06/05/2026
It's been awhile since we posted about our logo and how it came to be. So, I wanted to do that today!
Back in 2023 when I decided I was finally going to GO FOR IT with this long time dream of mine I was deep into one of my many notebooks where I scribble ideas and brainstorm. Funny enough my WAY WAY back when store name idea was The Purple Book Bar. Terrible name. I know. But purple is my favorite color second to black and I'd always wanted to do a bookstore bar. I even wrote that bookstore bar into one of my books forever ago.
Scratching that name and knowing I wasn't quite ready to go ALL IN I figured I'd do something different to get started. I decided I'd open a little book nook inside a vendor mall. I had no idea where and started looking for the right place. At the same time I was brainstorming names, concepts, etc. Using a play on words of one of my favorite childhood scary stories I landed on The Headless Librarian inspired by the Headless Horseman from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I googled and searched everywhere online to make sure no one else had thought of the same and it was nowhere so I immediately went and claimed all if the social media handles and bought the website domain name.
I didn't have a location yet but what I did have was a name and an image in my head of what I wanted my logo to look like. I then was brainstorming with a longtime friend of mine Madeline Sheehan and she threw out very casually, "The Headless Librarian READ YOUR HEAD OFF." To say the least, I SCREAMED because HOW PERFECT IS THAT?!!! No surprise because she's a word magician. Go read her new book or any of her books and you'll see what I mean. CRACK ON A PAGE!
Anyway, this is getting too lengthy so I need to stop rambling and get to the damn point. THE LOGO.
Another good friend of mine Realtor Debbie May gave me a lead on an artist she highly recommended after hearing my idea for the logo. That's when I reached out to Mamushi! And the rest is history. There was no way I was going to use anything other than original art done by a real human for the logo. I had no idea how much stronger I was going to feel about that only a few years later with the explosion of generative AI everywhere.
A logo stays with a business usually for the long run and it’s the front facing image of your brand. I could see it perfectly in my head but I can't draw AT ALL so an actual artist was necessary.
When I told Mamushi what I was thinking about it was like he could see the image in my brain because it was perfect. It was exactly how I had envisioned her. Now we're years down the road and that logo is still with us and about to be on our own storefront. So, a big thank you to Madeline, Debbie, and Mamushi who all played a part in coming up with the concept and the creation of The Headless Librarian who quite literally reads her head off! And thank you to Nicole at Blue Bird for giving THL a place to plant roots and grow. Thank you to ALL OF YOU for sticking with us through all of the chapters of our story. This new storefront wouldn’t be possible without you.
(I hope he doesn’t mind me sharing the initial rough draft sketch of the logo but as you can see the final product was SUPERB!)
