Damsel Bookstore: Where Threads Used to Spin, Now Stories Do

Oct 7, 2025

With its bright, pink walls and enchanting air, Damsel: A Romantic Bookstore has become a popular spot at The Mill on Etowah. Its decadent design and focus on the romance genre brings a spellbinding charm to The Mill and introduces a locally-owned bookstore that Canton has long been missing. The owner of Damsel, Amelia Lorden, took the time to speak with us today about her process and vision for the shop.

"The shop's concept seems very well-developed; how long has the business been in the making?"

Amelia: A long, long time. I've done a lot of different things. I went straight into working out of high school instead of going to college. I worked in daycare for a long time, I went back to school again, got two degrees and became a paralegal. While doing all of that, I still worked on the bookstore idea. But this year, I just went full-send. I didn't want to wait anymore. If I don't do it now, it's not going to happen.

"What brought Damsel to Canton?"

Amelia: I was getting ready for a pop-up, and was just looking around at physical storefronts. I didn't think it would be in the cards for me at the time, but I saw this space and thought, "I just want to know the price... what it would cost to be here." From that email, it just kept going, slowly spiraling. I sent my 20-page business plan, and there was more back and forth about the idea. When they finally offered me this space, it was insane. Me and my husband were like, "OK, I guess we're opening a bookstore now."

"Starting an independent bookstore isn't easy. How have you approached the process?"

Amelia: I like to plan and I really enjoy making lists — Excel spreadsheets are my best friend. I am very creative, but when doing stuff like this, you also have to be very analytically-oriented. So, I already had a spreadsheet with every single book that is in here: ISBN number, the SKU's, everything. With this, I could just order it, and know my quantity and stock. That's how my work is, I operate in lists. The hardest part for me is cataloging the inventory, and then physically creating a lot of the stuff.

"Are there any struggles you've faced in trying to get the business started?"

Amelia: I think a big part of starting a small business, for anybody, is getting funding. Everybody's financial situation is different, but that's probably one of the biggest obstacles, because it's a huge startup cost. It all hinges on funding — if you don't have it, you're dead, you can't do anything.

In my personal life, it felt like there was always some kind of roadblock. But once you get in the mindset of "this is not happening to me, it's just happening right now, and it's just something I can overcome" — it will change everything. For the last two years, if I wanted something bad enough, I had to work hard to make it, and I feel like this store is the epitome of that.

"Now that you are open, what will be your next goal?"

Amelia: The next challenge is getting more traffic. I'm going to try to do one crafty book event per month, an author signing each month, and then a book club meeting too. So, we'll have three things each month as our baseline. On top of that, we'll have a "A Court of Thorns and Roses"-inspired tea in partnership with Sweety's. Then a cozy, fall book-night and markets in October. I'm going to do a "Booksgiving" in November, and we'll have a Christmas party in December to round out the year.

"What advice would you give to those looking to a start a business?"

Amelia: Never stop. I never thought that doing pop-ups with stickers, bookmarks, and "Blind Date with a Book" would lead to this. If you want something, and that's what you're passionate about, never give up. I've had to work multiple jobs at the same time, but I still found time to do something that I'm passionate about. It's hard, it's hard to balance all of that, and it can be really discouraging at times, especially if it's not doing well. If you just keep going and keep pushing for yourself, that will open so many doors for you.

Author

Claire Blakey

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