This week, Griffin Books celebrates its sixth birthday under rather strange circumstances.

In an exclusive interview with Nub News, owner and founder Mel Griffin gives some insight into the past, present and future of Penarth's preeminent bookshop.

NUB NEWS: Some might say six years isn't much of a landmark. But after the few months retail in Penarth has had, it's definitely something worth celebrating. So let's begin with you taking us back in time to 2014. Why did the bookshop start? What was the basic idea behind it?

MEL: My bookshop dream started way back in 1980, when I was sixteen years old and got a Saturday job in my local bookshop in Sherborne, Dorset.

Fast forward to 2012, and I had been working for close to thirty years for a large global corporate and had moved from London to Wales, where I worked full-time from home. However, now approaching 50, I started to get the strong feeling I'd like to do something else with my life.

There was a small independent bookshop in Penarth, and I was already a regular customer. I discovered that the owners were keen to retire but very much wanted to see the bookshop continue.

The dream of running my own bookshop resurfaced and everything started to fall into place. Over a two-year period I did my research, attended a local course for small business owners, and volunteered in the shop whenever I could to learn the ropes!

Finally, on 1 September 2014, I proudly took possession of the bookshop keys, renaming the business Griffin Books to mark this new chapter in its twenty-year history.

NUB NEWS: Ah, so in a way the store's history is even older than six years. Even so, this is probably the strangest year in that history. How does it feel to reach the six-year mark in the given circumstances?

MEL: We celebrate the shop's birthday every year, however this year feels extra special given the circumstances.

We feel very lucky to be part of such a supportive community here in Penarth and have been overwhelmed by the lovely birthday messages we have received this week from our customers.

NUB NEWS: How was the lockdown period itself?

MEL: Lockdown was certainly a nervous time for everyone in the retail industry, and especially so for small independent businesses such as our own.

Prior to lockdown our online sales were very limited – this changed overnight! We had to adapt our entire sales model and way of working in just a few hours. Throughout lockdown we operated an online ordering and home delivery service via email. Our customers responded brilliantly to this new way of working and we were able to continue to supply books and more to our regular customers while also fulfilling orders for new customers from much further afield, many of whom came across us for the first time via social media.

We have recently launched an online shop so that people can now browse titles and buy books online, if they're not able to travel to Penarth to visit us in person. This was always something we planned to do at some point in the future, but the obvious increase in demand for online sales brought our plans forward, and we're delighted that we can now offer this as an added service.

(You can find this online shop at the following link: Griffin Books Online)

We worked very quickly following lockdown to get a programme of online events up and running. We knew how important it would be to be able to keep that connection with our regular customers; what we didn't foresee was how many new people we would reach by taking our events online.

Since the start of April, we have held 18 Meet the Author Zoom events, 35 live Storytime sessions, 12 virtual Book Clubs and much more besides! We have really enjoyed these events and we're continuing to host online events until at least the end of this year.

Our autumn programme kicks off tomorrow (Friday 4 September) with a sell-out event with Ruth Jones who will be talking about her new novel, Us Three. Our September lineup also includes former First Minister of Wales, Carwyn Jones (10 Sept), and novelists Joanne Harris (14 Sept) and Andrew Wilson (23 Sept). Our toddler Storytime sessions will be streamed live via Facebook and Instagram every Tuesday at 10.30 am.

(For a full event line-up and to book tickets, visit: Tickets)

NUB NEWS: And how have sales been since lockdown was lifted? Are people flocking back or is this online stuff, dare I say it, the "new normal"?

MEL: We have been busy since we reopened on 1 July, and it has been so lovely to see so many of our regular customers coming by to say hello and buy books.

We have also been visited by new customers from the wider Cardiff area, who have used our online ordering service or attended our virtual events during lockdown. It was great to finally meet them face to face!

We have introduced several safety and social distancing measures, including limiting the number of people in the shop and asking customers to sanitise their hands before entering and handling the books.

On the whole everyone has been really understanding and customers have been more than happy to adhere to the measures we have put in place.

NUB NEWS: Today I've been seeing lots of happy birthday messages on your social media pages. Penarth is such a tight-knit community and I'm wondering how you see your role in that community.

MEL: Griffin Books is located at the heart of Penarth Town Centre and we think of ourselves as a hub for the local community.

As well as selling books, we are also known for our busy programme of literary events, which in normal times would include hosting events with authors from across the UK, alongside smaller sessions such as our Book Clubs (for both adults and children) and our free toddler Storytime sessions.

These events are important for us as they bring people together and strengthen that feeling of community that is so important here in Penarth.

We're passionate about getting young people to love books and reading. We regularly take writers into schools and organise large scale author events which are attended by schools from across south Wales.

Last year we delivered a project, in association with the Booksellers Association, to encourage reluctant readers. It was magical to see how the children came to love reading over the course of the project.

We also love getting involved in community and charitable events such as Penarth Fashion Week in aid of the RNLI – though their mascot Stormy Stan did get a mixed response when he visited our Storytime session last year!