Even though she’s a Shorewood mom who loves reading to her two children, and is a bibliophile herself, Courtney Hyzer never planned – until recently – on opening a bookshop four blocks from her home.
But now, as she’s a few months away from debuting Wonderland Bookshop in Shorewood, Hyzer is sure this is her dream job and the perfect next chapter. The bookshop will open around Oct. 1 in the former Hayek’s Pharmacy building, on Capitol and Downer.
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“I’ve always been a huge reader. One of my favorite things to do is visit independent bookshops,” she says. While her kids are now older (8 and 10 years old), reading them stories at night was often the highlight of her day, and curating their storybook collection a close second.
“I was searching for a way to bottle up that feeling,” she says, about opening the bookshop.
Board books and picture books for children, along with series for middle readers as well as all-ages reads marketed to young adults, will be sold at Wonderland Bookshop. Adults can also find non-fiction and fiction.
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Another way she’s making this a multi-generational bookstore is by offering a small event space for literary-themed tea parties, showers and birthday parties.
With a background in event planning, Hyzer began her career booking corporate events in San Diego. Then, when she moved to Milwaukee in 2010, the Madison-area native branched out into catering for weddings. “That was a sweet spot for me,” she says. “There’s just a lot more ‘feeling’ that goes into a wedding.”
Partnering with graphic designer Courtney Rathmann of Rathmann Design Co. on the bookshop’s branding – both online and in the store – introduces an “inspiring, whimsical and magical” aesthetic.
“I always knew I wanted to be in Shorewood … [and create] a magical place for my children,” she says.
As for the name, that’s an interesting story, too. “Shorewood was originally known as having a succession of amusement parks along the Milwaukee River in the early 1900s,” says Hyzer. “One of them was (called) Wonderland Amusement Park. It’s about bringing the whimsy back.”
