the Les Ruelles de Périgueux bookstore celebrates ten years of independence

D6 years is worth celebrating. Especially when you are a small independent bookstore in a small provincial town. Marie-Pierre Mazeau-Janot, who has found her clientele to face all the pitfalls, will therefore mark the occasion for the ten candles of Ruelles, her bookstore in Périgueux (Dordogne).

November 21, 2014: the Périgourdine, originally from Tocane-Saint-Apre, raises the curtain of her “house of books and curiosities” for the first time, as written on the door. A few meters from the town hall (it has since moved), in the heart of the protected area, the 70 m² premises had been vacant for a long time, after having housed an antique dealer for years. Marie-Pierre Mazeau-Janot fell under the spell of this “discreet place, which surprises when you enter”.

School chairs

More than a simple business, the one who has always worked in the written word (proofreader, collection director, freelancer for cultural magazines, salaried bookseller) has made it a meeting place marked by her personality: “An independent bookseller must tell a story,” she said. His style includes furniture found or made by a local carpenter, lamps designed by local designers Véro and Didou, music in the background and school chairs placed here and there. At Les Ruelles, you can sit down and browse the books. “I have customers who sit down, and that’s it. They come to spend a moment. It’s touching, very moving,” smiles Marie-Pierre, for whom the first quality of a bookseller is “loving people.”

Les Ruelles, why this name?

The reference is literary, obviously. This comes from the first literary salons created by women. “The space between them and their guests was called alleys,” explains Marie-Pierre Mazeau-Janot. Another reason, seven alleys lead to the bookstore square, located at number 7.

Another ingredient of this unique atmosphere is the exhibitions. It makes its walls available to local painters, designers or photographers. But here too, “meeting” takes precedence over any other consideration when selecting artists.

In this warm but not extensive setting, the merchant presents assertive choices: general literature of course, but also travel stories, poetry, fine arts (she studied art history at university) , history, Périgord and cuisine. “I love cooking, what we transmit through it, the memories linked to it. »And then there is also “the feminine, femininity, feminism, perhaps in a slightly militant way,” she adds playfully.

More than customers, friends

Fiercely independent in her selection of books, Marie-Pierre Mazeau-Janot can count on loyal customers. Some have become friends, whom she greets by their first name. She even admits to having discovered texts or authors thanks to them. “We bring things to each other. »

Has bookselling changed in ten years? Marie-Pierre Mazeau-Janot reflects at length: “It has been enriched with confidential collections and books from independent publishers, which I must defend. »

And reading in all this? She devotes her early mornings to it, for two to three hours. “A book is a company, a tête-à-tête. My relationship to the text, to the author, to the book object is of an intimate nature. I need to be alone at this time. » To better exchange afterwards.