals and talking to people who absolutely love books and funky art? So do Eric Mowery and Noah Wojcik of Steward and Specter’s Traveling Bookshop, and with their fully renovated and artistically decorated bus, you can do all that while sipping an IPA at Fattey Beer or visiting a local artisan market. Their eleven-year dream of procuring unique inventory for book and art-lovers alike has come to fruition, and it’s an absolute must-see.
The first thing you will notice upon seeing their traveling bookshop is the art – both inside and out. All of the painting was completed by Mowery himself, including his own “Creation of Adam” mural on the bus’s inner ceiling, featuring himself, Wojcik, friends and local poets and artists. Otherwise, the walls and ceilings are covered in a nostalgic collage of old book pages and comics. Bookshelves and tables serve as docking stations for their inventory of carefully curated books.
This project has been years in the making. How did it get started? The original name of Mowery and Wojcik’s business was Speakeasy Books & Art. This was a time when they would lug their books and artwork to the Elmwood Peddler’s Market for a Saturday of laughs, networking and meeting other locals who enjoyed their collection. At the time, even their shelving was art: “it was made from upcycled liquor boxes and I made our sign out of spray-painted cardboard,” Mowery recounts. Selling at this venue continued for years, Wojcik taking over when Mowery was unavailable, until they found a brick-and-mortar storefront in the Elmwood Village. Sadly, that plan fell through. “Then COVID happened and you can probably figure out the rest. Our dream got sidelined for two years,” Mowery recounts. But they didn’t give up, which is what makes this story and this traveling bookshop so fantastic.
“How about making the shop mobile?” a food-truck-owner-friend of theirs suggested one day. And also sprach Zarathrustra: the idea for Steward and Specter’s Traveling Bookshop was born. It took two years to find a vehicle and outfit it the way Mowery and Wojcik wanted, but it has all been worth it.
They bought a bus from a local touring company, which turned out to be one of those synchronous, fateful experiences that send shivers down your spine. Though miles apart at the time, both Mowery and Wojcik found the bus on Facebook Marketplace and sent each other a picture of it in the exact same moment. Who can deny that that sounds like destiny? After purchasing the bus, ripping out the seats and removing luggage racks, they borrowed tools from The Tool Library, an organization Mowery and Wojcik have the utmost gratitude for. Mowery stands by the sentiment that “without their help I don’t think we would have been able to do this.” They then could plan the layout of their shop.
As with any passion project, blood, sweat and tears have gone into realizing their vision: “Noah worked a lot of overtime to buy materials and I sold plasma to be able to afford lumber. There’s literal blood that went into this,” Mowery explains. Then there was the labor and sweat of putting it together, hanging fixtures, drilling, setting up bookshelves, etc. Mowery jests: “if you’re in the bus and you find yourself admiring the craftsmanship, that’s Noah’s work. If you find yourself saying, ‘Man, that looks cool but I think it’s crooked?’ Let me be the first to say thanks and also tell you that I am an artist first and a craftsman second. Or third. Or fourth. I’m the decorator. I will take credit for that.” And then there was the bureaucratic side of things (the tears, obviously): the DMV, City Hall, registering as an LLC, setting up a bank account, getting a tax number, etc. Mowery adds: “There was a lot of excitement from everyone that we talked to about our vision, but that excitement quickly faded when it came to finding how to categorize our business.” Sigh. Nevertheless, the bus is now up and running and ready for your visit.
Mowery and Wojcik’s goal is to one day have their brick-and-mortar shop, which would serve as a bookstore, café and space for art and installation pieces. Their main goal is to bring their bus into communities that have lost bookstores (somewhere upwards of thirty indie bookshops used to be in commission in Buffalo!) and set up shop for the day, so that people have the chance to check out their books, find one to take home with them that they may have otherwise overlooked and have the feel of a paperback in their hands (such a great feeling). Wojcik came up with the slogan: “The Readers and the Read: the Living and the Dead,” which cuts to the core of their goal; to cultivate that connection between the booklover and the author. Mowery and Wojcik acknowledge that the size of the bus is limiting, as a maximum occupancy of eight is allowed, that’s why a permanent space will be imperative in the future.
Recently, their book bus was at the Borderland Music Festival in East Aurora and Buffalo Central Terminal’s Family, Fun and Farmer’s Market. To find out where Steward and Specter’s Travelling Bookshop will be next, follow them on Facebook (Steward and Specter’s Traveling Bookshop), Instagram (@stewardandspecters) or TikTok (@stewardandspectersbooks), where all events are posted. Also, check out their reels, which offer a mini virtual tour of the bus, inside and out.
Isn’t it a beautiful thing when a passion project becomes reality and then experiences success? Fellow book and art lovers, let’s go show Eric Mowery and Noah Wojcik some Buffalove by visiting their traveling bookshop. You might just find the book you never thought you needed.