Two Sheffield women recently have opened their own bookshop that stores queer and feminist books specifically. 

Rosie May and Sarah Scales started their first book group in May and two years later they opened a bookshop called Juno Books at 24 Chapel Walk in Sheffield. 

Ms May said: “My number one tip would be to believe you can do it. I think women tend to do themselves down and think that they are not good enough to do it but actually we have done it and have surprised ourselves of how capable we are.

“We have met loads of other women on the way who have done the same thing and it’s been really inspiring. And I’ll also say do it with a friend. It’s been really nice doing it as a team and being with each other through the tricky bits. A good pal is the best thing to keep you sane.” 

Rosie May,43, Woodseats said: “There are some amazing women business owners in Sheffield that we have had the privilege to have worked with, it’s been brilliant.”

The main goal of their bookshop is to promote female and queer voices on a platform that felt comfortable and safe for everyone. 

Ms Scales said: “I was sitting behind the till and looking out, seeing people chatting about books and reading the back of them. There was somebody reading on the armchair reading a poetry book, there were kids on the bench, and it was just exactly what we had hoped it would be and it felt really joyful and lovely. It’s theirs, it’s not just ours, it’s for the whole of Sheffield. We have always said it’s a community bookshop.”

Rosie and Sarah, alongside their passion for literature, came up with the idea to open their own bookstore over a glass of wine during lockdown. 

They are one of many Sheffield female business owners and spoke to us about how they empower other women in business.

Sarah Scales,36, Sheffield said: “As much as we could we tried to use and support other female business owners. We had a great local graphic designer, Lisa O’Hara, who made our logo and so it has been really nice to be able to support other women and discover that there were other networks of women who owned small businesses.”