Bank to Bookstore: The Secret Lantern Story
It’s official! The doors are open and the Lantern is lit! The Secret Lantern is so excited to welcome each of you to our store, our community, and to your next adventure!
It has been a journey and, like any journey, the road has been long, winding, sometimes uphill, and always exciting. We want to share a little bit about that journey and our hopes and dreams for the Lantern’s future, with a word from our founders and team!
The dream begins…
DIANNA, CO-OWNER & FOUNDER OF THE SECRET LANTERN: I literally called Dan in, one day, and I was like, “Hey. For this amount of money, we could start a business.”
And he was like, “Okay… what does that mean?”
And, so I was like, “Well, look, I’ll tell ye —” [laughs]
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DIANNA [CONT.]: You know, behind the scenes, we had initially found a space just down the block and around the corner [from the current location of The Secret Lantern] that was about 1,000 square feet. It was a baby-baby space. They had just built it up, and were like, “We’ll go with that. We’ll start small. That’s where we’ll go.”
And then we were about to sign and I found this space. So, I called the realtor and they said “Oh, you’re actually the first person! I just put it up today, you’re the first person to call! Do you want to come by an check it out?”
I said, “Yeah, sure, whatever — let’s go!”
And then I said, “Hey Dan… surprise!”
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DAN, CO-OWNER & FOUNDER OF THE SECRET LANTERN: We were trying to figure out a way to bring in more of the spirit and the idea of community and warmth. Illumination kept coming back. One of our friends helped us to discover more of the identity of what we were trying to build.
We want to guide people to their next adventure. We want to show people new games, new books, new toys, and new fun hobbies that they can get into. The Lantern kind of became this symbol for that. This is a little bit of a hidden gem. It’s a little bit of a destination. It’s something where you might wander by and say, “Oh, cool! I want to know what that is!”
But, more likely, you’re going to find out about it through word-of-mouth. The idea is that it’s The Secret Lantern. This kind of slightly hidden thing. Everyone who heard that name, when we were talking, immediately went, “Oooh! What’s that?!”
So, that has worked out really well. It was a journey of discovery, but it paid off in the long run.
A little bit about Dianna and Dan…
DIANNA: I graduated with a musical theatre degree. So, I can sing, dance, and act at the same time — and I’ve got the degree to prove it!
Then I moved into gaming and I’ve been doing that for about twenty years, or so. I’ve always played video games. Board games. Always loved to read. I knew that I was getting out of burnout when I started to read again. And that has continued, as I have progressed.
That’s kind of where The Secret Lantern came from. Because it’s always a nerd’s dream to make a bookstore and a game store.
That’s me! For staters…
DAN: I grew up in Vermont. Went to school in upstate New York and, after that, moved back home. I was lucky enough to get a job in a small educational games company. After that ran out, I moved back over to the West Coast. Drove cross-country in about three days — on a lot of coffee — and made it to San Francisco; where I struggled to find my way into the games industry for a couple of years, eventually succeeded, and, not too long after that, met this lovely lady here [Dianna].
That’s the A to B of that!
“What inspired you to create this space?”
DIANNA: I went to a lot of the game stores [in the area] and — no disrespect to them — but I’m a woman, especially a woman of color. I walked in and a lot of the times I just didn’t feel welcome, and felt like if I asked a question I would be made to feel stupid. If that’s the community you want — whatever, that’s fine.
I have a book club with some girls and I said, “Oh! I’m gonna go DM something.”, and they were like, “Wha't’s that?”
[I explained] that I was going to go play D&D — because I DM D&D every week. Then the asked, “What’s D&D?”
And it was like, “Oh! That’s that game”, and “I’ve always wanted to know more but, every time I ask, I’m made to feel dumb!” This was a group of women who didn’t know anything about board games and I was able to introduce them to D&D. They had an absolute blast! Now they’re hooked on board games, and having regular game nights.
If you create an inclusive environment, you’ll have that. That’s a core tenant of The Secret Lantern. It’s where misfits make their magic and find their next adventure. So, if you love board games but you don’t read books; I’m pretty sure that we’ve got a book that you’re going to love. And vice versa. If you read books and don’t play board games, I’m pretty sure there’s a game that we can get into your hands that you will really enjoy.
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SAM, DECOR & DESIGN: I was in love with A Court of Thorns and Roses and a trivia night was being held. I went by myself. I didn’t know anyone else. I sat next to Dianna, actually, and she leaned over and said, “Hey! Do you want to join our group?”
It was a group of us — that didn’t know each other — and we actually won! We won trivia and stayed friends after!
Dianna and Dan had such a vision for each room [of The Secret Lantern]. It has been really fun to the find the pieces and bring that to life.
“What fictional world would you live in?”
DAN: That’s a dicey one, because a lot of the fictional worlds I follow are probably ones that I would actually hate to live in!
DIANNA: Yeah… I could be in a Pride and Prejudice. Put me in one of those Regency stories where the worst thing that can happen to you is that you can’t have your sweets. That’s so cool. I don’t want any drama! I just want to be like — *swoons* “I’m so bored! I’ve got to read another book.”
And everyone else is like, “You poor baby!”
DAN: A really great web comic called Daughter of the Lillies has some fascinating things to say about magic and faith, and relationships and people’s preconceptions. It’s a beautiful, vibrant, complicated, but very soulful world. I think that would be a very fascinating place to exist for a period of time.
Every quest needs a dragon…
“What was the biggest challenge, making The Secret Lantern a reality?”
DIANNA: Things that are outside of our control! That’s where things get frustrating, as a business owner.
DAN: For me, the biggest frustrations have been the opaqueness of the rules. There are rules, upon rules, upon layers, that are impossible to parse unless you dedicate a massive amount of time to it.
At the end of the day, we end up talking to inspectors, and they’re like, “The building’s not on fire, and nobody is going to be obviously harmed here. You’re good to go!”
“What’s the best and worst thing about starting a business with your spouse?”
DAN: Anything to do with time. You’re not just working on your schedule. You’re working on the schedule of contractors, employees, and volunteers. We’re keeping very busy! But we are hitting a point where all of that “busyness” — if you just look around us — is starting to show some benefit.
DIANNA: That makes it worth it too. We constantly have to remind ourselves that we’re in this together. And that’s hard!
Because sometimes you’re like, “Listen! I’m really frustrated right now because this thing isn’t happening, and this thing isn’t happening, and you need to understand that it’s not about you. But, I’m gonna be a real big [BLEEP] right now… and for the next twenty minutes! And then I’ll get over it… and then I love you. Let’s go get some ice cream!”
DAN: Basically. Yeah.
“Biggest surprise of opening a store?”
DAN: The sheer number of people who were interested in volunteering to help us out.
DIANNA: That has been the biggest thing. We’ve had about thirty people show up, and there’s boxes and boxes of bookshelves! When it’s time to go, they’re saying “Let’s do a couple more!”
We couldn’t get them out of the building! In a positive way! Because they were so enthusiastic about it.
All joking aside, that has been the most humbling experience. It really emphasizes the need for The Secret Lantern.
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BRI, THE ‘BOOK DRAGON’: I play D&D with Dianna and Dan. Dianna is my Dungeon Master! When they started making this happen, I said, “Hey. I’ve got a lot of free time. Please, can I come help you?”
So, I just started showing up, and volunteering, and they couldn’t get rid of me, and now I’m here!
I like to tell them, when things are getting a little bumpy, that I feel like they’re sowing and cultivating the seeds of hope. That, to me, is a lot of what this space represents. I feel like this is a space for community, for growth, and for people to come and hopefully feel a little less isolated. Less alone and more connected.
I’m so incredibly excited to see how this all develops!
Turning the page together…
“What can the community expect, once the doors open?”
DAN: Trivia nights! Game nights! We want to teach people how to play certain games. We’ll be teaching D&D and other roleplaying systems. We’ll have your standard book clubs and other things like that.
DIANNA: Obviously, there’s the bookstore. Obviously, we’ll have games. But there are also three rooms that folks have already shown an interest in reserving, during the day. For working from home, or homeschooling. Book clubs and game nights! Meetings. Whatever you want to do! We’ll have that ability.
Otherwise, they’re open for free play or reading, or getting other stuff done.
We also have our bar! We’ll have coffees and teas, beer and wine, and our patio area! Where you can go play a board game outside! It’s about the flexibility of space and making it a welcoming place for folks to come and hang out.